Johnny Carson Uri Geller Who is uri Geller? self-proclaimed psychic Uri Geller how did he know johnny carson? I don't know. Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? Johnny had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, did he call out geller? Per Randi's advice, the show prepared their own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them." what happened? When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. did geller fail? Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" did they get in a fight? he expressed his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to what happened after the show? "I went back to my hotel, devastated. I was about to pack up the next day and go back to Tel Aviv. I thought, That's it -- I'm destroyed."
was he destroyed?
was Geller destroyed after his appearance on Johnny Carson's show?
In 1973, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic Uri Geller appeared on The Tonight Show. In the NOVA documentary, James Randi - Secrets of the Psychics, magician and skeptical activist James Randi says that "Johnny had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so prior to the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery." Per Randi's advice, the show prepared their own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them." When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me." and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and he expressed his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's Nov. 7, 2014 article in the New York Times:  The result was a legendary immolation, in which Geller offered up flustered excuses to his host as his abilities failed him again and again. "I sat there for 22 minutes, humiliated," Geller told me, when I spoke to him in September. "I went back to my hotel, devastated. I was about to pack up the next day and go back to Tel Aviv. I thought, That's it -- I'm destroyed."  However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham,  To Geller's astonishment, he was immediately booked on The Merv Griffin Show. He was on his way to becoming a paranormal superstar. "That Johnny Carson show made Uri Geller," Geller said. To an enthusiastically trusting public, his failure only made his gifts seem more real: If he were performing magic tricks, they would surely work every time. CANNOTANSWER
To Geller's astonishment, he was immediately booked on The Merv Griffin Show.
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 Primetime Emmy Awards, the Television Academy's 1980 Governor's Award, and a 1985 Peabody Award. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993.

During World War II, Carson served in the Navy. After the war, Carson started a career in radio. He moved from radio to TV and followed Jack Paar as the host of the late night talk show, Tonight. Although his show was already successful by the end of the 1960s, during the 1970s, Carson became an American icon and remained so even after his retirement in 1992. He adopted a casual, conversational approach with extensive interaction with guests, an approach pioneered by Arthur Godfrey and previous Tonight Show hosts Steve Allen and Jack Paar but enhanced by Carson's lightning-quick wit. Former late-night host and friend David Letterman, as well as many others, have cited Carson's influence. He is widely considered to be the king of late-night TV.

Early life and career 
John William Carson was born on October 23, 1925, in Corning, Iowa, to Ruth Elizabeth (Hook) Carson (1901–1985) and Homer Lloyd "Kit" Carson (1899–1983), a power company manager. He was the second child of three children. He had an older sister, Catherine “Kit” (Carson) Sotzing (1923-2014) and a younger brother Richard “Dick” Carson (1929-2021). He grew up in the nearby towns of Avoca, Clarinda, and Red Oak in southwest Iowa before moving to Norfolk, Nebraska, at the age of eight. There, Carson grew up and began developing his talent for entertaining. At the age of 12, Carson found a book on magic at a friend's house and immediately purchased a mail-order magician's kit. After purchasing the kit, Carson practiced his entertainment skills on family members with card tricks. He was known for following his family members around saying, "Pick a card, any card." Carson's mother sewed him a cape, and his first performance was staged in front of the local Kiwanis Club. He debuted as "The Great Carsoni" at age 14 and was paid $3 a show. Soon, many other performances at local picnics and county fairs followed. After graduating from high school, Carson had his first encounter with Hollywood. He had hitchhiked to Hollywood, where he was arrested and fined $50 for impersonating a midshipman, a story often regarded as apocryphal.

Military service 
Carson joined the United States Navy on June 8, 1943, and received V-12 Navy College Training Program officer training at Columbia University and Millsaps College. Commissioned an ensign late in the war, Carson was assigned to the  in the Pacific. While in the Navy, Carson posted a 10–0 amateur boxing record, with most of his bouts fought on board the Pennsylvania. He was en route to the combat zone aboard a troop ship when the war ended. Carson served as a communications officer in charge of decoding encrypted messages. He said that the high point of his military career was performing a magic trick for United States Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal. In a conversation with Forrestal, the Secretary asked Carson if he planned to stay in the Navy after the war. In response, Carson said no and told him he wanted to be a magician. Forrestal asked him to perform, and Carson responded with a card trick. Carson made the discovery that he could entertain and amuse someone as cranky and sophisticated as Forrestal.

