Carnac the Magnificent was a recurring comedic role played by Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson

John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...

 on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....

. One of Carson's most well known characters, Carnac was a "mystic from the east" who could psychic

Psychic

A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...

ally "divine" unseen answers to unknown questions. The character was taken from Steve Allen

Steve Allen

Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...

's essentially identical "Answer Man" segment, which Allen performed during his tenure as The Tonight Show's host in the 1950s. The Carnac character and routine also closely resemble Ernie Kovacs

Ernie Kovacs

Ernie Kovacs was a Hungarian American comedian and actor.Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident...

' "Mr. Question Man."

As Carnac, Carson wore a large feathered turban

Turban

In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...

 and a cape. The character would emerge from behind the show's curtain accompanied by Indian music, and make his way towards the desk, where he would invariably stumble and lose his balance. On one memorable occasion, which was frequently rebroadcast on anniversary shows, Carson's desk had been surreptitiously replaced with a lightweight balsa

Balsa

Ochroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree , is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to tall. It is the source of balsa wood, a very lightweight material with many uses...

-wood version. This allowed Carson to trip and smash right through it.

Act

Longtime sidekick Ed McMahon

Ed McMahon

Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. was an American comedian, game show host and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick and announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995...

 ritualistically and bombastically introduced the Carnac routines. The announcement implied Carnac was responsible for some scandal or disaster currently in the news, as "And now the great seer, soothsayer, sage and former financial adviser to the Greek government, Carnac the Magnificent." When Carnac had entered and stumbled, Ed continued as follows:

"I hold in my hand the envelopes. As a child of four can plainly see, these envelopes have been hermetically sealed. They've been kept in a #2 mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnall's porch since noon today. No one knows the contents of these envelopes, but you, in your borderline divine and mystical way, will ascertain the answers having never before seen the questions."

The act involved a variation of the magician's billet reading

Billet reading

Billet reading is a mentalist effect in which a performer pretends to read messages sealed inside envelopes by clairvoyance. Although billet reading is accomplished by a simple trick, the effect can give the impression of mind reading. Billet reading is usually performed as an entertaining parlor...

 trick: divining

Divination

Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...

 the answer to a question written on a card sealed inside one of the envelopes, announcing it to the audience, then tearing open the envelope to reveal the question. The comedy came from an unexpected question following a seemingly straightforward answer. The resulting jokes often involved pun

Pun

The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...

s or wordplay; the answer "The La Brea Tar Pits

La Brea Tar Pits

The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with water...

" was the answer to "What do you have left after eating the La Brea Tar Peaches?", and "9W" was the answer to "Mr. Wagner, do you spell your name with a V?" Jokes would also be topical; for instance, "Over 105 in Los Angeles" (presumably referring to the temperature) instead led to "Under the Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 plan, how old would you have to be to collect Social Security

Social Security (United States)

In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...

?"

The segment included several running gags and bits of business. After Carnac said an answer, McMahon would frequently repeat it in a booming voice, to set up a sneer, putdown, or some other comic reaction. Carnac held each envelope to his forehead while "divining" the answer, then tore open the envelope and loudly blew into it before removing the index card with the question. Pretending to psychically concentrate, Carnac periodically asked for "complete silence" from the audience, and McMahon would retort that he often got it.

Audience reaction played a major role in the skit. If a joke (often a very bad pun) generated a negative response, Carnac would give a disapproving look, then cast a comedic "Middle Eastern curse" upon the audience (such as "May your favorite daughter be featured in NFL Films' Sack of the Week.", "May a bloated yak change the temperature of your jacuzzi", "May you walk a mile under a diseased camel," or "May your only son become the goalie on a nude hockey team.") McMahon's closing announcement "I hold in my hand the last envelope" was always met with a loud cheer, prompting one last "curse." In a 2009 interview, former "Tonight Show" head writer and Woody Allen

Woody Allen

Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...

 collaborator Marshall Brickman

Marshall Brickman

Marshall Brickman is a screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with Woody Allen. He is also known for playing the banjo with Eric Weissberg in the 1960s, and for a series of comical parodies published in The New Yorker.-Biography:After attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he...

 said, "I’ll go to my grave having to apologize for having invented the Carnac Saver."
In recent years, Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...

 has referenced the bit, with Paul Shaffer

Paul Shaffer

Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.-Early years:...

wearing the turban and doing one Carnac-style joke before being interrupted by Letterman. This homage is usually mixed with "Stump the Band," another longtime Carson segment which is sometimes re-used on Letterman's program.

External links

• Carnac the Magnificent at johnnycarson.com - includes video clips of Carson as Carnac