Before Johnny Carson passed away in 2005, he had dinner with Jerry Seinfeld and Garry Shandling and expressed his disgust with how television was evolving. He considered reality TV to be trashy, and he was not impressed in the slightest. According to Peter Jones, a Hollywood filmmaker, Carson felt good comedy was fading away and being overrun with this tabloid-like nonsense.
After he passed, waves of celebrities hit the screens and papers, paying their respects to the late television star. But Johnny clearly wanted nothing to do with modern television anyways, according to the source, and said that he felt lucky to have gotten out at the point he had. The former late-night king of comedy may have been considered somewhat controversial during his time, but he would have really hated the way reality TV has taken over the world.
Get Out of My Neighborhood, Carson
Carson really ticked off Mr. Rogers of "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood" when he decided to use his own version of the character as a joke on his show. But Johnny didn’t play the nice Mr. Rogers that everyone in America knew and loved. Instead, he portrayed him as a dark figure, attempting to get kids to take cash from Mom and Dad. No one took very kindly to this act, especially not Fred Rogers, who played the beloved Mr. Rogers.
Fred Rogers was upset that Carson had used his character in such a negative way when everyone knows that "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" was all about positivity and being a kind and loving person towards everyone you meet. This caused so much of a stir in America that it forced Carson to apologize to Fred, and everyone else, for the bad jokes. But Fred was far from the last person to require an apology from the late comedian.
Just Being Frank
President Ronald Reagan had a beautiful and glamorous inauguration in 1981, which was produced by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra had his heart set on having Johnny Carson host the evening, but Carson resisted early on. He didn’t really want to say no to Sinatra, who asked him personally to do him this special favor.
But as it turns out, that special favor came from a little higher up than Mr. Frank Sinatra, as Reagan actually asked for Carson himself. But Carson still didn’t really want to go and joked that he’d already served his country before. Johnny did end up hosting the event and afterward commented on the fact that it was very extravagant, like a Hollywood premiere. Carson was truly unhappy during the entire experience and apparently wouldn’t even include a drunk Dean Martin during the inaugural.
Johnny Wouldn’t Reap What He Sowed
According to Rich Little, The Man of a Thousand Voices, Johnny put on this tough guy act but was entirely capable of having his feelings hurt. The voice actor claimed that he had been tossed off of Carson’s set because he shot back at him after being targeted by Carson’s jokes, and Johnny apparently couldn’t take the heat. As Little also worked as an impressionist and gave Johnny a sneak peek at himself on his set, Carson probably was not very impressed.
Richard Little released a tell-all memoir that he titled: "Little by Little: People I’ve Known and Been," in which he actually went so far as to say that he thought Johnny hated him. Although, like Johnny, Little himself had a list of people in Hollywood who didn’t like him very much. After all, he made his money performing impressions of celebrities, and some of them didn’t take it very kindly.
The Flighty Blonde
Carol Wayne played this “valley girl” type of persona on various talk shows, including Carson’s. While appearing on "The Tonight Show," she played the character of the “Matinee Lady.” She had quite the reputation around tinsel town for being able to portray this type of on-screen persona better than anyone else – so she was frequently typecast, including her stint on the "Skelton Show."
Unfortunately, playing these types of roles may have gotten to Carol, especially after her work on Carson’s show. After losing her job on Carson’s show, she started to experience a serious downfall due to financial difficulties. This downfall would lead Ms. Wayne down a devastatingly dark path, one which would ultimately cost her her life.