Education 
Taking advantage of educational opportunities from the Navy, Carson attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and continued performing magic (then paid $25 per appearance). He majored in journalism with the intention of becoming a comedy writer, but instead switched his major to speech and drama a few months later because he wanted to become a radio performer. Carson's college thesis, titled "How to Write Comedian Jokes", was a compilation of taped skits and jokes from popular radio shows with Carson explaining the comedic technique in a voice-over. It allowed him to graduate in three years. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio and speech with a minor in physics in 1949.

Early radio and television  
Carson began his broadcasting career in 1950 at WOW radio and television in Omaha. He soon hosted a morning television program called The Squirrel's Nest. One of his routines involved interviewing pigeons on the roof of the local courthouse that would report on the political corruption they had seen. Carson supplemented his income by serving as master of ceremonies at local church dinners—attended by some of the same politicians and civic leaders he had lampooned on the radio.

The wife of one of the Omaha political figures Carson spoofed owned stock in a radio station in Los Angeles, and in 1951 referred Carson to her brother, who was influential in the emerging television market in Southern California. Carson joined CBS-owned Los Angeles television station KNXT (now KCBS-TV). In 1953, comic Red Skelton—a fan of Carson's "cult success" low-budget sketch comedy show, Carson's Cellar (1951 to 1953) on KNXT—asked Carson to join his show as a writer. In 1954, Skelton accidentally knocked himself unconscious during rehearsal, an hour before his live show began. Carson successfully filled in for him. In 1955, Jack Benny invited Carson to appear on one of his programs during the opening and closing segments. Carson imitated Benny and claimed that Benny had copied his gestures. Benny predicted that Carson, who readily admitted Benny's substantial influence on aspects of his comedic delivery, would have a successful career as a comedian.

Carson hosted several shows besides Carson's Cellar, including the game show Earn Your Vacation (1954) and the CBS variety show The Johnny Carson Show (1955–1956). He was a guest panelist on the original To Tell the Truth beginning in 1960, becoming a regular panelist from 1961 to 1962. After the primetime The Johnny Carson Show failed, he moved to New York City to host ABC-TV's Who Do You Trust? (1957–1962), formerly known as Do You Trust Your Wife? It was on Who Do You Trust? that Carson met his future sidekick and straight man, Ed McMahon. Although he believed moving to daytime television would hurt his career, Who Do You Trust? was a success. It was the first show where he could ad lib and interview guests, and because of Carson's on-camera wit, the show became "the hottest item on daytime television" during his six years at ABC.

The Tonight Show 

NBC's Tonight was the late-night counterpart to its early-morning show Today. Originating in 1954 with host Steve Allen, Tonight was somewhat experimental at the time, as the only previous network late-night program was NBC's Broadway Open House which starred Jerry Lester and Dagmar. Tonight was successful, and when Allen moved on to primetime comedy-variety shows in 1956, Jack Paar replaced him as host of Tonight. Paar left the show in 1962.

Carson's success on ABC's Who Do You Trust? led NBC to invite him to take over Tonight a few months before Paar's departure. Carson declined the offer because he feared the difficulty of interviewing celebrities for 105 minutes each day. Bob Newhart, Jackie Gleason, Groucho Marx, and Joey Bishop all also declined. NBC finally convinced Carson to sign by early February 1962. Carson can be seen discussing his upcoming job for the first time on the February 11, 1962, episode of What's My Line?. Due to Carson having six months left on his ABC contract, NBC used multiple guest hosts until he could take over. Guest hosts included Merv Griffin, Art Linkletter, Joey Bishop, Arlene Francis (the first woman to host The Tonight Show), Bob Cummings, Jerry Lewis, Groucho Marx, Donald O'Connor, and others.

Although he continued to have doubts about his new job, Carson became the host of Tonight (later called The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson) on October 1, 1962. After a difficult first year, he overcame his fears. While Tonight under its previous hosts had been successful, especially under Paar, Carson's version eventually did very well in the ratings. Billy Wilder said of Carson:

McMahon followed Carson from Who Do You Trust? as his announcer and sidekick, and Skitch Henderson was installed as the maestro of the NBC orchestra. McMahon's famous introduction, "Heeeeere's Johnny!!!" was followed by a brief monologue by Carson. This was often followed by comedy sketches, interviews, and music. Carson's trademark was a phantom golf swing at the end of his monologues, aimed stage left toward the studio orchestra. (Guest hosts sometimes parodied that gesture. Bob Newhart rolled an imaginary bowling ball toward the audience.)

