Lincoln, Neb.--In 2007, four University of Nebraska–Lincoln students found themselves interviewing late-night legends like Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno and Ed McMahon as part of a film project honoring Nebraska’s most famous entertainer—Johnny Carson.
As the university celebrates the 100th birthday of Johnny Carson on Oct. 23, we take a look back at the film made by these four students for the dedication of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film in 2007. The 20-minute film, titled “Johnny Carson: Student of Comedy,” is still finding audiences nearly two decades later—garnering more than 42,000 views on YouTube.
The film was created by two students from the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film—Josie Azzam and John Albrecht—and two students the College of Journalism and Mass Communications—Trevor Hall and Justin Peterson—in cooperation with Nebraska Educational Telecommunications and with assistance from Jeff Sotzing and Carson Entertainment Group, who provided rare footage, “Tonight Show” clips and access for interviews in Los Angeles and New York.
The film traces the rise of Carson from a young man in Norfolk, Nebraska, and a student at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln to becoming one of the great entertainment icons of all time.
“I was honored to be entrusted with such a wealth of material and an important icon’s legacy,” said Azzam, who is now a producer with University Television. “I met TV legends, was treated as a professional and had an opportunity to present our point of view to the entire school. The project’s leadership showed great faith in us, both to present Johnny’s impact and to showcase what we as students could create. I am still deeply grateful for the experience.”
Giacomo Oliva, who was dean of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts at that time and is now retired, said the project was an ideal example of experiential learning.
“An essential component of preparing students for their work as professionals is providing them with opportunities to apply the things they are learning in settings that extend beyond their formal preparation,” he said. “This project did just that as it enabled a collaboration in which students were able to pool their individual talents and skills to create an interesting story about Johnny Carson’s early journey to becoming one of comedy’s most iconic stars of all time. It was such a delightful experience to watch the students work together and to see the wonderful creative piece that their collaboration produced.”
Peterson, who now runs BallerFX, which focuses on motion design templates and toolkits for sports teams, said Carson’s impact on the campus was strong.
“Johnny Carson has opened so many doors for the students at UNL with generous donations that provided state-of-the-art spaces for the next generation,” he said. “More than his monetary contributions, he provided a blueprint of training for students. He was dedicated to his craft, put in the work and took advantage of every opportunity he had from his first play to his first job. Nebraskans are known for their work ethic. When you combine that work ethic with a joy and curiosity, that’s where the magic happens. That’s how Johnny became a household name.”
The project helped these students learn more about Carson, as they were too young to have seen the original “Tonight Show” episodes.
“I remember knowing almost nothing about Johnny Carson before the endowment,” Azzam said. “I only knew ‘Heeere’s Johnny!’ from ‘The Shining.’ Since he went off the air when I was four, I had no sense of his comedy or legacy. My dad was so happy when I got the documentary assignment, as he had spent countless evenings watching Carson and had very fond memories of him. I think I made sure to include a Carnac joke because my dad loves them so much.”
Azzam said whenever she sees children learning magic or telling jokes, she thinks of the home movies they saw of Carson that Sotzing provided.
“He was entertaining his family and friends from day one,” she said. “It taught me early on that some people are born with the instinct and personality to bring joy and how valuable that is to the world. And that with support and imagination, that natural inclination can take you incredibly far.”
Peterson said he was aware of Carson but was young when he took his final curtain call.
“The one thing that stands out the most to me was the joy he had doing what he loved,” he said. “From his early days doing magic tricks in the driveway, to performing in plays at the university, and his early career in Omaha, he mastered performance and honed his comedic timing that brought smiles to every audience. His joy of performance and entertaining others is what helped him become who he was.”
He said Carson was always testing his material and was willing to experiment with his craft.
“He studied how others did it, how they set up their punch lines and topped them,” Peterson said. “Timing and physical comedy helped keep the show interesting. The couple of bits that stand out are the ax throwing, where he throws the ax right into the groin and builds up to the perfect timing for the punch line, and interviews with kids and celebrities like Bette Midler that show his ability to be personable and down to earth. There were many laugh-out-loud moments that were off-the-cuff moments that could only be delivered with impeccable timing and wit that Johnny displayed.”
As part of the project, Sotzing helped provide access for the students to interview those who knew or were influenced by Carson, including Conan O’Brien, Dick Cavett, Ed McMahon, Jay Leno and David Letterman. The students split the interviews, with two traveling to New York and two traveling to Los Angeles to complete the interviews.
“My favorite interview that I got to be part of was with Ed McMahon,” Peterson said. “Ed allowed us into his home and gave us a peek behind the curtain as we recorded our interview. His office had a train that circled above, and he had his own mini studio so he could continue doing some work without leaving his house. He recounted the laughs, their bond and what made Johnny different. Ed was more than a sidekick, he was willing to challenge Johnny or make his own jokes, which led to a lively conversation or big laughs that gave the show its spark. And Ed willingly opened up his home to share his memories of Johnny says everything you need to know about their bond.”
Azzam also remembers the interview with McMahon.
“My fondest memory was Ed McMahon telling me I did a good job interviewing,” she said. “From Ed, who watched one of the most effortless interviewers night after night for decades, it felt like a huge compliment. At 19, it was one of the first times that my own efforts and prep work had paid off in such a big way. I also have to mention that our chaperone, Sandy Veneziano, was an incredible hostess showing us around Los Angeles. I ended up living there for 15 years after graduation, and every time I passed the motel where we stayed on that first trip, I remembered her generosity.”
Peterson also appreciated the collaboration between the theatre and journalism students on the project.
“I appreciate that I was asked to participate in creating a documentary that will help Johnny live on in the UNL community. My favorite part was the collaboration between the film and J-schools,” he said. “Coming from a more journalistic point of view, where we capture live action, it was cool to see how Josie and John created realistic scenes with lighting, costumes and set design to help us recreate some shots where we lacked footage. It was a collaboration that helped open our minds to other ways of producing content.”
Azzam said the reenactment was a unique feature of the film.
“I’m sure that in all the works about Johnny Carson, we’ll be the only one with a reenactment of who he was as a student,” she said. “We were able to deeply relate to this part of his life—discovering your craft, finding your voice and evolving with the technologies to find new and exciting opportunities.”
“Johnny Carson: Student of Comedy” is available to view on YouTube at https://go.unl.edu/carsonstudentofcomedy.
Celebrate Carson's 100th Birthday at Carson Tonight 100, a special one-time event with live performances by the artists who were featured guests during Carson's extraordinary 30-year late-night run. The special performance will take place on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. For tickets and more information, visit https://go.unl.edu/carsontonight100.
