WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Carson Entertainment Group President Jeff Sotzing about a new exhibit on Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show at the National Comedy Center.

Carson Entertainment Group President and nephew of Johnny Carson, Jeff Sotzing, said the new exhibit, Johnny Carson – The Immersive Experience, is to show the impact the show had, “And the fact that Johnny has really, really, was able to make that show what it is. He’s the guy who really started it, Steve Allen and Johnny. But he perfected it, I think. He made it his own show. And the monologue is a humorous chronology of current events, talking about gas prices going up to 50-cents. Things like that. It’s just great!”

Sotzing started working on the Tonight Show in 1978 where he worked on cataloging and inventorying all the material on the show that existed.

He said he loves that the National Comedy Center is able to preserve Carson’s work and that it’s an exhibit that can change, “They show his monologue, they show his interaction with the guests, and it’s a very, very difficult job to do. And he was so good at it that he managed to make it look super easy to do and it’s not. If you talk to anyone who has done the show, they’ll tell you there’s a lot of balls in the air at one time, and it’s live. That’s the other thing.”

Johnny Carson – The Immersive Experience is now open to the public to view at the National Comedy Center. For more information, visit comedycenter.org

Comedian, writer and podcast host Pat Hazell talks with WRFA’s Anthony Merchant about his one night only Johnny Carson variety and tribute show in Jamestown, NY, the new Carson exhibit at the National Comedy Center, what it was like to perform on Johnny Carson, why he ruled over all other late night hosts and much more

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comedycenter.org

Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson said the stage show is a celebration of the Johnny Carson exhibit that’s also opening this weekend at the Comedy Center, “So, we’re bringing in acts that were discovered on The Tonight Show. That was a big part of the Tonight Show legacy. If you were booked on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, your life was never the same after that day. So we assembled this really incredible group of performers and variety acts that experienced that first hand to come and do excerpts of those performances and talk about what that was like.”

The show will be hosted by comedian and Seinfeld writer Pat Hazell. It will also feature magician Lance Burton, comedian Cathy Ladman, ventriloquist Jay Johnson, wildlife expert Joan Embrey, storyteller Don Reed, The Passing Zone juggling team Jon Wee & Owen Morse, Mighty Carson Art Player Teresa Ganzel, and Carson Entertainment Group President Jeff Sotzing.

The show on Saturday is at 7:00 p.m. with tickets available at comedycenter.org/carson