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Title details for Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin - Available

Johnny Carson

by Henry Bushkin
Josh Bloomberg
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
"A close look at how show business power corrupts . . . The dishiest read of the year." – Janet Maslin, "Ten Favorite Books of the Year," New York Times
"Here's Johnny!" Probably everyone in America knows the phrase, whether they watched every episode of The Tonight Show or none because they had to go to bed early on school nights. From 1962 to 1992, Johnny Carson and his Tonight Show dominated the American consciousness.
Henry Bushkin was Carson's best friend and lawyer during that period, and his book is a tautly rendered and remarkably nuanced portrait of Carson, revealing not only how he truly was, but why. Bushkin explains why Carson, a voracious (and very talented) womanizer, felt he always had to be married; why he couldn't visit his son in the hospital and wouldn't attend his mother's funeral; and much more. Johnny Carson is by turns shocking, poignant, and uproarious — written with a novelist's eye for detail, a screenwriter's ear for dialogue, and a knack for comic timing that Carson himself would relish.
"A fascinating book about a complex man." — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Like The Tonight Show, the book has many a merry moment . . . [Johnny Carson] was also one of a kind, and is missed. This book brings a bit of him back." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A People magazine Top Ten Book of the Year

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 14, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780063398931
      • File size: 292298 KB
      • Duration: 10:08:57

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 4, 2013
      Bushkin performed many roles for the King of Late Night Johnny Carson during their 18-year relationshipâlawyer, advisor, tennis partner, to name a fewâbut the role of best friend is the one that never quite fit. In this biography/memoir hybrid, Bushkin recounts his tenure working under Carson at Carson Productions and living it up with his boss in Vegas and on yachts. He provides a keen glimpse at what this iconic comedian was really like: a man who was generous and beloved but "capable of marring a nice moment with a cutting remark." And it was those cutting remarks and erratically sour moods, which Bushkin blames on Carson's fraught relationship with his mother, that pushed others away from Carson, including three wives, and eventually poisoned his relationship with the author. Bushkin constantly reevaluates their relationship as he reveals the monstrous side of Carson and how fearful Bushkin was of incurring his wrath. With all this, the book is an insightful glimpse into the world of The Tonight Show and the star-studded life of Carson. An addictive read.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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