This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed Human.

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.

Johnny Carson aficionado Mark Malkoff has amassed more Carson's stories from original sources

than anyone in entertainment history. And now, in his book, in love with Johnny Carson, he sets the record straight of

Carson's life, career, legacy, and character.

Let's take a listen.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, here's Johnny.

Johnny Carson, for 30 years, was the most famous man in America,

maybe after the president, certainly the most recognizable.

He dominated popular American culture.

For decades, people would tune in to get Carson's take on what was going on in the day, I do not know any better time capsule

of 30 years from 1962 to 1992 on what the fashion was, the politics, what was socially

acceptable, who was famous in everything from athletics to fashion to sports.

This is a man who, if he set a book on air, it could be a bestseller the next day.

He mattered to people.

Johnny Carson grew up in Nebraska, and he was this Midwestern man,

and even though he was one of the highest paid people in Hollywood, the Nebraska never left him. He was a very polite Midwest gentleman, and it showed. I grew up in the Midwest, kind of a normal, I guess what you'd call normal upbringing, you know, the part of the country. My folks were supporting what I wanted to do. Did you always know what you wanted to do? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh, sure. How old? Well, I must have been about 12, 13 years old. I knew I wanted to entertain. You liked the attention? Oh, sure. But why? Why you? I mean, why at age 12 or 13? Because I was in a play or something, and I got up and I did something and people laughed.

And all of a sudden you say, hey, that sounds pretty good.

So it makes you the center of attention.

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