Paul Anka wrote the theme song, ("Johnny's Theme"), a reworking of his "Toot Sweet"; given lyrics, it was renamed "It's Really Love" and recorded by Annette Funicello in 1959. Before taking over The Tonight Show, Carson wrote lyrics for the song, and so claimed 50 percent of the song's performance royalties (though the lyrics were never used). The theme is heard being played on sound recordings of Carson's first Tonight Show, and it was used without interruption through to his last broadcast on May 22, 1992.

The show was originally produced at the 30 Rockefeller Plaza NBC television studios in New York City, with occasional stints in California. The program began videotaping in advance during the Jack Paar days, although during the 1970s, NBC fed the live taping from Burbank to New York via satellite for editing (see below). Carson had a talent for quick quips to deal with problems. If the opening monologue fared poorly, the band would start playing "Tea for Two" and Carson danced a softshoe to laughs from the studio audience. Alternatively, Carson might pull the boom microphone close to his face and announce, "Attention K-Mart shoppers, clean up in aisle four!"

Move to Burbank 
On May 1, 1972, the show moved from 30 Rockefeller Plaza to Burbank, California, because of the studio's proximity to celebrities.

From July 1971, Carson stopped hosting five shows per week. Instead, Mondays featured a guest host, leaving Carson to host the other four weeknights. Shows were videotaped in Burbank at 5:30 pm, fed from there to the Central and Eastern time zone stations via cross-country television line at 8:30 pm Pacific time (11:30 pm Eastern time), and later sent from Burbank to the Pacific time zone stations at 11:30 pm Pacific time. Since only two feeds originated from Burbank, Central time zone stations received the Eastern feed one hour earlier at 10:30 pm local time, and Mountain time stations received the Pacific time zone feed one hour later at 12:30 am local time.

In 1980, at Carson's request, the show cut its 90-minute format to 60 minutes on September 16; Tom Snyder's Tomorrow added a half-hour to fill the vacant time. Joan Rivers became the "permanent" guest host from September 1983 until 1986. The Tonight Show then returned to using rotating guest hosts, including comic George Carlin. Jay Leno became the exclusive guest host in fall 1987. Leno joked that although other guest hosts had upped their fees, he had kept his low, assuring himself more bookings. Eventually, Monday night was for Leno, Tuesday for The Best of Carson—rebroadcasts usually dating from a year earlier, but occasionally from the 1970s.

Although Carson's work schedule became more abbreviated, Tonight remained so successful that his compensation from NBC continued to rise; by the mid-1970s, he had become the highest-paid personality on television, earning about $4 million a year ($ today), not including nightclub appearances and his other businesses. He refused many offers to appear in films, including title roles in The Thomas Crown Affair and Gene Wilder's role in Blazing Saddles. He also declined director Martin Scorsese's offer to co-star with Robert De Niro in the 1983 film The King of Comedy, with the role of a TV talk-show host then going to Jerry Lewis.

In recognition of his 25th anniversary on The Tonight Show, Carson received a personal Peabody Award, the board saying he had "become an American institution, a household word, [and] the most widely quoted American." They also said they "felt the time had come to recognize the contributions that Johnny has made to television, to humor, and to America."

Uri Geller
In 1973, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic Uri Geller appeared on The Tonight Show. In the NOVA documentary, James Randi - Secrets of the Psychics, magician and skeptical activist James Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so prior to the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery." Per Randi's advice, the show prepared their own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them." When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me." and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and he expressed his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:

