Page 186 - Cousins - Celebrities, Saints & Sinners

Johnny Carson

10th Cousin

Common Ancestor

Father: Henry Birdsall II
Norwich, Norfolk, England
1578 - 1651
Born: Died:
Mother: Judith A Kempe 23 October 1925 23 January 2005
Norwich, Norfolk, England Corning, Iowa Los Angeles, California
1589 - 1632
John William Carson was an American
television host, comedian, writer, and
producer. He is best known as the iconic host
of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny
Carson (1962–1992). Carson received
six Emmy Awards, the Television Academy's
1980 Governor's Award, and a 1985 Peabody
Award. He was inducted into the Television
Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. Carson was
awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 1992 and received a Kennedy

Center Honor in 1993.
Carson grew up in the nearby towns of Avoca, Clarinda, and Red Oak in southwest Iowa before
moving to Norfolk, Nebraska, at the age of eight. There, Carson grew up and began developing his
talent for entertaining. At the age of 12, Carson found a book on magic at a friend's house and
immediately purchased a mail-order magician's kit. After the purchase of the kit, Carson practiced his
entertainment skills on family members with card tricks. Carson's mother sewed him a cape, and his
first performance was staged in front of the local Kiwanis Club. He debuted as "The Great Carsoni" at
age 14 and was paid $3 a show. Soon, many other performances at local picnics and county fairs
followed.

He joined the United States Navy on June 8, 1943, and received V-12 Navy College Training
Program officer training at Columbia University and Millsaps College. Commissioned an ensign late in
the war, Carson was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania in the Pacific. While in the Navy, Carson posted
a 10–0 amateur boxing record, with most of his bouts fought on board the Pennsylvania. He was en
route to the combat zone aboard a troop ship when the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended
the war. Carson served as a communications officer in charge of decoding encrypted messages.

To take advantage of the educational opportunities from the Navy, Carson attended the University of
Nebraska–Lincoln, where he joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and continued performing magic
(then paid $25 per appearance). He majored in journalism with the intention of becoming a comedy
writer. Instead, he switched his major to speech and drama a few months later, because he wanted
to become a radio performer. Carson's college thesis, titled "How to Write Comedian Jokes", was a

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