- Johnny is best known as the host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which ran for 30 years (1962-92).
- Johnny received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987.
- Johnny was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, and received Kennedy Center Honors in 1993.
- Johnny became host of NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, after Jack Paar quit in October 1962.
- Johnny's opening line, "Heeeere's Johnny" became a hallmark.
- Johnny's trademark was a phantom golf swing at the end of his monologues, aimed stage left where the Tonight Show Band was.
- Paul Anka wrote the theme song ("Johnny's Theme"), a reworking of his "Toot Sweet". Paul Anka gave Johnny co-authorship and they split the royalties for three decades.
- Johnny was a major investor in the ultimately failed DeLorean Motor Company.
- Johnny had a successful clothing line, through which his turtlenecks became a fashion trend.
- Johnny retired from show business on May 22, 1992. Jay Leno became the new host.
- In November 2004, Carson Johnny 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 Theatre Arts, which created the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.
- On January 23, 2005, Johnny died at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, at the age of 79 years old.
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