Flashback: Johnny Carson warned against danger of late-night shows preaching on 'serious issues'

A famous clip resurfaced of legendary late-night host Johnny Carson defending his right to avoid bringing up "serious issues" on his talk show, arguing there is a danger in hosts like him being too self-important and swaying the public.

Carson was a prolific television host and comedian, best known for hosting "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" from 1962 to 1992. He became a cultural icon with his clever wit, at-ease interviewing style and his aid in launching the careers of numerous stars. Remembered as the "King of Late Night," Carson is widely considered the gold standard for modern late-night talk show hosts.

In the resurfaced clip from 1979, "60 Minutes" interviewer Mike Wallace voiced a critique made by some at the time that Carson would "never take a serious controversy," which Carson had an immediate answer for.

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"Now, tell me the last time that Jack Benny, Red Skelton, any comedian, used his show to do serious issues. That's not what I'm there for. Can't they see that?" Carson replied. "Why do they think that just because you have a 'Tonight Show,' that you must deal in serious issues?

"That's a danger. It's a real danger. Once you start that, you start to get that self-important feeling that what you say has great import. And you know, strangely enough, you could use that show as a forum. You could sway people. And I don't think you should as an entertainer."

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The clip has gone viral as many debate the decline of late-night talk show viewership, particularly as many of its hosts, such as Jimmy Kimmel of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," have become preachy about their personal politics in recent years.

CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert and Kimmel have raised money for the Democratic Party in recent years and made their programs openly supportive of its causes.

Colbert's show will go off the air in May, reportedly because it was hemorrhaging money. 

Kimmel's show was suspended by ABC this week after the host's controversial remarks about the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk that suggested he was a MAGA supporter rather than a leftist. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) suggested it could take action before two major local ABC affiliate owners announced they were preempting Kimmel's program and forced Disney's hand.