New johnny carson book

Henry bushkin
Henry bushkin age
Henry bushkin today

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Johnny Carson

294 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : 21 cm

A revealing and incisive account of the King of Late Night at the height of his fame and power, by his lawyer, wingman, fixer, and closest confidant. From 1962 until 1992, Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show and permeated the American consciousness. In the '70s and '80s he was the country's highest-paid entertainer and its most enigmatic. He was notoriously inscrutable, as mercurial (and sometimes cruel) off-camera as he was charming and hilarious onstage. During the apex of his reign, Carson's longtime lawyer and best friend was Henry Bushkin, who now shows us Johnny Carson with a breathtaking clarity and depth that nobody else could. From the moment in 1970 when Carson hired Bushkin (who was just twenty-seven) until the moment eighteen years later when they parted ways, the author witnessed and often took part in a string of escapades that still retain their power to surprise and fascinate us. One of Bushkin's first assignments was helping Carson break into a posh Manhattan apartment to gather evidence of his w

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The Pleasures of the Super Gossipy Johnny Carson Biography

On my flight to Armenia I read Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin, Carson’s longtime lawyer, business manager and friend. I recommend the book for three reasons: First, it’s the kind of book you can read in five hours like it’s an airport whodunit.

Second, it’s a portrait of an era so bygone it might as well be Jane Austen:

Sitting across the room was Tom Snyder, the host of The Tomorrow Show, the NBC program that followed Johnny’s. Snyder, who was dining along, sent our table a round of drinks. […] Johnny had long harbored a serious dislike for Snyder, based on nothing but his performances on TV. He thought Snyder had no talent and was an officious bore, and after Johnny had his second glass of wine, we could see his anger bubbling just below the surface. […]
Johnny kept eyeing [Snyder] and finally said, ‘Why the fuck is he staring at me? I’m going to go over there and kick the shit out of that guy.’ […]
Johnny lunged across the table and grabbed for Snyder’s throat. He got nowhere close. Quinn got in front o
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Review of "Johnny Carson" a memoir by Henry Bushkin

Johnny Carson is best known as a comedian and host of the 'The Tonight Show', which he emceed from 1962 to 1992.

When I plucked this (audio) book off the library shelf I thought it was a biography of the entertainer. It's not. Rather it's a memoir written by Carson's lawyer Henry Bushkin, who worked for Johnny from 1970 to 1988.

Bushkin's employment began when he was in his late twenties and not very experienced with entertainment law. The young attorney caught on quickly though and discovered that some of Johnny's advisors and employers were enriching themselves at Carson's expense. (According to himself) Bushkin quickly put all this to rights and soon became Johnny's loyal companion - functioning as 'lawyer, advisor, assistant, companion, fixer, tennis buddy, drinking partner' and so on.

Henry Bushkin (left) with Johnny Carson

On television Johnny came across as genial, intelligent, and funny...and his nightly monologue was 'must-see TV' for millions of people. Off the air though, Carson was uncomfortable wit