Scandals From The Johnny Carson Show

Johnny’s Not Welcome In This Neighborhood

No one messes with everyone’s favorite neighbor. During his show, Carson did a send-up of the “Mr. Rogers” character. He played an evil Mr. Rogers who wanted children to steal money from their parents so his show could continue—and as you can imagine, this wouldn’t go over well.

The real Mr. Rogers, Fred Rogers, was not impressed with the skit. If you know anything about Mr. Rogers, then you know his show is all about love and kindness and taking care of your neighbors. Basically, being a good citizen in your neighborhood. Carson later apologized to Rogers for making fun of him and for the distaste of his skit.

The “Worst” Guest

As a late night talk show host, Carson had many guests. He also had his favorites and least favorites. Can you guess which guest he thought was the worst to have on his show? From Carson’s point of view, Bob Hope was not a good guest.

Bob Hope, another American television icon, came armed with scripted jokes. Carson criticized the fact that Hope rarely would engage in any genuine conversation. Carson’s former co-head writer, Andrew Nicholls said, “There was nothing spontaneous about Hope. He was a guy who relied on his writers for every topic. Johnny was very quick on his feet. Very well read. He was a guy who learned Swahili, learned Russian, learned astronomy. He appreciated people who he felt engaged with the real world. There was nothing to talk to Bob about.”