Carson as Carnac the Magnificent

Carnac the Magnificent was a role played by Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and later continued on Late Show with David Letterman, occasionally by Paul Shaffer. One of Carson's most well-known characters, Carnac was a psychic with a large, elaborate turban and a plethora of envelopes, all of which (according to Ed McMahon) were "hermetically sealed" and had been kept in "a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnalls' porch since noon" that day. On the way to his desk after arriving on stage, Carnac would invariably trip and fall (on one memorable occasion, Carson's desk had been replaced with a balsa-wood version, and he smashed right through it). Image File history File links Johnny_as_carnac. ... Image File history File links Johnny_as_carnac. ... For other persons named John Carson, see John Carson (disambiguation). ... The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was the full name of NBCs The Tonight Show during the years that Johnny Carson hosted from 1962 to 1992. ... The Late Show with David Letterman is an hour-long weeknight comedy talk show broadcast by CBS from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in New York City. ... Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949 in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian-American musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian and composer currently seen as the bandleader on the Late Show with David Letterman. ... Psychic, from the Greek psychikos meaning mental, of the soul (in turn derived from psyche meaning soul, mind), is a term used to describe phenomena or abilities that are said to originate from the brain but which transcend its confines. ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The turban (from the Persian , dulband via the Turkish ) is a headdress consisting of a long scarf-like single piece of cloth wound round the head or an inner hat. ... Ed McMahon During One of Johnny Carsons Monologues on the Tonight Show Ed McMahon (born Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. ... The term hermetically sealed is used to describe something that has an airtight seal. ... Funk and Wagnalls is a publisher based in New York City. ... Noon is the time exactly halfway through the day, written 12:00 in the 24-hour clock and 12:00 noon in the 12-hour clock. ... Binomial name Ochroma lagopus Sw. ...

Carnac's act involved a variation of the magician's billet reading trick: divining the answer to a question putatively written on a card sealed inside one of the envelopes, then opening the envelope to reveal the question. The resulting jokes were usually intentionally corny and often involved puns in some way: Billet reading is a mentalism effect where a performer gives the impression that he is able to correctly identify, using supposed clairvoyant powers, messages that have been sealed inside envelopes. ... This article is about the religious practice of divination. ... A pun (also known as paronomasia) is a figure of speech which consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words within a phrase or phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious. ...

(Carnac holds the sealed envelope up to his turban)

CARNAC: Sis boom bah.

ED McMAHON: Sis boom bah?

(Carnac rips the envelope open and removes the card)

CARNAC (reading): Describe the sound made when a sheep explodes.

or An exploding sheep in the computer game Revenge of the Mutant Camels. ...

(Carnac holds the sealed envelope up to his turban)

CARNAC: The La Brea Tar Pits.

ED McMAHON: The La Brea Tar Pits?

(Carnac rips the envelope open and removes the card)

CARNAC (reading): What you have left after eating the La Brea Tar Peaches.

or

(Carnac holds the sealed envelope up to his turban)

CARNAC: U-C-L-A, A-F-L, C-I-O.

ED McMAHON: U-C-L-A, A-F-L, C-I-O?

(Carnac rips the envelope open and removes the card)

CARNAC (reading): How do you spell ucaliflicio?

or

(Carnac holds the sealed envelope up to his turban)

CARNAC: Green Acres.

ED McMAHON: Green Acres?

(Carnac rips the envelope open and removes the card)

CARNAC (reading): What Kermit has after Miss Piggy kicks him in the groin.

Audience reaction played a major role in the skit. If a joke generated a negative response from the audience, Carson/Carnac would cast a comedic curse (e.g., "May a bloated yak change the temperature of your jacuzzi") upon them. Occasionally the curse would be directed at Ed McMahon if his introduction of Carnac's abilities became too over-the-top. Such "curses" were also standard when the crowd cheered as McMahon announced the final envelope. Kermit singing Bein Green in the first season of Sesame Street. ... Miss Piggy being moved on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Miss Piggy is a Muppet character primarily played by Frank Oz. ...

External links

• Carnac the Magnificent at johnnycarson.com - includes video clips of Carson as Carnac