People from Adams County, Iowa - Johnny Carson (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: John William Johnny Carson (October 23, 1925 January 23, 2005) was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years (19621992). Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, and received Kennedy Center Honors in 1993. Although his show was already massively successful by the end of the 1960s, it was during the 1970s that he became iconic of American society and the "best guest" in almost all American families up until his retirement in 1992. Also, Johnny Carson is credited to have molded modern television shows the way we know them now, transitioning the format from Ed Sullivan's era of post-war variety display where the host was merely an announcer of acts, to today's standards, and the blueprint he gave to the figure of the comedic host is now easily recognizable in the likes of David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and a multitude of similar personalities that are still struggling to fill his longtime vacant position. Born in Corning, Iowa, Carson lived in the nearby Iowa towns of Avoca, Clarinda, and Red Oak before later moving to Norfolk, Nebraska. He left college after one year to join the United States Navy, being commissioned an ensign. He joined the U.S. Navy on June 8, 1943, as an apprentice seaman enrolled in the V-5 program, which trained Navy and Marine pilots. He hoped to train as a pilot, but was sent instead to Columbia University for midshipman training. He performed magic for classmates on the side. Commissioned an ensign late in the war, Carson was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania, a battleship on... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=99959