The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Show regulars

Ed McMahon

The show's announcer and Carson's sidekick was Ed McMahon, who from the very first show would introduce Carson with a drawn-out "Heeeeeeeeerrrreeee's Johnny!" (something McMahon was inspired to do by the over-emphasized way he had introduced reporter Robert Pierrepoint when as host McMahon had introduced him on the NBC Radio show Monitor). McMahon would remain standing to the side as Carson did his monologue, laughing (sometimes obsequiously) at his jokes, then join him at the guest chair when Carson moved to his desk. The two would interact for a short while before the first guest was introduced.

Related Topics:
Ed McMahon - Robert Pierrepoint - Monitor - Monologue

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McMahon commented on his role in his 1998 autobiography For Laughing Out Loud (ISBN 0446523704):

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:My role on the show never was strictly defined. I did what had to be done when it had to be done. I was there when he needed me, and when he didn't I moved down the couch and kept quiet. The farther down the couch I moved, the quieter I was. I did the audience warm-up, I did commercials, for a brief period I cohosted the first fifteen minutes of the show..., and I performed in many sketches. On our thirteenth-anniversary show Johnny and I wen talking at his desk and he said, "Thirteen years is a long time."

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:Long enough for me to recognize my cue. So, I asked, "how long is it?" "That's why you're here," he said, probably summing up my primary role on the show perfectly...

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:I had to support him, I had to help him get to the punch line, but while doing it I had to make it look as if I wasn't doing anything at all. The better I did it, the less it appeared as if I was doing it....If I was going to play second fiddle, I wanted to be the Heifetz of second fiddlers.

Related Topics:
Punch line - Second fiddle - Heifetz

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:....The most difficult thing for me to learn how to do was just sit them with my mouth closed. Many nights I'd be listening to Johnny and in my mind I'd reach the same adlib just as he said it. I'd have to bite my tongue not to say it out loud. I had to make sure I wasn't too funny—although critics who saw some of my other performances will claim I needn't have worried. If I got too many laughs, I wasn't doing my job; my job was to be part of a team that generated the laughs.

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Bandleaders and others

The Tonight Show had a live band for nearly all of its existence. The Tonight Show Band during Carson's reign was led by Skitch Henderson, followed briefly by Milton DeLugg. Starting in 1967 and continuing until Jay Leno took over, the band was led by Doc Severinsen, with Tommy Newsom filling in for him when he was absent or filling in for McMahon as the announcer.

Related Topics:
Tonight Show Band - Skitch Henderson - Milton DeLugg - 1967 - Jay Leno - Doc Severinsen - Tommy Newsom

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Behind the scenes, Frederick De Cordova joined The Tonight Show in 1970 as producer, graduating to executive producer in 1984.

Related Topics:
Frederick De Cordova - 1970 - Executive producer - 1984

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