Editing Johnny Carson (section)

== Personal life ==
Despite his on-camera demeanor, Carson was introverted and shy off-camera. He was known{{by whom|date=February 2025}} for avoiding most large parties and was called "the most private public man who ever lived."{{r|tynan19780220}}<ref>[[Reader's Digest]] September 2005, p. 178; Book Bonus: Ed McMahon ''Here's Johnny'', Berkley Trade, 2006 {{ISBN|978-0-425-21229-5}}</ref> [[Dick Cavett]] recalled, "I felt sorry for Johnny in that he was so socially uncomfortable. I've hardly ever met anybody who had as hard a time as he did."{{r|pioneersoftv}} In addition, [[George Axelrod]] once said of Carson, "Socially, he doesn't exist. The reason is that there are no television cameras in living rooms. If human beings had little red lights in the middle of their foreheads, Carson would be the greatest conversationalist on Earth."{{r|tynan19780220}}

He normally refused to discuss politics, social controversies, his childhood, and his private life with interviewers, and offered a list of written answers to journalists who wanted to ask him questions. Among them were "Yes, I did," "No, I didn't," and "No, [[kumquat]]s."<ref name=tynan19780220>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1978/02/20/1978_02_20_047_TNY_CARDS_000326477?printable=true |title=Fifteen Years of the Salto Mortale |author=Tynan, Kenneth | magazine=The New Yorker |date=February 20, 1978|access-date=March 16, 2011}}</ref>

=== Politics ===
[[File:President George H. W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to comedian Johnny Carson.jpg|thumb|right|Carson being awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by [[President of the United States|President]] [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Barbara Bush]] in 1992]]
Carson opposed the [[Vietnam War]]<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.anb.org/articles/18/18-03822-print.html|title=American National Biography Online|work=anb.org}}</ref> and [[capital punishment in the United States|capital punishment]], favored racial equality, and was against criminalizing extramarital sex and pornography. He avoided explicitly mentioning his views on ''The Tonight Show,'' saying he "hates to be pinned down" as that would "hurt me as an entertainer, which is what I am."{{r|tynan19780220}} As he explained in 1970, "In my living room I would argue for liberalization of abortion laws, divorce laws, and there are times when I would like to express a view on the air. I would love to have taken on [[Billy Graham]]. But I'm on TV five nights a week; I have nothing to gain by it and everything to lose."<ref name=Life>{{cite magazine|last=Barthel|first=Joan|title=Here's Johnny! Out There|magazine=Life|date=January 23, 1970|page=52|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gVAEAAAAMBAJ&q=In%20my%20living%20room%20I%20would%20argue%20for%20liberalization%20of%20abortion%20laws%2C%20divorce%20laws%2C%20and%20there&pg=PA52|access-date=March 28, 2012}}</ref> He also seldom invited political figures onto the ''Tonight Show'' because he "didn't want it to become a political forum" and did not want the show used, by himself or others, to influence the opinions of the viewers.<ref name=bio />

In his book, Carson's former lawyer Henry Bushkin stated, he "was by instinct and upbringing definitely [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], but of an [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] sort that we don't see much of anymore ... Overall, you'd have to say he was anti-big: anti-big government, anti-big money, anti-big bullies, anti-big blowhards." Carson served as MC for [[Ronald Reagan]]'s inaugural gala in 1981 at the request of [[Frank Sinatra]].<ref>Henry Bushkin, ''Johnny Carson'', 153–175.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-flashback-1981-stars-came-ronald-reagans-inauguration-961270|title=Hollywood Flashback: In 1981, the Stars Came Out for Ronald Reagan's Inauguration|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=January 6, 2017 }}</ref>

=== Legal issue ===
In October 1982, Carson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of driving with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, while the charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license were withdrawn by the prosecution. This case stemmed from an arrest in February 1982. After being pulled over by police shortly after leaving an Italian restaurant with his wife, Carson was fined $603 and placed on three years of probation. Municipal Court Judge David Kidney ordered Carson to attend a driver's education alcohol program and restricted his license for 90 days to trips to and from work and those classes. Though his lawyer [[Robert Shapiro (lawyer)|Robert Shapiro]] advised Carson to take his case to trial believing they had a winning case, Carson was looking to move on from the scandal and wanted to avoid the media attention that a trial would bring. Carson commented on the matter in a monologue of the ''Tonight Show'' saying, "I regret the incident, And I'll tell you one thing, You will never see me do that again."<ref>{{cite web |title=Johnny Carson gets fine, probation for drunken driving |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/10/13/Johnny-Carson-gets-fine-probation-for-drunken-driving/8261224303090/ |website=www.upi.com |publisher=United Press International |access-date=December 6, 2022 |date=October 13, 1982}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
As an adult, Carson was not a regular churchgoer, although during his childhood he was raised as a Methodist and during high school attended [[Christian Endeavor]] meetings at the local church.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vqronline.org/essay/great-plains-la-intersecting-paths-lawrence-welk-and-johnny-carson|title=From the Great Plains to L.A.: the Intersecting Paths of Lawrence Welk and Johnny Carson}}</ref>

