Just because Johnny Carson’s company produced Late Night with David Letterman doesn’t mean he actually cared about the show.
In a new interview with Vulture, Letterman reflected on his early days in the late-night business, revealing that Carson was largely unenthused by his NBC series. “To my memory, Johnny couldn’t have cared less, except whatever cut of the budget he got,” Letterman said, noting that his show posed “no threat” to “the king of the heap.”
“To him, we were just, ‘Eh, okay, call me when they’re canceled,’” he joked.
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Letterman’s read on the King of Late Night admittedly stems from speculation. While Carson was “always very nice” to Letterman and even invited him on The Tonight Show to promote his show, the comedian confessed that he “never really asked” what his boss actually “thought of the show.”
“I think he found it amusing,” Letterman recalled. “I always felt like, if you’re not as good as Johnny, really, is there any point in leaving Indiana?”
Of course, there was very much a point to getting out of the Midwest. Letterman’s decades of TV magic earned him a combined total of eight Primetime and Daytime Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and a Kennedy Center Honor, among others.
Despite these accolades, Letterman is still in awe of his comedy inspiration. “If you look at Johnny’s work now, my God, it was just solid,” Letterman gushed. “Pick one night of one week — the first year, the eighth year, the 20th year — he’s just rock solid.” Even the late Regis Philbin, who Letterman said was the closest host to reach Carson’s level, still had nothing on The Tonight Show icon.
“He was fantastic. (But) Johnny? The best.”