Amazon.com description: Product Description: Dust jacket notes: "Coinciding with Johnny Carson's twenty-fifth anniversary on 'The Tonight Show,' Ronald L. Smith explores the life of America's most popular and paradoxical performer: the simple, shy boy from Nebraska who worked his way up to become the number one entertainer in television and the owner of a multimillion-dollar entertainment company. Johnny Carson is a man of contradictions. He's the loner who's at his best facing ten million viewers, a private man whose marriages make sensational headlines, and a seemingly mild-mannered star whose split with Joan Rivers was the hottest TV feud of the 1980s. The story begins with Carson's early days. Smith interviewed Carson's first girlfriend and others who knew him them. Johnny began as an ambitious amateur magician and school joker. In high school and college he earned extra money as a disc jockey. He married first wife Jody, had children, and gained popularity nationwide as a daytime quiz show host. Johnny's first big break came with a bang: Red Skelton was knocked unconscious before showtime and Carson filled in brilliantly. A few years later came 'The Tonight Show,' which made him a superstar. Meanwhile, Carson endured battles with Jack Paar and NBC, as well as roller-coaster marriages to Joanne and later Joanna. Smith describes the little-known time when Carson risked his life to help the police solve an extortion threat against himself. The latest chapters in the ongoing saga of TV's legendary entertainer include details of Carson's falling-out with Joan Rivers and his recent marriage to beautiful Alexis Maas. In Johnny Carson, a fascinating personality is at last revealed."