**A Vulture Best Comedy Book of 2025A wildly entertaining book by one of the world’s most obsessed and informed fans of TV icon Johnny Carson, setting the record straight on Carson's legacy and shining light on the personality behind the legendary comedian and talk show host**Over the course of his thirty-year career hosting The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson appeared on some 4,500 broadcasts, interviewed over 25,000 guests, and solidified himself as a warm, ...

**A Vulture Best Comedy Book of 2025A wildly entertaining book by one of the world’s most obsessed and informed fans of TV icon Johnny Carson, setting the record straight on Carson's legacy and shining light on the personality behind the legendary comedian and talk show host**Over the course of his thirty-year career hosting The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson appeared on some 4,500 broadcasts, interviewed over 25,000 guests, and solidified himself as a warm, ...

"A close look at how show business power corrupts . . . The dishiest read of the year." – Janet Maslin, "Ten Favorite Books of the Year," New York Times "Here’s Johnny!" Probably everyone in America knows the phrase, whether they watched every episode of The Tonight Show or none because they had to go to bed early on school nights. From 1962 to 1992, Johnny Carson and his Tonight Show dominated the American consciousness.Henry Bushkin was...

A teen idol of the 1950s who virtually invented the singer/songwriter/heartthrob combination that still tops pop music today, Paul Anka rocketed to fame with a slew of hits-from "Diana" to "Put Your Head on my Shoulder"-that earned him a place touring with the major stars of his era, including Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly. He wrote Holly's last hit, and just missed joining the rocker on his final, fatal plane flight. Anka also stepped in front of the camera in the teen bea...

"Funny [and] fascinating . . . If you're a comedy nerd you'll love this book." — Pittsburgh Post-GazetteNamed a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, National Post, and SplitsiderBased on over two hundred original interviews and extensive archival research, this groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past one hundred years.Starting...

The definitive biography of Johnny Carson, the entertainer who redefined late-night television and American culture, told through intimate insights and riveting accounts of his legendary career and complex personal life.In 2002, Bill Zehme landed one of the most coveted assignments for a magazine writer: an interview with Johnny Carson—the only one he’d granted since retiring from hosting The Tonight Show a decade earlier. Zehme was tapped for the...

The New York Times bestseller from the host of CNN podcast Behind the Desk tells the true story—and backstage drama—of late-night comedy.When beloved host Johnny Carson announced his retirement after thirty years on The Tonight Show, millions of Americans mourned. But inside the television industry, the news ignited a battle between two amazing talents—Jay Leno and Da...

“Current fans and recovering Hulkamaniacs alike should find [Sex, Lies, and Headlocks] as gripping as the Camel Clutch.” —MaximSex, Lies, and Headlocks is the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the backstabbing, scandals, and high-stakes gambles that have made wrestling an enduring television phenomenon. The man behind it all is Vince McMahon, a ruthless and entertaining visionary whose professional antics make some of the flamboyant characters in the ring...

A "compulsively readable" history of how Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson redefined country music ( Publishers Weekly, starred review).Outlaw delves into the country music scene of the late '60s and early '70s, when three rebels—Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson found themselves in Music City writing songs and vying for record deals. Channeling the unrest of the times, all three Country Music Hall of Famer...

After four decades in the music industry, Michael Bolton has become one the most successful musicians of our time. THE SOUL OF IT ALL is his backstage pass into his life lived thus far-into the venues, busses, limos, and hotel rooms of stardom, and finally into his home and heart. His story will go long and dive deep, not only into his self-proclaimed "vagabond vampire" life, but also into the belly of the beast that is the music industry, with its joys, follies, and torments.From a...

An entertaining, hilarious, biting biography of “Mr. Warmth,” the infamously prickly comic who dominated Hollywood and Las Vegas for decades, making an artform out of heckling his friends, family and especially his audiences—and they couldn’t get enough of it.Having ridden a wave of success that lasted more than sixty years, Don Rickles is best known as the “insult” comic who skewered presidents, royalty, celebrities, and friends and fans alike. But there ...