The final word on Carson (WashPo profile)

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on January 25th, 2005

Adam Bernstein has put together one of the more detailed newspaper recaps of Carson’s life and career.

His mother, who had sewn his magician’s cape, invited her son to perform for her bridge club. Soon he was making the rounds of local Rotary groups. His ability to entertain ceaselessly, somehow overcoming what he described as his innate shyness, made him a hit.

After Navy service during World War II, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska. His thesis was “How to Write Comedy Jokes,” in which he explained the comic technique of major radio comics of his era.

Read the whole thing.

Chicagoans can count on a Carson retrospective or two in this Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. We did a phoner yesterday, so look for quotes from SHECKYmagazine.