However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham,

Comic characters 

Carson played several continuing characters on sketches during the show, including:
 Art Fern was the "Tea Time Movie" announcer, whose theme song was "Hooray for Hollywood". Carson once admitted on camera that this was his favorite character, based on late-afternoon TV hosts who would deliver commercials throughout the movie. Each sketch usually featured three long commercials interrupted by silent, four-second clips from antique films. When the camera returned from each clip, Art was always caught off-guard and immediately reminded viewers that they were watching a film favorite. The movies always had unlikely casts and even less likely titles: "Slim Pickens, Patti Page, 'Duke' John Wayne, and Charlton Heston in another classic Western: 'Kiss My Saddle Horn'!" Carson originally played the fast-talking huckster in his own voice (as Honest Bernie Schlock or Ralph Willie), and finally settled on a nasal, high-pitched, smarmy drone, reminiscent of Jackie Gleason's "Reginald Van Gleason III" character. The character, now permanently known as Art Fern, wore a lavish toupee, loud jackets, and a pencil mustache. Actress Carol Wayne became famous for her 100-plus appearances (1971–1984) as Art's buxom assistant, the Matinée Lady. While Art gave his spiel, she would enter the stage behind him. Art would react to her attractive body by wincing, loudly shouting "Ho — leeeee!" and turning almost everything she said into a sexual double entendre. After Carol Wayne's death in 1985, Carson kept Art Fern off the air for most of the next year, and finally hired Danuta Wesley and then Teresa Ganzel to play the Matinée Lady. Carson also used these sketches to poke fun at the intricate Los Angeles interstate system, using a pointer and map to give confusing directions to shoppers, often including points where he would unfold the cardboard map to point out, via the appropriate picture, when the shopper would arrive at "the fork in the road". Another freeway routine in the same theme centered on the "Slauson Cutoff", a slang term Carson popularized to describe the truncated Marina Freeway (which ended abruptly at Slauson Avenue in Culver City). Art Fern would advise drivers to take a series of freeways until they reached the Slauson Cutoff, and would then advise them to "Get out of your car, cut off your slauson, get back in your car," often followed by peals of laughter from the audience, led by McMahon.
 Carnac the Magnificent, a turbaned psychic, could answer questions before seeing them. Carnac had a trademark entrance in which he always turned the wrong direction when coming onstage and then tripped on the step up to Carson's desk. (In one episode, technicians rigged Carson's desk to fall apart when Carnac fell into it.) These comedic missteps were an indication of Carnac's true prescient abilities. McMahon would hand Carson a series of envelopes containing questions, said to have been "hermetically sealed and kept in a mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnalls' porch since noon today." Carson would place each envelope against his forehead and predict the answer, such as "Gatorade". Then, he would read the question: "What does an alligator get on welfare?" Some of the jokes were feeble, and McMahon used pauses after terrible puns and audience groans to make light of Carson's lack of comic success ("Carnac must be used to quiet surroundings"), prompting Carson to return an equal insult. Pat McCormick wrote some of the zaniest Carnac material. The one that had McMahon and Carson nearly rolling on the floor with sustained laughter was "Sis boom bah". Answer – "Describe the sound made when a sheep explodes." McMahon would always announce near the end, "I hold in my hand the last envelope," at which the audience would applaud wildly, prompting Carnac to pronounce a comedic "curse" on the audience, such as "May a flock of wild geese leave a deposit on your breakfast!", "May your sister elope with a camel!", "May a diseased yak take a liking to your sister", or the most famous: "May the bird of paradise fly up your nose!" The character was taken from Steve Allen's essentially identical "Answer Man" segment, which Allen performed during his tenure as host of The Tonight Show in the 1950s. As Allen acknowledged in his book The Question Man, this bit had been created in Kansas City in 1951 by Bob Arbogast and used on The Tom Poston Show in New York where it eventually ended up on The Steve Allen Show, much to the surprise of both Bob and Steve. The Carnac character and routine also closely resemble Ernie Kovacs' "Mr. Question Man".
 Floyd R. Turbo American (with no pause between words) was a stereotypical common working man, wearing a plaid hunting coat and cap, who offered "editorial responses" to left-leaning causes or news events. Railing against women's rights in the workplace, for example, Turbo would shout: "This raises the question: kiss my Dictaphone!"
 Aunt Blabby, a cantankerous and sometimes amorous old lady, was invariably interviewed by straight man Ed McMahon about elder affairs. McMahon would innocently use a common expression like "check out", only to have Aunt Blabby warn him: "Don't say 'check out' to an old person!" Aunt Blabby was an obvious copy of Jonathan Winters' most famous creation, Maude Frickert, including her black spinster dress and wig.
 El Mouldo, a mentalist, would attempt to perform mind-reading and mind-over-matter feats, all of which failed. Often, his tricks would include an attempt to bilk money from Ed McMahon or would end with his begging the audience for a dollar, or at least bus fare.
 The Maharishi, whose theme song was "Song of India", was a frizzy-haired "holy man" who spoke in a high-pitched, tranquil tone, greeted announcer McMahon with a flower, and answered philosophical questions. This was a take-off on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Carson uncensored on satellite 
Although Carson's program moved to Burbank in 1972, NBC's editing and production services for the show remained in New York, requiring that the program be transmitted between the two cities. In 1976, NBC used the Satcom 2 satellite to achieve this, feeding the live taping (which started around 5:30 pm local time) directly to New York, where it would be edited prior to the late-night broadcast. This live feed lasted usually for two to two-and-a-half hours a night and was both uncensored and commercial-free. During the slots for commercial breaks, the audio and picture feed would continue, capturing at times risqué language and other events that would be edited out before transmission.

