Jay Leno reveals the best advice Johnny Carson gave him (exclusively)

It has now been 20 years since Johnny Carson died and 33 years ago he was worth The Tonight Show for the last time. Of course, it is only appropriate that his friend, Howard Smith, has written a new book about their lives together.

My friend Johnny: The last 20 years of a beautiful life with Johnny Carson and friends Coming out on June 10 and will offer his perspective on man Smith “felt and loved for the last 20 years of Carson’s life,” promises synopsis.

With a foreword of Jay Lenoand stories about Carson’s meetings with icons that Princess DianaThe David FosterThe Bruce SpringsteenThe Barbara WaltersThe Wayne GretzkyThe Mark WahlbergThe Oprah WinfreyThe CaretakerArnold Palmer, Clint EastwoodAnd seven US presidents, the book “celebrates true friendship, serendipity (and) the magic to feel someone beyond their fame.”

Below, read what Leno says about Carson in an exclusive excerpt shared with people.

First, let me say that I knew Johnny Carson professionally, not socially. By that I mean that I was so reverence over the man. I thought it was wise to keep my distance of fear of being perceived as a hanger or someone who tried to curry favor with the boss. My wife and I once had dinner with Johnny at home with Bob NewhartAnd he was extremely gracious. Johnny even invited me to one of his legendary card games, but as dyslexic I was afraid to go for fear that I would turn up the game.

Both Harvey Korman and Steve Martin Had taken Johnny down to the improvement to see me perform, and he gave me the best advice I have ever received. He didn’t approve me for the show, and he told me why. “Your performance is more fun than your jokes,” he told me.

You have the ability to laugh with your attitude and behavior, but your jokes are not strong enough. Next time you go on stage, read your jokes as flat and boring as possible. If it still gets a laugh, you have a fun joke. Next time you tell it, give it all the attitude and performance you can, and you have a joke that works on two levels. From that point, I made sure that every joke I had followed those criteria.

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When I was going to see Johnny, I called him Mr. Carson. “Call me Johnny,” he would say, and I always felt awkward. When you grew up in New England, you never called people older than you by their first name. It wasn’t until I came to California that friends would say, “These are my parents, Bob and Agnes.” “How are you, Mr. and Mrs. Manachelli?” I would answer.

Calling Johnny with his first name just seemed wrong to me, so I was never relaxed around him. What loved me to Johnny Carson was his ability to relate to the ordinary man. I remember once he had Dean Martin On the show, and Dean wore a pair of very expensive Ferragamo shoes.

“How much do these shoes cost?” Johnny asked.

“About $ 300,” Dean replied.

Remember that this was in the early 70s when a really good pair of shoes was perhaps $ 80. Johnny seemed really stunned by this extravagance, much as I was. Coming from a modest background was a blessing for him because it meant he could relate to the average man.

He drove a Corvette, not a Ferrari.

When I got The Tonight ShowI began to understand Johnny even more. I would never compare myself to Johnny, but I think this is what we had in common: the ability not to really fit anywhere.

We were too rich and successful to spend time with ordinary people, but we felt uncomfortable and embarrassed around self-centered Hollywood types. Johnny became my role model – except alcohol. Johnny enjoyed a drink every now and then.

I tried to follow his example. Like Johnny, I never advertised when you are on TV every night no one wants to see you in the advertising as well. Like Johnny, I was much affected by my mom. When I got the show said that The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

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My mother, who was from Scotland, thought it turned out.

“In the lead role Jay Leno. Oh, Mr. Big Shot has to put his name on the show! With Jay Leno.”

I would try to explain to her, “Ma, that’s just like they do – with Jay Leno.”

Finally, for the second week, I changed it to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

“Much better,” my mom said.

Over the years, people have written nasty things about Johnny, but I encountered dozens of people who were the recipients of his kindness, and these things were always made quiet and under the radar. Back in the early eighties NBC made a special named Johnny goes home. In that special, NBC tracked in 1939 Chrysler that Johnny’s dad had bought new and had given him as a gift. Johnny had learned to drive in that car. There were movie warehouses of him who polished it when he was 12 years old and took it to his Prom in high school.

When Johnny died in 2005, I discovered that he had left the car to me. I had no indication that he would do it, but I was deeply affected by his gesture. Again, like Johnny’s Way, he made it quiet and without fanfare.

Do I wish I could have come to know him better? Of course, but he was a private person, and I always tried to respect it. I still enjoy watching old Tonight shows And marvel at how well they hold up. I tried to follow his model to never take pages and always put the joke in front of some kind of political opinion I might have had. I think it was the key to both our successes.

I miss him a lot, and this book is proof of Johnny Carson both Howard and I knew.

My friend Johnny: The last 20 years of a beautiful life with Johnny Carson and friends Published by Howard Smith Publishing LLC Copyright © 2025, Howard Smith. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except what is allowed under the US Copyright Act.

My friend Johnny: The last 20 years of a beautiful life with Johnny Carson and friends Coming out on June 10 and is available for pre -order now, wherever books are sold.