Recently, in an interview with Larry King, Las Vegas legend Wayne Newton discussed his feud with late talk show host Johnny Carson. By Newton’s recounts, Carson repeatedly made fun of Newton because when Newton was a young performer, he sang in a rather high voice and had a baby face. Carson’s continued questioning of Newton’s masculinity festered inside of Newton, and his rage built. At his wit’s end after a year and a half of being unable to reach Carson directly, Newton finally paid Carson an impromptu visit at his NBC office.
When Newton confronted Carson, he said: “Mr. Carson, I don’t know what friend of yours I’ve killed, I don’t know what child of yours I’ve hurt, I don’t know what food I’ve taken out of your mouth…but these jokes about me will stop, and they’ll stop now. Or I will kick your ass.”
Newton went on to tell King that Carson was a “mean-spirited human being,” and that there were several others he attacked.
“There are people he has hurt that people will never know about,” said Newton. “And, for some reason, at some point, he decided to turn that kind of negative attention toward me, and I refused to have it.”
Newton told King that the gay jokes didn’t hurt his career, however. The feud likely started in the late 70s/early 80s, when Newton trumped Carson’s bid to buy the Aladdin hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Newton felt Carson retaliated by defaming his name. Newton sued NBC for defamation after the network ran a 1980 news report probing his alleged ties to organized crime. Newton’s legal team claimed the network was motivated in part by an effort to stay in Carson’s good graces.
Wow. What a rivalry. Since Carson is not around to give his side, we have to go on Newton’s words. I don’t know Wayne Newton, but he seems like an honest, trustworthy guy. Which is more than I can say for Carson.
No, I didn’t know Johnny Carson, either, but I’ve heard plenty of stories. If you don’t believe Newton, ask Ed McMahon or Joan Rivers what they really thought about Carson. Sure, he was the king of late-night television and he was America’s darling. But, if you listen to interviews of people who were close to him, you can always pick up hints that he wasn’t such a great guy. Check out Howard Stern interviewing McMahon or Rivers and see what they said (or inferred) about Carson. Say what you will about Stern, but if nothing else, he conducts honest and true interviews.
But, regardless of whether or not Carson was a less-than-desirable human being, he had no right to personally attack Newton. Whatever personal riffs they had should have been kept to themselves and not aired in public. Newton was just a simple kid trying to make good. Carson was a wannabe Rat Packer who always felt he was bigger than he was.
Newton should’ve knocked Carson on his ass. Probably would have knocked him down a peg or two…
