I knew this is where comedy was.

Goni Carson changed my life twice.

It was just like a dream. It was just like everything I had worked for

and dreamed about has come to fruition.

They said Johnny fell over laughing.

It makes me so happy.

I made him laugh.

But with Johnny, you knew you knew you had a kid audience that you could really go great.

My wife at the curtain, all held real groups backstage.

People were running up and she said, go back out, go back out, go back out.

Johnny wants you back.

I walked back through the curtain very calm and Johnny I took about

and Johnny put that little circle up the finger and I I am Mark Malkoff. Once again I hope you are all doing okay.

Thanks again to everybody supporting me and the Carson podcast on Patreon.

It's an enormous help.

This week, our guest is comedy historian and the author of the critically acclaimed book, The Comedians, Drunks, thieves, and the history of American comedy,

Cliff Nesteroff.

Cliff spoke to me from Los Angeles, California.

Congratulations on finally running out of guests.

My purview is not Johnny Carson specifically.

I mean it is, but so much as the Tonight Show

as a whole, you know, the trajectory of late night and Steve Allen and Jack Par and the

...