=== Marriages ===
In October 1949, Carson married Jody Wolcott in [[North Platte, Nebraska]].{{r|tynan19780220}} The marriage was volatile, with infidelities committed by both parties, and ended in divorce in 1963.<ref>[http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20117582,00.html Pleading Poverty and Demanding Money, Johnny Carson's First Wife Tells the Sad Secrets of Her Troubled Marriage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101100820/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20117582,00.html |date=January 1, 2010 }} By Michelle Green, Sue Carswell, Eleanor Hoover May 7, 1990, Vol. 33 No. 18 ''People''</ref>

Carson married Joanne Copeland the same year, on August 17. After a second protracted divorce in 1972, Copeland received a settlement of $6,000 per month in [[alimony]] until she remarried or until Carson's death (she received it until his death in 2005). She also received "a pretty nice little art collection."{{r|tynan19780220}}<ref>Bushkin, p. 74.</ref> She later had a second marriage that also ended in divorce, and died in California, aged 83, in 2015. She had no children.<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-joanne-carson-20150509-story.html Death of Joanne Carson], latimes.com; accessed May 10, 2015.</ref>

At the Carson ''Tonight Show''{{'s}} 10th-anniversary party on September 30, 1972, Carson announced that former model Joanna Holland and he had been secretly married that afternoon,{{r|tynan19780220}} shocking his friends and associates. On March 8, 1983, Holland filed for divorce. The divorce case finally ended in 1985 with an 80-page settlement, with Holland receiving $20 million in cash and property ({{Inflation|US|20000000|1985|fmt=eq}}).

On June 20, 1987, Carson married Alexis Maas. The marriage lasted until his death in 2005.

Carson reportedly joked, "My giving advice on marriage is like the captain of the ''[[Titanic]]'' giving lessons on navigation."<ref>{{cite web|author1=Mary Vespa|title=With Her Marriage in Limbo, Joanna Carson Finds Solace in Friends, Charity and a Job|url=http://people.com/archive/with-her-marriage-in-limbo-joanna-carson-finds-solace-in-friends-charity-and-a-job-vol-19-no-8/|website=People|access-date=August 4, 2017|date=February 28, 1983}}</ref>

=== Children ===
[[File:Johnny Carson and sons 1955.JPG|thumb|upright|Carson reading a story to his three sons in 1955]]
Carson had three sons with his first wife: Christopher (born 1950), Kim Arthur "Ricky" (1951&ndash;1991) and Barry William "Cory" (born 1953). 

His middle son, Ricky, died in a car accident in 1991 while shooting nature photographs. Upon Carson's return to air a few weeks later, he delivered a lengthy tribute to his son at the end of the show&mdash;a moment interrupted by his producer, [[Fred de Cordova]], who gave Carson the signal to "wrap it up" because the show was running overtime. The incident led to de Cordova being banned from the studio floor for the remainder of the show’s tenure. 

During his final ''Tonight Show'' broadcasts in May 1992, Carson brought his two surviving sons onto the stage, while the final episode included one of his late son’s nature photographs for the final credit roll.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmRhfnUGzO4 |title=The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, NBC, May 22, 1992 |date=2021-10-27 |last=News from the Past |access-date=2025-03-03 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Johnny Carson's 3 Children: All About the Late TV Host's Sons — and the Rare Shout-out He Gave Them During His Final 'Tonight Show' Broadcast |url=https://people.com/all-about-johnny-carson-children-8778714 |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=People.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Philanthropy ===
In 1981, Carson created the John W. Carson Foundation, dedicated to supporting children, education, and health services.  In August 2010, his charitable foundation  reported receiving $156 million ({{Inflation|US|156000000|2005|fmt=eq}}) from a personal trust established by the entertainer years before his 2005 death, thus becoming by far the largest Hollywood charity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/johnny-carsons-156-million-gift-26447 |title=Johnny Carson's $156 Million Gift |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=August 9, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Time Waster |url= http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/carnac-munificent |title=Carnac The Munificent |website=The Smoking Gun |date= August 8, 2010 |access-date=April 26, 2011}}</ref> {{As of|2022}}, the foundation continues to support charitable causes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Johnny Carson Foundation – Nonprofit Explorer |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/205885752 |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=ProPublica |date=May 9, 2013 |language=en}}</ref>

