Here’s all you need to know about the American icon Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson paved the way for the many late-night shows that exist today.

He was always all smiling on the big screens, but little did we know what he hid behind those smiles.

He is reported to not have a perfect life, especially in his relationship with his mother.

Jody Walcott revealed a lot of details about Carson’s mother, “I heard stories that she broke a whole set of dishes on the kitchen wall. She was a real force in the family, the real matriarch.”

The TV star’s mother always favored their sister Catherine over Johnny and his brother, Dick.

Henry Bushkin, Carson’s lawyer wrote a book about the icon and he revealed he wasn’t a happy man.

“He would tell you he’s not a happy guy. He would tell you, ‘My personality is unhappy.”

Carson didn’t attend his mother’s funeral when she died. He said, “the wicked witch was dead.”

Ruth was never there for him and even when he became successful it never changed anything.

Bushkin said, “It constantly got to him. Her, sort of lack of any sort of emotion towards him. And certainly, never giving him the great satisfaction of being the giant star he became.”

Carson got married for the first time to Jody Walcott and they had three sons. They lost their middle child, Richard in 1991.

Carson was a notorious womanizer and throughout his married life, he had issues of infidelity. He also has drinking problems.

He is also said to be camera shy. 

Carson once said, “When I’m in front of an audience, well, it’s a different thing. I’m in control. There’s Carson the performer, and there’s Carson the private individual, and I can separate the two.”

The TV star got married for the second time to Joanne Copeland the same year after divorcing his first wife, Jody Walcott in 1963.

Joanne Copeland told Larry King in 2007, ”Johnny was very shy. He was painfully shy. So when he was — was — and even more than his family, he was very guarded. But he was very funny.”

Their marriage ended 9 years later and Carson went on to marry Joanna Holland. The pair was together for 18 years until his death in 2005.

Despite having a tough childhood, Carson was able to be successful. He was a legend and won’t be forgotten.