At the same time, satellite ground stations owned by individuals began appearing, and some found the live feed. Satellite dish owners began to document their sightings in technical journals, giving viewers knowledge of things they were not meant to see. Carson and his production staff grew concerned about this and pressured NBC into ceasing the satellite transmissions of the live taping in the early 1980s. The satellite link was replaced by microwave transmission until the show's editing facilities were moved to Burbank.

Effect on popular culture 
Carson's show launched the careers of many performers, especially comedians and musicians. For a comedian appearing on the show, getting Carson to laugh and being invited to the guest chair were considered the highest honors. Notable among these were David Letterman, Robin Williams, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Arsenio Hall, Jeff Foxworthy, Ellen DeGeneres, Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, David Brenner, Tim Allen, Drew Carey, Howie Mandel, Roseanne Barr and Don Rickles. Carson was successor to The Ed Sullivan Show as a showcase for different types of talent, as well as continuing a vaudeville-style variety show.

In 1966, Carson popularized Milton Bradley's game Twister when he played it with actress Eva Gabor. Not widely known up to that time, the game skyrocketed in popularity after the broadcast.

Controversies and feuds 
Carson often made jokes at the expense of other celebrities. In 1980, Carson backed out of a deal to acquire the Aladdin Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and a competing group led by Wayne Newton successfully bought the property. According to lawyer Henry Bushkin, Carson became annoyed that he was often portrayed by the media as having "lost" the deal and reacted by telling jokes on his show about Newton, who had spent a great deal of effort building a masculine image. This created something of a high-profile feud between Carson and Newton. Years later, Newton appeared on Larry King Live, declaring that "Johnny Carson is a mean-spirited human being. And there are people that he has hurt that people will never know about. And for some reason at some point, he decided to turn that kind of negative attention toward me. And I refused to have it." Newton has often told of personally confronting Carson; after the final straw, Newton barged into Carson's office at the NBC studios and threatened to beat him up unless the jokes stopped. They did; but only after Carson, who compiled a 10–0 record as a boxer in the Navy, laughed at him.

On February 27, 1982, Carson was arrested for drunk driving on La Cienega Boulevard, near Beverly Hills; he was released on his own recognizance. Carson pleaded no contest to the charges, and in October 1982, received a sentence of three years probation, a fine of $603 and was required to attend a driver's education alcohol program. Carson's driving privilege was restricted to driving only to and from work and the alcohol education classes for a period of 90 days.
           
Perry Mason actor Raymond Burr became angry over Carson's continuing fat jokes about him and he only appeared on The Tonight Show twice, in 1968 and 1976.

On July 2, 1969, Carson launched an on-the-air attack on The New York Times after his nightly monologue, assailing the newspaper for an article saying that he was the highest-paid performer on television, earning $75,000 a week. He denied that was so, while declining to reveal his compensation in a subsequent interview with the newspaper, and called the article "damned unfair." The Times published a follow-up article saying that its initial reporter "erred", and that $75,000 a week was unlikely.

Carson reportedly loathed what he perceived as disloyalty, and he was furious when former frequent Tonight Show guest hosts John Davidson and Joan Rivers began hosting their own talk shows. Rivers' show on the Fox Network directly competed with Carson during the 1986–1987 season before being cancelled. On June 24, 2009, following Ed McMahon's death, Rivers lauded McMahon on Larry King Live, but said that after she got her own show, Carson never spoke to her again.

