What Johnny Carson Did for the People Sitting Across From Him
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 29 December 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, in the golden age of late-night television, no seat mattered more than the one across from Johnny Carson. For comedians, musicians, writers, and even politicians, a single appearance could change a career overnight. Mark Malkoff, author of Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend, shares the behind-the-scenes stories of how Carson used his influence to open doors that stayed open for decades.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed human. |
| 0:07.0 | New Year's resolution. |
| 0:08.8 | Own how you show up online. |
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| 0:13.7 | Now just 99 cents per month for new customers their first year. |
| 0:18.2 | Ring in 2026 with a domain and matching email at goaddy.com slash new year. |
| 0:23.8 | That's go daddy.com slash new year to own how you show up online. |
| 0:51.7 | This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people, coming to you from the city where the West begins, Fort Worth, Texas. |
| 0:56.2 | Johnny Carson is widely regarded as the king of late-night television. |
| 1:02.7 | One of those reasons was how Johnny used his influence to positively change the lives of his guests. |
| 1:05.9 | Here's author Mark Malkoff to tell the story. |
| 1:11.2 | Johnny Carson had talent coordinators that would get thousands of pieces of mail from people that wanted to be on the show. |
| 1:13.4 | Their goal was to showcase the most talented people. |
| 1:17.4 | They didn't have to have traditional talent. |
| 1:20.4 | There was somebody who played songs using their hands, and this person dubbed themselves |
| 1:26.1 | a manualist. |
| 1:27.1 | Would you welcome John to me? |
| 1:28.9 | John. |
| 1:29.8 | And they went on Johnny Carson's show and they became so big just playing songs, |
| 1:36.5 | Stars and Stripes Forever on their hand. |
| 1:38.4 | ... They became so in demand that they quit their job as a lawyer in Michigan, |
... |
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