Richard carson car accident
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Book Excerpt: An Unforgettable Bond with Johnny Carson’s Son, Rick
As a teenager, I was enamored of Johnny Carson’s funny, witty, hip-for-the-times late night show. When my dad was able to get me tickets to a taping, my world changed. The exhilaration of being in Studio 6B for the taping at 5:30 p.m. is something I can feel all over again just thinking about it.
Ten years later, I’d be transported back to age 14 when I worked in that same studio on the local WNBC news and then across the hall in Studio 6A on The Tomorrow Show. And 12 years after that first Tonight Show taping, I was thrilled to find myself playing tennis, swimming and playing drums with Johnny at his home in Bel-Air (The Tonight Show had moved to L.A. in 1972).
I was there because his middle son, Rick, had become one of my closest friends. Rick, the spitting image of his dad except with the longish hair of the mid-70s, was our scen manager and then associate director on Tomorrow.
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The Tragic 1991 Death Of Johnny Carson's Son, Richard
Johnny Carson was the king of late-night TV for decades as the host of "The Tonight Show." He began his reign in 1962, taking over for Jack Paar, according to The New York Times. Quick-witted and funny, Carson became one of America's most beloved entertainers. He was also known as a deeply private man away from the cameras who preferred to keep his own company and stay out of the spotlight. Carson did, however, sometimes joke about his many marriages.
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Carson retired from the show in 1992, letting comedian Jay Leno fill his shoes. Carson's retirement came not long after he suffered a terrible personal tragedy. His son, Richard "Rick" Carson, had died the previous year. Rick Carson was one of three sons born to Johnny and his first wife Joan "Jody" Wolcott. The couple had met while they were students at the University of Nebraska. He had gone to college after serving in the U.S. Navy toward the end of World War II,
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Johnny Carson’s Son Killed in Auto Plunge
Entertainer Johnny Carson’s son was killed when his car plunged more than 100 feet down an embankment near the beach community of Cayucos, authorities said Monday.
Richard Wolcott Carson, 39, of North Hollywood, was thrown from his four-wheel-drive vehicle and apparently died instantly in Friday’s accident, said Officer Russ Johnson of the California Highway Patrol. Johnson said Carson was driving on Cayucos Drive, a narrow service road adjacent to California 1, when he apparently became distracted and plummeted down a 124-foot hill. Cayucos is about 180 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Private funeral services were held Sunday in Los Angeles, an NBC spokesman said. Johnny Carson issued no statement Monday. The late-night talk show host had been preparing to leave for the Wimbledon tennis championships in England when he was notified of his son’s death. Richard Carson was one of three grown sons from the entertainer’s first marriage to Joa