Johnny Carson lives! (in digital)
LOS ANGELES – If you've been on Facebook lately and wondered why Johnny Carson is commenting on the recent deaths of Joan Rivers, Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall, no, you haven't gone crazy.
The former late-night TV king is still no longer with us, but his memory, likeness and laughter live on, forever, in digital.
Beyond Facebook, there's also a thriving Carson channel on YouTube, with more than 71 million views, and a still-active DVD business, run by nephew Jeff Sotzing, the son of Carson's sister Catherine.
There's also a Carson app (a memory game with clips of Carson as "Carnac, the Magnificent") and tons of Carson episodes available for purchase on iTunes.
The idea: make Carson relevant to this generation and generations to come.
Sotzing's goal: to make Carson "accessible" to viewers, wherever they are. "Once people discover it, they'll find it entertaining," he says. "There's not a lot of work I need to do to promote this, I just need to make it accessible."
Sotzing is a former producer of the Carson-era Tonight Show, who took on the responsibility of archiving the shows during his reign at the program. When he began, the yearly "anniversary" clip specials were assembled by hand. He bought a computer to start logging the various clips. Cut to today, where all the segments are cataloged and searchable on the Johnnycarson.com website.
Johnnycarson.com is where TV stations and other outlets go to license clips for use on the air, just by searching online. Sotzing saw major activity recently via clips for Williams, Bacall and Rivers, who credited Carson for giving her the first break and who served as the official guest host for several years.
Sotzing looks to Facebook (100,000 likes) and YouTube to interact with fans directly. "It's amazing how many people want to share their experiences and memories of the Tonight Show.
On Facebook he shows classic clips and monologues, while YouTube (71 million views) is devoted to both clips and entire episodes.
The YouTube channel was set up in response to fans uploading their homemade Carson clips.
"We want to protect the quality and the brand, so if we didn't do it, fans would do it. It's just better for us to keep the quality at a high resolution."
After Carson retired in 1992, watching his old shows wasn't possible. They were only available in compilation form, via VHS highlight reels. Sotzing has since moved to DVD, for both highlights and complete episodes.
"My philosophy originally was, 'Let's just take the best snippets and keep things flowing,' but there are a number of fans who said, 'We'd like to see the entire show' and 'We like the pace of the 90-minute shows.'"
He says he has sold "millions" of DVDs over the years. And they continue to sell, Sotzing says, despite many analysts saying DVDs are a dying business as streaming media takes over.
"Every time we start up a new one, we're convinced this will be the last time, but the DVDs continue to sell and do well," Sotzing says.
The latest DVD features complete episodes — including commercials — from 1973, featuring singers Dean Martin and James Brown and comedians Buddy Hackett and Don Rickles.
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