In November 2004, Carson announced a $5.3 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the [[Hixson–Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts]] Department of Theater Arts, which created the Johnny Carson School of Theater and Film. Another $5 million donation was announced by the estate of Carson to the University of Nebraska following his death,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2005/07/26/UNL |title=UNL receives $5 million from Johnny Carson estate |publisher=[[University of Nebraska–Lincoln]] |date=July 26, 2005 |access-date=November 1, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/johnny-carson-estate-gives-5-million-to-nebraska-hospital |title=Johnny Carson Estate Gives $5 Million to Nebraska Hospital |publisher=[[Philanthropy News Digest]] |date= July 1, 2005 |access-date=November 1, 2017}}</ref> while a $1 million donation was announced on November 4, 2011, creating the Johnny Carson Opportunity Scholarship Fund.<ref>{{cite news|title=Carson Foundation donates $1M for UNL scholarships|date=November 2011|newspaper=[[Lincoln Journal Star]]|url=http://journalstar.com/news/local/education/article_2c55ad55-be37-5123-8f6a-3cfea3655945.html}}</ref> The foundation made another $5 million donation to the university on October 22, 2021, to augment the Opportunity Scholarship Fund.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Johnny Carson Foundation gives $5M to support more Huskers |url=https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/johnny-carson-foundation-gives-5m-to-support-more-huskers/ |access-date=September 1, 2022 |website=news.unl.edu |date=October 22, 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

Carson also donated to causes in his adopted hometown of Norfolk, including the Carson Cancer Center at Faith Regional Health Services, the Elkhorn Valley Museum, and the Johnny Carson Theater at Norfolk Senior High School. Carson also donated to the Northeast Community College Lifelong Learning Center in honor of his favorite teacher,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Sarah |date=December 2, 1999 |title=Carson contributes to hometown |url=https://www.dailynebraskan.com/carson-contributes-to-hometown/article_bc9ac51a-a426-5874-833b-12f0811e85c2.html |access-date=September 1, 2022 |website=The Daily Nebraskan |language=en}}</ref> Miss Fay Gordon. Miss Gordon had appeared on his show a number of times. His last known visit to Norfolk was to throw the 100th-birthday party for Miss Gordon, which Carson had promised to do several years earlier.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 18, 1996 |title=True to His Word: Carson Visits Teacher on 100th |url=https://www.deseret.com/1996/9/18/19266411/true-to-his-word-carson-visits-teacher-on-100th |access-date=September 1, 2022 |website=Deseret News |language=en}}</ref>

=== Other interests ===
Carson, an amateur [[astronomer]], was a close friend of astronomer [[Carl Sagan]], who often appeared on ''The Tonight Show''. The unique way Sagan had of saying certain words, like "billions" of stars, would lead Carson to ribbing his friend, saying "BILL-ions and BILL-ions". Carson was the first person to contact Sagan's wife [[Ann Druyan]] with condolences when the scientist died in 1996. He owned several [[telescope]]s, including a top-of-the-line unit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.company7.com/questar|title=Company Seven – Questar Products Index & Overview Page|date=November 2, 2012|work=company7.com}}</ref> In 1981, the [[minor planet]] 1981 EM<sub>4</sub> was named in his honor, [[Meanings of minor planet names: 3001–4000#252|3252 Johnny]].<ref>Wikipedia, [[List of minor planets: 3001–4000#252|List of minor planets.]]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=3252|title=Minor Planet Center: (3252) Johnny = 1981 EM4}}</ref> That year, a star was also [[International Star Registry|nicknamed after Carson]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Golden |first=Frederic |date=January 11, 1982 |title=Science: Stellar Idea or Cosmic Scam? |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,925195-1,00.html |access-date=September 1, 2022 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>

Carson was an amateur [[drummer]] and was shown on a 1979 segment of ''[[60 Minutes]]'' practicing at home on a [[drum set]] given to him by his close friend [[Buddy Rich]], who was the jazz musician with the most appearances on ''The Tonight Show''. [[Gore Vidal]], another frequent ''Tonight Show'' guest and friend, wrote about Carson's personality in his 2006 memoir.<ref>Gore Vidal, ''Point to Point Navigation: A Memoir'', New York: Doubleday, 2006.</ref>

Carson was an avid tennis player. When he sold a Malibu house to [[John McEnroe]] and [[Tatum O'Neal]], the escrow terms required McEnroe to give Johnny six tennis lessons. Carson's primary tennis teacher was Bob Trapenberg, who taught him for some time, and traveled with him to Wimbledon.

Carson was also a private pilot; his flight logbook and jacket were donated after his death to the [[Experimental Aircraft Association]] in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.<ref>EAA Museum</ref>