Posted on 01/25/2005 7:14:50 PM PST by PopGonzalez
If Johnny Carson could have managed it, no doubt his death would have been a private affair. Who would have been invited to his memorial service? We don't know. That is the measure of his integrity as a private man. We don't even know how many of his ex-wives would have been invited, or would have come.
I was his guest a half-dozen times, and was always handled with great courtesy. He once confided to a critic that I was the only guest he had ever been frightened of. I don't know what the circumstances of that odd situation were, and the critic didn't pause to ask, and Johnny didn't elaborate. As far as I know.
As I write these words a memory flashes up.
Scene: The Tonight Show. Guests: David Susskind and me (WFB).
David Susskind is widely forgotten, but he was a singular presence on television for about 20 years. He staked out the ultimate talk show (he called it Open End) by the simple expedient of making it endless. He would start out at 9 P.M., on Channel 13 in New York (this was before it had become a part of the educational network), with one or more guests, and just talk on & on into the night, sometimes not closing down the program until after midnight.
I was sometimes his guest, and he developed over several years an uncontainable sense of indignation . . . that I, and my views as expressed in National Review, should exist. At all. The hostility had come to something of a boil when Johnny Carson convened us for a joint appearance on The Tonight Show.
Susskind began with a minute-long pre-written, memorized excoriation, and Johnny asked me to reply. I remember that Susskind had misused two words, so I thought to concentrate my reply on his solecisms, rather than on his political views. Carson was hugely amused and beckoned Susskind back into the fray, whereupon Susskind denounced my "noxious" views. I said to Carson that Susskind didn't know the proper meaning of that word, Susskind shot back indignantly, "What is the proper meaning?" and I said, "I won't tell you." Johnny Carson was amused by everything, but I think he was especially amused that night, and on succeeding occasions when I was his guest, he would come into the Green Room before the program began to chat for a moment or two.
Never about politics, at least not directly. But since I was always there to try to bring attention to a book I had written, he would touch on the subject of the book, being careful not to suggest to me that he had actually read it. It was unprofessional for any guest to suppose that Johnny had actually plowed through the books written by his guests.
But there was an exception, and it taught me enduringly. The book was about a sailing trip I had taken across the Pacific Ocean. At the end of our 8-10 minute session he turned to the audience and said, "Now you people know there isn't any way I can read every word of every book I mention. But I want to show you how thoroughly I read this book." He opened his copy to the cameras and pointed out his own annotations on specimen pages. He told his ten million viewers: Go and buy this wonderful book.
I was not about to let the viewers get ahead of me and rushed from the studio to a pay telephone, dialing my publisher: He must order a mass printing, in anticipation of the avalanche of demand for the book the following day.
But Johnny's audience, unlike Oprah's, wasn't tuning in to decide what books to buy. They wanted entertainment, and they got it, not from the contents of books being promoted on The Tonight Show, but from conversation by Johnny, and incidentally his guests.
The last time around he said to me, "I'd like to schedule an entire hour with you." I dined that night with a friend, who brought along Tonight's producer. I mentioned the suggestion. He replied, "The last thing Johnny Carson needs is you on his show for an entire hour."
He was almost certainly right, but it was a nice thought, and I thought Johnny Carson a nice man, and if it doesn't interrupt his privacy, I'll say it in public.
I've been mildly amused by Buckley over the years. I'd have been more impressed if I hadn't generally come away with the thought that beneath it all, he was his biggest fan.
I do like these comments.
So9
(However I did love his novel, "Spytime: The Undoing of James Jesus Angleton" though.)
This was sweet, did anyone post Larry Miller's from Weekly Standard? I'll check and see.
It's pretty clear everybody loved Johnny, and why not, he didn't go poking his finger in the eye of the public every two minutes.
Self confidence that has some nexus with reality is one factor in success. And Buckley in his prime, certainly had that nexus. In a word, he was effective, and influenced minds.
Thanks Torie. It is fitting that someone should come through and take a different course on Buckley. I think it might be instructive for some of us who didn't know him all that well, for you to elaborate.
I searched and didn't find, here's the link to my post of Mr. Miller's piece. Very show-biz and amusing.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1328584/posts
Yes William F. Buckley is and always has been his own biggest fan.
It is worth noting this story is not about Johnny Carson. It is about the brilliance of William F. Buckley and how much Johnny Carson was impressed by the Buckley brilliance. He says that Johnny told others how much he feared the great wit of the Buckley brain. The story goes on to make the point that Johnny's handlers knew that Buckley's brilliance would not appeal to the low lifes that watched the Tonight Show.
Buckley has always held the opinion that only the superior people could appreciate his great brain. Buckley was pleased that Johnnys producer understood only superior people could appreciate the great Buckley.
Buckley obviously is too stupid to recognize the put down Johnnys staffer laid on him. He thought it was a complement.
Buckley wears a huge sign visible to all but himself that that says.. "It is all about me and my greatness!!!"
1. Expunged anti-Semitism as anything remotely respectible in conservative circles. Conservative rags pre the National Review were suffused with Anti-Semitism.
2. Made respectible much more than it had been religious faith in intellectual circles (odd comment from this near atheist, but then I am a rather odd duck near atheist).
3. Gave traction to the idea that triumph rather than co-existence over Communism was job one, for both national security and moral reasons, and gave intellectual space to Reagan later as a result to pursue precisely that end.
4. Marginalized the influence of isolationism, populism and protectionism in the conservative movement.
5. Was a cool guy, who inspired many to join the movement who could not otherwise relate to green eye shade types out of Omaha.
6. Taught many conservative how to argue their points in a civil manner without being obnoxious, and to get liberals to respect them even while disagreeing.
I don't pretend to be a Buckley expert, but he influenced me, and I was there to witness much of the creation, and he encouraged me to love even more than I naturally did, the use of the English language.
I'm tired and didn't look at the article with an analytical mind. You certainly did, and I have to say, you nailed it.
People who are intelligent, don't need to remind you. They lay out a few simple words and the reader extrapolates the rest.
Thanks for the post. Good call.
Yes Buckley's article is about Buckley, and Buckley in many ways epitomizes the intellectual snob. But certainly in his time Buckley was worth listening to, and it was worth thinking about what he said. There's a lot of animosity toward Buckley around here. I don't quite understand it on a conservative forum.
During the part of my life when Buckley would have been at the pinicle of his influence, I was not as plugged into politics as I am today. That's why I'm more limited to giving my impression of his delivery, rather than the content of his offerings, or the accomplishments he achieved.
I should spend some time on Buckley.
Thanks for you comments.
bump
Aside from the fact that you presume to know what is in Buckley's brain, he may be right. You obviously don't understand him. Perhaps that is further evidence.
BTTT
I do understand Johnny Carson. Carson had Buckley on his show for the same reason Giligans Island had the rich guy as a character. Pompous fools like Buckley and the Giligans island character are inherently funny. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carsonw was about making people laugh. Buckley obviously never knew he was the butt of the joke.
Even Buckley observed that the Carson show never sold any of his books. Buckley never has figured it out why .. and neither have you....
Are we even now. :-)
On the other hand, Buckley (via a tape I saw) did manage to make clear the principals of celestial navigation for me. Beside his talents as a political commentator and author, Bill is a pretty damned proficient sailor and navigator.
Bottom line: a ton of people haven't figured out Bill Buckley either!
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