Jewish World Review Jan. 26, 2005 / 16 Shevat, 5765

Froma Harrop

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Johnny follows discretion into history


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | There are two things to do with personal dirty laundry. One is to hang it up for all to see. The other is to store it out of sight.

In the old days, people would conceal information that might reflect poorly on themselves and others. This was regarded not so much as an act of deception as one of discretion. And discretion was generally considered a good thing. But at some point in our culture, everyone's dark secrets became public property — and hiding them a form of hypocrisy. I miss the old days.

And I miss Johnny Carson. The host of NBC's "Tonight Show" for 30 years, Carson was the most famous face on television. A loner by his own description, Carson went through several wives. But while he might josh on the air about his multiple divorces, he never shared his inner life with the masses. Carson was a genius that way. His audiences felt an intimate connection with the man, while knowing very little about him.

Just over a year ago, one of Carson's late-night successors, David Letterman, held up a photo of his and his girlfriend's new baby. Flashing his boyish 56-year-old smile, Letterman talked misty-eyed about fatherhood and how he had named his boy after his dad. He made a show of doing all the right things — short of marrying the mother of his child. To many in the audience, that was a glaring omission.

It shocked me, though not the wedlock part. We are all used to celebrities having children without the benefit of marriage. What shocked me was Letterman's in-your-face lack of discretion. Unmarried couples do have children and, one hopes, make the best of a difficult situation.

But Letterman saw no shame in his conduct. He expected America to warmly congratulate him for becoming a dad — and ignore his unwillingness to create an intact family for the baby. Perhaps he thought the audience loved him so much it didn't notice. It did notice.

I recently saw the old 1957 movie "Peyton Place" and was struck by my reaction. "Peyton Place" is a tale of tawdry secrets in a postcard New England town. The book, then movie, scandalized much of America. It portrayed prim and upright small-town America as a repository of rape, suicide and just about every other social ill. The message was that behind the displays of stuffy propriety lurked an invading darkness.

My response was not what the moviemakers had intended five decades ago — which was for viewers to shudder at the hypocrisy of it all. Seeing this movie in 2005 feels different. Today, strangers reveal their drug addictions, sexual escapades, diets and divorces on national television.

How refreshing, I thought, to see the prudish mother (played by Lana Turner) work desperately to contain the awful truth that she had never married her daughter's father. Nowadays, her next-door neighbor would simply say, "That's cool." After all, there's little need to cover up failings when there are few standards to fall short of.

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Johnny Carson had standards. Born in Iowa, bred in Nebraska, Carson dressed impeccably and kept his language clean. He was unfailingly polite and kind to guests on his show. And he was very funny. Carson's comic timing was unmatched. His Carnac the Magnificent character was a riot.

To us kids, Johnny Carson was the sound of the adult, stay-up-late world. We were usually in bed when the "Tonight Show" song floated upstairs from the living room. Carson's parade of movie stars, comics and politicians seemed unbelievably glamorous. That a modest and plain-speaking emcee could manage them all made the Big Time appear within reach.

As adults, we have become drudges. Staying up late is impossible, what with the 7 a.m. aerobics class or the hour-long commute. And in any case, we're not missing much on late-night TV. Do we want to lose beauty sleep watching Letterman hold up photos of his girlfriend's baby? And how many times can we stand hearing cable "personalities" hurl obscenities for lack of wit?

Carson's TV persona has been off the air for 13 long years, and now the man himself is gone. Yes, Johnny Carson represented a different American sensibility. I miss him, and I miss it.



Froma Harrop is a columnist for The Providence Journal. Comment by clicking here.

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