For thirty years, millions of Americans put an end to a long, hard day by tuning into the “Tonight Show” and watching Johnny Carson do his thing.  He would put audiences at ease with a dose of disarming charm and amusing celebrity banter.

           

On Sunday, January 23, 2005, it became time to say good-bye to a legend.  Johnny Carson died at his home, surrounded by friends and family.  He was seventy-nine.

           

Carson made his debut as the “Tonight Show” host in 1962, when he replaced original host Jack Paar (Paar hosted the show from 1957 to 1962).  Over the next thirty years, sidekick Ed McMahon introduced the lovable host with his announcement, “Here’s Johnny…”  Carson would then entertain his audience through celebrity interviews, special guests, and comedy skits.

           

In May 1992, while the show was still receiving high ratings, Johnny Carson stepped down as the host of the “Tonight Show.”  He was replaced by Jay Leno, who still hosts the show today.

           

Without question, Johnny Carson is an institution in the world of comedy—but he was not the world’s first comedian.  People have been amusing one another for centuries.  As we remember the humor of the legendary Johnny Carson, it’s a fitting to get the “historical perspective.”

           

Back in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, comedians had a very important job.    At that time, absolute monarchies ruled over Europe.  A king could easily lead his nation to prosperity—or he could drive it right into the ground.  To say the least, being the king was a stressful job. 

           

It was the job of the comedian—or “court jester”—to lift the spirits of the king.  In short, he was supposed to make the king laugh.  The court jesters were employed during and prior to the powerful European monarchies of the 1500s, though the kingdoms of ancient Egypt used them as well.  Most of the time, a jester was mentally impaired or deformed in some other way.  People regarded him as a fool, and they usually laughed at him, not with him. 

           

That’s not to say that life was all bad for the jester, however.  Besides being a part of the royal kingdom, he also had certain political advantages.  While everyone else feared the king, the jester basically enjoyed complete free speech.  He could ridicule anyone he wanted and express his political views in the form of a comedic act.  In fact, a few jesters (such as Archibald Armstrong, the jester of King James during the early 1600s) became overly confident and were dismissed when their insults went too far.  Most of the time, the jesters just settled for dancing, singing, juggling, and generally making a fool of themselves.  

           

The end of the jester era came when Oliver Cromwell took power during the English Civil War of the mid-17^th century.  Cromwell was a “no nonsense” leader, and he didn’t find the antics of the jesters to be amusing. 

           

Cromwell put an end to court jesters, but he didn’t put an end to comedy.  That’s evident by the thousands of stand-up comics and other “funny men” who make a nice living in today’s society.  Professional comedy (i.e. making money by telling jokes) is relatively new.

 

American writer Mark Twain was one of the first to gain a reputation for intentionally humoring an audience during his speeches.  He gained international fame in the late 1800s.  At that same time, the Vaudeville Theater, which often featured humorous monologues,  began to gain popularity in North America.  The theater was different than the traveling circuses of the time, which got laughs through physical humor.

           

Stand-up comedy in its early days was usually just a series of quick jokes, not elaborate humorous stories or an entire act.  The comics were employed to “warm-up” an audience before a show, or they were limited to nightclubs where the humor was a little more risqué.  The profession wasn’t an end in itself, but viewed a stepping stone to a more respectable career in show business.

           

Performers like Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Richard Prior changed the rules of stand-up comedy in the 1960s and 1970s.  Before long, everything was fair game—race, religion, politics, sex, etc.  Television shows like “Saturday Night Live” helped introduce new comedians to the scene.  There were a few who made a living solely with stand-up comedy, but the art remained a stepping stone to bigger ventures.  Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, and several others have used it to start major television or film careers.

           

Today, hundreds of people have a career in stand-up comedy, but the art is kept alive by thousands of amateur comics.  Many clubs feature an “open mike” night where a brave individual can get up on stage and try his or her luck before a live audience.