NU benefactor Johnny Carson

At the University of Nebraska, in the years right after World War II, one John Carson, who in those days went by the name of Jack Carson, was definitely a BMOC (Big Man On Campus).

A Navy veteran, he didn't throw his weight around, and he wasn't involved in campus politics, but never-the-less was a fellow that everyone recognized, and felt as if they knew him.

Once, while I was in high school, in Plainview Nebraska, my dad took me to a Chamber of Commerce banquet, where Jack Carson, from nearby Norfolk, was the entertainment. He told a few jokes, but his main thing at that show was his magic, for which he was introduced as "The Great Carsoni."

He was very good, and folks talked about that show for some time afterward.

Jack's notoriety at the U stemmed from his work in campus productions. He was a popular Master of Ceremonies at the Kosmet Klub shows. He was the first male to ever emcee the female NU Co-ed Follies (for which he dressed in drag).

He was also the organizing force, and star of his Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji), Kosmet Klub skits. In 1947 the Fijis won first place in the fall revue competition with their skit, "She Was Only a Pharaoh's Daughter, But She Never Became a Mummy."

In that skit Jack was hilariously alluring as Cleopatra. (Note: Jerry Solomon, from Culbertson, also a major donor to the U. of N, was a friend of Carson's. Jerry was a piano major and provided musical arrangements for many of Carson's skits. In the years since he has been called back to the University whenever there have been tributes to his friend.)

In those days Jack worked part time for radio station KFAB, which had its studios in a downtown Lincoln building (before moving to Omaha in 1948.) I had a part time job as an elevator operator in that building on the weekends and had a casual acquaintance with Jack and the other people who worked at KFAB. He was a friendly fellow, and I appreciated it when he got me tickets for one of the Fiji shows. (They were very popular and tickets went very fast.)

I saw Carson once more. In 1962 he was the entertainer for the National Retail Bakers Convention in Philadelphia. He had just been named as the new host on NBC's The Tonight Show, replacing Jack Paar. I remember people asking me about his taking over that show, his ties to Nebraska and whether he'd be able to replace a star, the magnitude of Jack Paar. I had no hesitation in assuring them that The Tonight Show was in good hands. After the show he gave for the bakers that night, there was no doubt. (It was at this time that Jack Carson became Johnny Carson---to avoid confusion with Jack Carson, the Hollywood actor, and I suppose to distance himself from Jack Paar as well.)

I doubt that anyone at that time ever imagined that Carson would go on to host The Tonight Show for 30 years---more than 4,000 shows, set the standard for late-night talk show hosts, launch the careers for countless comedians and entertainers, and become perhaps the most famous Nebraskan ever. Along the way he earned six Emmys and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His final Tonight Show, on Oct. 1, 1992, was a national event.

Though Carson left Nebraska early in his career, and after his folks were gone he rarely returned, he never forgot his roots in Nebraska. When he took over the Tonight Show and began making a good salary, he also began giving back to his roots---to Clarinda, Iowa, where he was born, to Norfolk, where he grew up, and to the University of Nebraska, where he went to college.

In the early 1970s he established an endowed scholarship, which helped deserving Nebraska high school students get a University education. In 1988 he made his first major donation to the University's magnificent Lied Center for the Performing Arts, for the construction of a Black Box Theater, adjoining the main stage. That theater was named in his honor.

During that time Carson made donations to Iowa locations, Clarinda for a skate park, among other civic improvements, but also to Avoca and Corning, where Carson's father, Kit had worked for Public Power companies, and Logan, where John's grandfather had served as mayor.

Carson maintained a strong relationship with Norfolk, with donations of $2.7 M to build the Carson Regional Cancer Center, $600,000 for the Norfolk Johnny Carson Theater, $800,000 for the Norfolk Library Foundation, the Elkhorn Valley Museum, the Norfolk Arts Center and the Norfolk Senior Citizens Center. $1 M was given for a Lifelong Learning Center at Northeast Community College, to honor Carson's favorite high school teacher, Miss Faye Gordon. Miss Gordon was a guest on his TV show a number of times, and one of Carson's last visits to Norfolk was to fulfill a promise to throw her a party and help her celebrate her 100th birthday.

One donation, usually overlooked, was a $14,000 donation to the Royal, Zoo. Royal is a tiny community west of Plainview, and serves as the gateway to the popular Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Archaeology site. Royal had somehow obtained a chimpanzee for its zoo, and needed money to upgrade its facilities. Carson generously answered that request.

In 1993, when Johnny Carson received the Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award, the University of Nebraska used the occasion to publicly thank its famous Alumnus. During a nationally televised tribute, the Cornhusker Marching Band performed "There Is No Place Like Nebraska," followed by "The Tonight Show's" theme song, featuring soloist, Doc Severinsen.

In 2004, a year before his death, Carson donated $5.3 M to the University for the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Of that amount, $4.3 M went to renovate and expand the Temple Building on the NU campus. The other $1 M created an endowment to keep performance spaces current with the latest advances in lighting and sound technologies.

Following Carson's death in 2005 the University received $5 M from the Carson estate for the endowed support of programs in theater, film, and broadcasting at the U. Those funds established the Johnny Carson School of Theater and Film at the Lied Center, and broadcast programs at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Carson, besides being among the highest paid performers in TV, was always an active investor and entrepreneur, not always successful, ie: He was one of the major investors in the DeLorean (futuristic) car. In the 1970s Carson created the Carson foundation. As so many things in his private life, it was not known how large this foundation was, but he regularly added $1 M or $2 M to it each year. In 2010 his heirs added a whopping $156 M to the foundation.

In 2011 and 2012 the U received gifts totaling $2.3 M from the Foundation to create the Carson Scholarships, for Nebraska high school graduates to study theater and film.

In November 2015 the University officials announced that NU had received a $20 M donation from the Carson Foundation. That money will be used to transform the former Nebraska Book Store, which the U. had purchased in June, into "The Johnny Carson Center," an academic program and facility focused on interdisciplinary learning, creativity, and research in emerging media---a one of a kind facility among American Universities.

To date The Carson Foundation has bequeathed some $33 M to the University

At the time of his contribution to transform the Temple Building at NU, Carson said, "I got my start in the Temple Building and have never forgotten the impact of my academic studies at the University of Nebraska on my life and career. It is my hope that this gift will enable future generations of theater and film students to learn their craft in the Temple Building, which will enable them to pursue their goals, just as I did." In 2016 those words apply to the entire University as well. So, I join with all Nebraskans in a heartfelt, "Thanks Johnny for the Memories and The Millions!"

Source: Nebraska Alumnus Magazine, Recent News items.