Johnny Carson started the jokes about me and Marlin in his monologues.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I've always been a fan of a Johnny Carson because he was so great with an audience and not afraid of self-deprecating humor.
I did standup while still working for Johnny Carson in the mid-'60s, thus gaining the advantage of at least getting laughs from him about how I hadn't the night before.
I did a show called 'What A Country,' with Yakov Smirnoff and Don Knotts. I used to write jokes for Yakov's stand-up act.
John Ford was so funny that I couldn't wait to go to work in the morning.
Carol Burnett was particularly funny. She swore for the first time on television on Larry Sanders.
When I was a comic in the 1980s, I was on the road somewhere every day, and I'd get back to the hotel, and it was Carson and Letterman, and I looked forward to that all day.
I was a big fan of how Johnny Carson hosted awards shows. Dick Cavett, as well, I think did a really great job of providing a nice blend of comedy, wit and class.
I remember meeting the likes of Johnny Carson and Jimmy Stewart for the first time and being completely starstruck.
The only one that got through was Jimmy Walker, because he plays the gas station attendant. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just that we were kind of purists at the time, and we didn't want any comedians.
When I talk to Steve Martin, he's joyful when he talks about comedy.