Johnny Carson appeared to be a warm and friendly host behind the desk at The Tonight Show. But the late-night TV legend had a different side that led to some pretty famous feuds. One with a fellow comedian kept going for the final two decades of Carson's life.
While Carson had his favorite guests and close friends in entertainment, there existed another group of celebrities that was banned from The Tonight Show. But perhaps more surprising were the guests who continued to appear on the show despite a cold relationship with Carson.
Comedian Joan Rivers made countless appearances on The Tonight Show beginning in 1965. Carson put Rivers in the spotlight and publicly endorsed her talent. And whenever Carson's show needed a guest host, Rivers typically got the first call.
The relationship between Carson and Rivers soured by the late '80s. Whispers began circulating that Carson wanted to retire. Meanwhile, Rivers believed she was positioned to be next in line to the Tonight Show throne.
But when NBC and Carson didn't keep her in the loop, Rivers entertained other offers. The Fox network eventually came calling and offered Rivers her own late-night TV to air opposite Carson's Tonight Show. She accepted, and The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers debuted in 1986.
In the documentary Johnny Carson: King of Late Night, Rivers explained Carson heard about her show from Fox, not her. But Rivers tried to call Carson and talk things over, only to have the Tonight Show host hang up on her.
"And he never spoke to me again. He took it as a complete betrayal," Rivers said. The comedian also expressed regret at not asking Carson for his blessing before launching her show.
Joan Rivers' perspective on her feud with Johnny Carson changed over the years
Joan Rivers' late-night TV show only lasted a year. Behind-the-scenes drama led Fox to fire Rivers, and the show eventually turned over to host Arsenio Hall.
Rivers managed to keep her career going and remains one of comedy's greats. Her sustained success may have given her a different perspective on the Johnny Carson feud as time passed.
“I couldn’t figure it out,” Rivers said of the feud in The Hollywood Reporter. “I would see him in a restaurant and go over and say hello. He wouldn’t talk to me.”
The comedian eventually came to a conclusion for why Carson iced her out after 18 years of appearing on The Tonight Show. According to Rivers, he was possessive of her.
"I think he really felt because I was a woman that I just was his," she said. "That I wouldn’t leave him. I know this sounds very warped. But I don’t understand otherwise what was going on. For years, I thought that maybe he liked me better than the others. But I think it was a question of, ‘I found you, and you’re my property.’ He didn’t like that as a woman, I went up against him."
Johnny Carson died January 23, 2005, at the age of 79. Joan Rivers died September 4, 2014, at 81 years old.