Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson. All of the Tonight Show.
Each of these men projected a self-effacing urbanity and hipness that resonated across generational lines. Are these men of a bygone era, of a type we will never see again? Well yes they are no longer alive but we see the brilliance of the archetypical, connected American male in their progeny -- Seinfeld, Stewart -- just as it was there before them in the likes of Benny and Burns. It is true that the tradition of the Tonight Show host being one of the coolest guys in America has been erased -- that mantle having been transferred to Letterman -- or rather replaced by one of a continuous work ethic, typified by Leno's relentless appearance every weeknight. That, more than anything, is the telling sign of our times. Johnny took vacations and enjoyed life, in turn sharing the chair with others, most notably for me; another hipster, Gary Shandling.
I've read the obits and some of the tributes to Carson. Many of them seem to lack the substance of the man. Carson was an exquisite comedy writer. He was a conversationalist of such an extraordinary bent that he could turn the show on a dime; being able to sense momentum in mining a vein of talk. Carson was a prototypical American persona for three generations of viewers. While Cronkite may have been the authoritative voice of America, Carson projected it's heart and soul. Nobody much cared that he had some relationship baggage -- it wasn't really our business -- even though he could joke about it routinely. Much has been said about his supposed shyness. Carson was not shy. You can't do what he did for 40 years or so in television and be shy. Most probably he was deliberate in maintaining a persona for the show and himself that would be impervious to conceit. Longevity is forged from self-knowledge and an understanding of your audience. The private Carson was for him and his closest confreres, we got enough of what we needed with his 90 minutes on weeknights.
What Mr. Carson gave was his unadorned devotion to his craft along with a comedic brilliance that was nearly matchless and, from the cross-generational giggles I've witnessed while watching video clips, perhaps timeless.
We have been missing him for almost 13 years and now he's gone.
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