I'm not sure if this is the right location for this announcement. Johnny Carson passed away today (1925 - 2005). This is very sad news. I'm sure most of you know that he was also a magician.

Many magicians dreamed of someday being on the Johnny Carson Show. Myself included.

There will never be another like him and he'll be greatly missed.

Ron Jaxon

He will be greatly missed. There's some coverage over on Yahoo right now. A link to the current story is: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=st......t_carson

I remember watching a lot of performers on the old Tonight Show, and Johnny was always a great fan of magic. Late night TV has never been quite the same since he retired....

Jeremy

Johnny was a truly amazing entertainer and a great patron of the megical arts... he gave a lot of great magicians a shot at national attention, among them Paul Gertner, Michael Ammar and many many others. It's true that late night hasn't been the same. He will be missed, and I think we will not see the likes of him again.

Michael Carolina

Johhny's passing has saddened our whole family. he touched so many people all over the world. He's in a better place as they say, but all his friends here on earth will miss the "King Of The Night"!!!

Maybe our good friend Dean Dill can share a story with us and perhaps give us some comfort while we mourn.

Christopher

WIll be greatly missed.

Johnny Carson

Good-Bye Mr. Carson, you touch our lives and our hearts. Thank You for being you.

We were just talking about him at the office a few weeks ago wondering where he has been hiding and I see on the news about his passing. He surely kept a private life. I heard also there will be no memorial service.

Johnny Carson intentionally kept his private life private. He wasn't a recluse or an eccentric or anything negative at all. He simply wanted to enjoy his retirement. But he was still active in entertainment: He headed his own company, which coordinated all of the video/DVD releases of his years on "The Tonight Show," as well some other shows on television; he appeared at numerous awards shows--in which he was the main award recipient; he appeared once on "Late Night With David Letterman," he played poker with his friends regularly; he drove his boat regularly; and he kept in constant contact with scores of people, nationwide. He also donated a lot of money to various projects, including several projects in his hometown in Nebraska, where he grew up. Johnny Carson was still active in retirement, but he kept his private life private. His family announced on Sunday, Jan. 23rd, the day of Johnny's death, that, according to Johnny's wishes, there will be no formal memorial service. But, hey, there's a memorial service going on right here, at The Magic Café--and Johnny would have loved that. Goodnight, Johnny.

I remember seeing Johnny Carson's caricature at the Magic Castle which is how I found out he had been a magician. I sure would have loved to see him perform.

Rest in Peace Johnny.

There will be a tribute to Mr. Carson on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno tonight. Be sure to watch. He was a legend and will be surely missed.

"I know you love me tonight, but will you respect me in the morning?"

Rest In Peace Johnny. We love you and will miss you.

Yes, we will all miss him....here is some trivia for you.... My business partner phoned tonite (Marilyn Abbott)Johnny bought his first trick from Percy Abbott at the age of 12.........................how neat....there will never be another...Rick Fisher, FAB magic

Does anyone know how long and to what extent Johnny practiced magic?

** Bill **

From what I understand, he was a great amateur, and that he practiced up until his death. He loved magic and I once heard that he'd said if he could have done anything else beside the Tonight Show, it would have been magic

Rick

Did any of you ever get to see him perform?


** Bill **

Also, Johnny didn't take over the Tonight Show until he was about 40 years old. If he started practicing magic at age 12 then that leaves a whole lot of years for a magic career. Just curious.

** Bill **

The dress code at the Magic Castle requires a jacket and tie for the male guests (and members). The single exception to this rule - not well publicized, by the way - is that men are allowed to wear a genuine (not "mock") turtleneck sweater instead of a dress shirt and tie. This adjustment to the rules was made to accommodate one well-known member who preferred to NOT wear a tie, since he always wore one for his day job. Guess who that member was?

That's the story the way I got it, anyway...

Regards,
Thomas Wayne

Dean Dill was Mr. Carson's Barber (hairstylist) as well as magic teacher. Dean is also a private person but I'm hoping he'll post some of his thoughts.

Johnny bought his first magic from Abbott's Magic Company at the age of 12? Now THAT IS an interesting piece of magical trivia!

Some interesting relevent information from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Carson):
"...he learned to perform magic tricks, debuting as "The Great Carsoni" at age 14."

Also:
"In 1973, Carson had a legendary run-in with popular psychic Uri Geller when he invited Geller to appear on his show. Carson, an experienced stage magician, wanted a neutral demonstration of Geller's alleged abilities, so, at the advice of his friend and fellow magician James Randi, he gave Geller several spoons out of his desk drawer and asked him to bend them. Geller proved unable, and his appearance on The Tonight Show has since been regarded as the beginning of Geller's fall from glory."

Thanks for the tidbits on Johnny!

** Bill **

I just found out that Dean Dill was on the tonight show before Johnny Carson retired from television. Anyone know how many different magician's Johnny had on his show over the years?

MM