Carson Entertainment Group (formerly Carson Productions and Carson Productions Group) is a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

production company established by

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

in 1980. The company primarily produced ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'' from 1980 to 1992 and ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

'' from 1982 to 1993. In addition, Carson Productions also produced many specials with Carson among other TV shows, including ''

Teachers Only ''Teachers Only'' is an American sitcom on NBC that centered on the faculty of a Los Angeles high school who spent a lot of time in the teacher's lounge, where the students were not allowed. Following a short first season, the show was completely ...

'' from 1982 to 1983, '' Partners in Crime'' from 1984 to 1985, ''

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jews, Jewish, Christia ...

'' from 1986 to 1991 and ''

TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes ''TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes'' is an American television series. Debuting as a weekly series, new episodes have been broadcast as infrequent specials during most of its run. It premiered on NBC in 1984, moved to ABC in 1998, and was revived i ...

'' (co-produced with

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces award shows and other music en ...

) from 1984 to 1993. It also produced the films ''

The Big Chill Big Chill can refer to: *The Big Chill (music festival), an annual music and comedy festival held in England * ''The Big Chill'' (film), a 1983 American film directed by Lawrence Kasdan *The Big Chill at the Big House, a 2010 U.S. college ice hock ...

'' (1983) and ''

Desert Bloom A desert bloom is a climatic phenomenon that occurs in various deserts around the world. The phenomenon consists of the blossoming of a wide variety of flowers during early-mid spring in years when rainfall is unusually high. The blossoming occ ...

'' (1986). In the years since Carson's retirement from television (and following his death in 2005), the company's primary function has been to maintain Carson's legacy and license clips (including the sale of commercial

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

s to retail and mail order consumers) of his time hosting ''The Tonight Show''. At the start of 2016, entire episodes were licensed by Carson Entertainment to the digital multicast network

Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Antenna TV's programming and advertising operati ...

for nightly reruns. Johnny Carson's nephew, Jeff Sotzing, currently manages Carson Entertainment Group content.

History

On June 16, 1980, it was announced that former Rastar Television executive John J. McMahon had joined the company, effective June 23. On September 22, 1980, Carson agreed to have

20th Century-Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...

to handle international distribution of ''

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is ...

'', while

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

handled the distribution of the rest of the Carson productions. On March 23, 1981, it was announced that the new four-hour miniseries ''The Star Maker'', which would star

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

and

Suzanne Pleshette Suzanne Pleshette (January 31, 1937 – January 19, 2008) was an American theatre, film, television, and voice actress. Pleshette started her career in the theatre and began appearing in films in the late 1950s and later appeared in prominent ...

, would become the first Carson Productions program to be on the air. On May 4, 1981, it was announced that '' Lewis & Clark'' would be the first ever Carson Productions show to go on the air. It would only last one season. This was followed up by a midseason show ''Cassie & Co.'', which would star

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

, which would eventually also lasted only one season to be on the air. On March 29, 1982, it was officially announced that NBC had picked up a limited run show ''

'', which Carson Productions produced. It experienced high ratings in its first season leading to a renewal a second season; NBC cancelled the show in 1983. In 1983, Carson Productions produced its first feature film ''

'' as part of a three-picture deal at

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. The film became a critical and commercial success. In 1984, the company began ''

'', co-produced with

. In 1985, John J. McMahon left Carson Productions, and immediately joined

United Artists Television United Artists Television (UATV) was an American television production/distribution studio of United Artists Corporation that was formed on New Year's Day (January 1), 1958. The company is remembered for producing series such as ''This Man Dawson ...

Ed. Weinberger Edwin B. "Ed." Weinberger is an American screenwriter and television producer. Life and career Born in 1938 and raised in Philadelphia, the only son of Jewish butcher Leon and his wife Helen Weinberger, Ed. Weinberger began his TV career after ...

, who was once a successful television producer, working for

MTM Enterprises MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the productio ...

, as well as developing the sitcom ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...

'', became the new president of the company. In 1987, the company had attempted to place the entire company up for sale with a minimum bid of $65 million that it was seeking to purchase the company, using the cash flow donated from various shows produced by Carson Productions themselves, and the cash flow for ''

Carson's Comedy Classics ''Carson's Comedy Classics'' is a stripped half-hour syndicated television show that was first released to U.S. television stations in 1985. The program was made from segments and sketches taken from the first 20 years of ''The Tonight Show Sta ...

'' paid $4–5 million left in contract, and the buyer was able to make payments on the company.

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Television production companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1980 Film production companies of the United States 1980 establishments in California

History

See also

References

External links