Who Was Banned From ‘The Tonight Show’? Surprising Names Revealed in Johnny Carson Book
What To Know
- A new book reveals that Johnny Carson maintained a secret banned list of celebrities who were no longer welcome on The Tonight Show.
- Carson was known for his strict standards, often banning guests for disrespecting staff, defying requests, or publicly mocking him or the show.
Late-night host and television icon Johnny Carson was a staple of American living rooms for decades, shaping the sound, style, and sensibility of The Tonight Show and transforming late-night television in the process. Now, in a new book about a storied icon, long-buried stories from behind the scenes of The Tonight Show are coming to light.
Johnny Carson‘s time on NBC‘s The Tonight Show is placed under a spotlight in the new book Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan’s Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend, written by Mark Malkoff with David Ritz. In the book, Carson’s former producer, Peter Lassally, who worked with him for more than two decades, spoke of the existence of Carson’s notorious banned list, a legendary roster of names who were no longer welcome on The Tonight Show.
In the tome, Lassally stated that, to his knowledge, there was never a physical list, though the book states that “Burt Reynolds and Rich Little both claimed to have seen a ‘hard copy’ with over 30 names on it.” According to the book, here is a small list of the names that were no longer welcome on the show.
Steve Allen
The original host of The Tonight Show was once a welcome guest, but in 1982, Allen was banned after allegedly mocking an injury suffered by Carson. Allen was also said to be rude to Carson’s crew, and once Carson learned of his treatment of the staff, he was never invited back.
Ellen DeGeneres
The first-ever female comedian to be called over to the couch by Carson, but in the book, the show’s publicist Charlie Barrett states that DeGeneres defied a request from Carson’s people to not use specific material in her act during her third appearance. “Barrett was there in the green room after the show when [talent scout] Jim [McCawley] chastised Ellen in front of everyone,” Malkoff wrote. “Pointing at her, he said, ‘I told you not to do that material.’
According to the book, Barrett told DeGeneres, “You won’t be back again too soon.”
Dana Carvey
The Saturday Night Live alum was banned from appearing as a guest in 1990 for an SNL sketch parodying the talk show and depicting Carson as old and out of touch. Apparently, Carson wasn’t a fan: “I don’t talk like that. I don’t use those expressions,” Malkoff revealed in the book.
Jay Leno
The comedian who would eventually take over The Tonight Show and host for 22 years was apparently banned from sitting next to Johnny. Leno debuted on the Show in 1977, but according to Malkoff, after the fifth time, Carson thought Leno was losing his touch. “Johnny just doesn’t like him. He doesn’t like his jokes,’ said Peter,” Malkoff wrote. “‘That’s not going to change… Once he doesn’t like someone, he doesn’t start liking them later.”
Leno began hosting The Tonight Show in 1992.
Jerry Lewis
Lewis had been on the show or guest-hosted The Tonight Show dozens and dozens of times, but a fight with a crew member in 1975 led to Lewis’s ban. Malkoff revealed that Lewis became “verbally abusive” to the show’s cue card man, Don Schiff, when he couldn’t fulfill a last-minute request.
According to the book, Lewis would never appear on the show again (except for one brief exception): “Carson did not abide bad manners,” Malkoff wrote. “Nor did he tolerate anyone who disrespected his staff and crew, stars be damned.”
Carl Sagan
Scientist Carl Sagan made the talk show rounds in the ’70s and ’80s and had appeared on The Tonight Show about two dozen times. But according to the book, after the astrophysicist corrected Carson about Haley’s Comet in a 1986 episode, he became a persona non grata.
William Shatner
The man who was Captain James T. Kirk was banned after his appearance in 1983 when he broke three unwritten rules of The Tonight Show, though accidental. According to the book, Shatner made the mistake of speaking “monotonously for four minutes straight,” he turned his back to Carson to talk to guest Buddy Hackett, and he disregarded the Tonight rule that it was fine to promote a non-NBC TV series, but not the network it aired on. Shatner mentioned that his show, T.J. Hooker, was on ABC.
Orson Welles
Courtesy of Everett Collection
The legendary actor and filmmaker was denied a seat on the couch after he lied to Carson with a faux magic trick, using plants in the audience for an assist. “He was furious that Orson was dishonest,” Malkoff wrote. “A magician using audience plants was inexcusable.”
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