King of the Night page 2

 King of the Night page 2 by ric gustafson

At the age of 61, Johnny Carson was a creature of television. His career started in Omaha in 1949. The major networks dominance was now fading. Cable networks and VCR's were taking over. 

" That is very sweet of you". Johnny hesitated. " Did you intentionally stand or were you thrown out of your seats?". 

He did the monalogue jokes hardly waiting for the laughter to die down. From the audience reaction, Johnny knew if a joke worked or not.

" Thank you for being with us". Then the red light went off. Then Ed announced the sponsors. Then silent commercials played. Then Johnny sat down at his desk. 

Johnny Carson and the Tonight Show brought in up to 17 percent of NBC's profits. The Tonight Show set was modest. Behind Ed and Johnny was a painted backdrop. In front of the backdrop was potted palms and plants. 

Then the camera light came on again. It was show time.

research help: ' King of the Night' by Laurence Leamer

Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric