Heeeere's Miserable Johnny!

'Sad' funnyman cheated on wives, struggled with mom

By Mary Papenfuss, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 2, 2008 6:48 AM CST

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Heeeere's Miserable Johnny! — Talk show host Johnny Carson shares a laugh with his audience of friends and family during the final taping of the "Tonight Show" in Burbank, Ca., in this May 22, 1992 file photo. Carson landed the top spot, as you might have guessed. But deeper down the ranking of "The 50 Greatest TV Icons," you... (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac,File)

Funnyman Johnny Carson was a miserable serial wife cheater who was tormented by a mother who never gave him a compliment. That's the word from his one-time lawyer and manager, who's shopping around a tell-all tome about his late boss. "He was a great star, but not a great man," attorney Henry Bushkin told the New York Post.

Carson eventually turned his back on most of his friends and never once visited his son in the hospital, who was committed to Bellevue for more than four months for severe emotional problems, according to Bushkin. "In many respects, he was the saddest guy I ever knew," Bushkin said of his one-time pal. Carson was the host of the Tonight Show for 30 years. He died three years ago.
(More Johnny Carson stories.)

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