‘Love Johnny Carson’: Hailing the Late-Night King

Here’s an in-depth look at the talk show legend, culled from more than 400 interviews.

"Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend" by Mark Malkoff (top) with David Ritz looks at the shows of the night show host. Dutton

Few entertainers had a more profound impact on American popular culture than Johnny Carson during his roughly 30-year reign as the host NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” While Carson’s life and career have been documented in multiple books, the new “Love Johnny Carson” is arguably the most comprehensive and fascinating tribute to the star and his late-night enterprise.

The book carries the subtitle, “One Obsessive Fan’s Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend,” and that refers to author Mark Malkoff, who conducted more than 400 interviews with people who knew and worked with Carson. Malkoff, the host of “The Carson Podcast,” collaborated with David Ritz in examining how Carson gained and maintained his stardom.

Rough Beginnings

Perhaps the biggest surprise from the book is discovering Carson initially turned down the offer to host “The Tonight Show.” For starters, he was making a comfortable living as the host of the half-hour ABC game show “Who Do You Trust?” and did not want the grueling schedule of a nightly, mostly unscripted 105-minute talk show.