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The Curse of Johnny Carson · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For more resources, including your free Daily Rider Starter Kit, visit DailyRiderLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Most young people today only have a vague idea of who Johnny Carson is, if they've even heard of him at all.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're 40 and older, you probably remember him as the host of the Tonight Show.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: From 1962 to 1992, Johnny Carson ruled the airwaves as the king of late night.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you were a stand-up comedian in the late 70s through the early 90s, and you were invited over to the couch to talk to Johnny after you did your five-minute set, you were now Hollywood royalty.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Every comedian on the planet wanted to be like Johnny Carson.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: In 1992, when Carson retired, everybody thought that David Letterman would be a shoe-in as the new host.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: And why not?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Letterman's own late night show had been following Johnny Carson's for the last 10 years, and it was no secret that he idolized Johnny Carson.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And in turn, it was no secret that Johnny personally liked David Letterman more than he liked Jay Leno, who had guest hosted the Tonight Show many times.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: The TV world was scandalized when the Tonight Show hosting spot went to Jay Leno instead of Letterman.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And as a result, Letterman moved to CBS to start his own show opposite Jay Lino.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: The next year in 1993, a young upstart comedian who was a writer for The Simpsons got his own late night TV show at NBC.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: For years he followed Jay Leno in the lineup, even though his style was much more like David Letterman, who he adored.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And this, of course, was Conan O'Brien.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: So in the irony of all ironies, Conan had a brief stint hosting the Tonight Show for nearly eight months in 2009 and 2010 until his low ratings prompted NBC to bring back Jay Leno as the host.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you might ask, what's the point of this little stroll down late night memory lane?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, here's the point.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: All of these hosts have been victims of what you might call Carson's curse.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: In one way or another, they all wanted to be like Johnny Carson, who will forever be immortalized as the greatest late night host ever.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Even today, people who remember Johnny Carson will watch Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and other late-night hosts, and they remark that they just can't measure up to Johnny Carson, even though it's been over 30 years since Carson was the host of the Tonight Show.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: So let's be clear, Johnny Carson never actually put a curse on anybody.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: But rather he was so good that everybody wanted to be like him, but nobody could actually measure up.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: So instead, over time they developed their own styles with their own audience.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Conan O'Brien alluded to this when he said, It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: So here's my question for you.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a writer that you look up to?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe somebody you admire so much that it's hard not to want to be like them?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you emulate their style or you're trying to build your platform just like theirs.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to warn you to just be careful.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay to learn from other writers and their style and techniques, but honestly, the world doesn't need another J.K.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Rowling, Stephen King, or James Patterson.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: What the world needs is for you to give your most valuable gift you can possibly offer.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that, of course, is the gift of yourself.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Here's today's challenge.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Grab a sheet of paper and write down three things that are unique about you.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: How can you integrate those qualities into your writing this week?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.