There's Johnny.

I've just recently finished reading the new biography of Johnny Carson, written by his former attorney, Henry "Bombastic" Bushkin.
As I began reading it, I also read Mark Evanier's comments on it on his blog.
He implied that it was rather self-serving, and didn't put Johnny in a particularly attractive light.
I tend to agree, but I think it might have been a little more complicated than that.
Mark mentioned that, although Bushkin had promised never to make public any of his dealings with Carson as long as Johnny was alive, apparently this promise did not extend to after Johnny's death, and that this seemed like Dirty Pool.
Perhaps it is.
That being said, I should point out that I found it to be a rather compelling read.
And I wasn't at all surprised at the portrait of Johnny painted by Bushkin.
It seemed to be an extension of the public perception that many of us have had of Johnny.
It was not necessarily unsympathetic towards him.
And Bushkin copped to some personal blame in the deterioration of their relationship.
He was somewhat self-effacing.
Where I found major fault with the book was in something Mark Evanier did not bring up.
Bushkin had no trouble whatsoever trashing almost all the women in Carson's life, and at least one in his own.
He did this with virtually effortless abandon.
And these women are still alive, all with very little recourse at their disposal.
He describes adulterous affairs that Johnny had with Ann-Margret, whose husband, Roger Smith, is still alive.
Ya think he'd like to read about this?
He describes his own onetime ongoing affair with Joyce DeWitt while he was still married.
D'ya think she likes the idea of being outed as being an accessory to adultery?
I checked the "Acknowledgements" section at the end of the book.
Joyce DeWitt was not acknowledged.
Nor were any of Carson's wives.
Bushkin also goes into a detailed story about how Johnny's second wife was having an ongoing affair with Frank Gifford while she and Johnny were still married.
Hasn't Frank Gifford had enough public grief on this score?
Did he really have to be outed by Bushkin?
Couldn't it have been left at "famous former football player"?
Yes.
I'm outing them now.
But Bushkin's book is on the New York Times Best Seller List.
I am but a mere drop of rain in the Atlantic Ocean in comparison.
What was it that Shakespeare said about lawyers?
I don't remember, but I know it wasn't good.
Maybe someone out there will remind me.

More about Johnny next time.


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My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
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The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
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If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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