In December 1973, Carson joked on Tonight about an alleged shortage of toilet paper. Viewers believed the story and panic buying and hoarding ensued across the United States as consumers emptied stores, causing a real shortage that lasted for weeks. Stores and toilet paper manufacturers had to ration supplies until the panic ended. Carson apologized in January 1974 for the incident, which became what The New York Times called a "classic study" of how rumors spread. Carson called references in the article to him “very unfair”.

Carson successfully sued a manufacturer of portable toilets that wanted to call its product "Here's Johnny".

Carson performed a send-up of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Rogers noted, "I've told Johnny that I like humor as much as anybody. But what concerns me is the takeoffs that make me seem so wimpy! I hope it doesn't communicate that Mr. Rogers is just somebody to be made fun of. Only people who take the time to see our work can begin to understand the depth of it." Carson later apologized to Rogers for making fun of him.

Business ventures 
Carson invested $500,000 in the  failed DeLorean Motor Company. Additionally, Carson was head of a group of investors who purchased and operated two television stations. The first was KVVU-TV in Henderson, Nevada, an independent station serving Las Vegas, acquired by the Carson group in 1979. Shortly after buying the station, KVVU was rumored to be acquiring an NBC affiliation as then long-time affiliate KORK-TV was in the process of being replaced by KVBC (and now KSNV), but it never happened. Carson's second station, independent KNAT-TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was purchased in 1982. Unlike the Las Vegas operation, KNAT faced stiffer competition for top-quality, syndicated programming. Carson sold both of his stations in 1985 and 1986 with KVVU-TV (FOX 5) going to the Meredith Corporation and KNAT being sold to Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Carson's other business ventures included the successful Johnny Carson Apparel, Inc.—his turtlenecks became a fashion trend—and a failed restaurant franchise.

Retirement 

Carson retired from show business on May 22, 1992, at age 66, when he stepped down as host of The Tonight Show. His farewell was a major media event, often emotional for Carson, his colleagues, and the audiences, and stretched over several nights. In tribute to Carson and his enormous influence, several networks that had late-night variety talk shows "went dark" for the entire hour he did the last show. After 13 tries, The Tonight Show finally won the Emmy for Outstanding Late-night later that year, buoyed by the penultimate broadcast, which featured Johnny's final two guests: Robin Williams and Bette Midler.

NBC gave the role of host to the show's then-current permanent guest host, Jay Leno. Leno and David Letterman were soon competing on separate networks.

Post-retirement appearances 

At the end of his final Tonight Show episode, Carson indicated that he might, if so inspired, return with a new project. Instead, he chose to go into full retirement, rarely giving interviews and declining to participate in NBC's 75th-anniversary celebrations. He made an occasional cameo appearance, including voicing himself on the May 13, 1993, episode of The Simpsons ("Krusty Gets Kancelled"), telephoning David Letterman on a November 1993 episode of Late Show with David Letterman, and appearing in the 1993 NBC special Bob Hope: The First 90 Years. 

On May 13, 1994, Carson appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. During a week of shows from Los Angeles, Letterman was having Larry "Bud" Melman (Calvert DeForest) deliver his "Top Ten Lists" under the guise that a famous personality would be delivering the list, instead. On the last show of the week, Letterman indicated that Carson would be delivering the list. Instead, DeForest delivered the list, insulted the audience (in keeping with the gag), and walked off to polite applause. Letterman then indicated that the card he was given did not have the proper list on it and asked that the "real" list be brought out. On that cue, the real Carson emerged from behind the curtain (as Letterman's band played "Johnny's Theme"), an appearance that prompted a 90-second standing ovation from the audience. Carson then asked to sit behind Letterman's desk; Letterman obliged, as the audience continued to cheer and applaud. After some moments, Carson departed from the show without having spoken to the audience. He later cited acute laryngitis as the reason for his silence. This turned out to be Carson's last television appearance.

Carson also reviewed clips of the Tonight Show included in DVD compilations, and had humor pieces published in The New Yorker.

Letterman 
Prior to his death, Carson occasionally sent jokes to David Letterman. Letterman would then use these jokes in the monologue of his show, which Carson got "a big kick out of", according to Worldwide Pants Inc. senior vice president Peter Lassally, who formerly produced both men's programs. He also said Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor". In his first broadcast after Carson's death, Letterman delivered a monologue compiled entirely of jokes sent in by Carson, a fact the host revealed a short time later in the program.

Influences
Carson's influences included Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Fred Allen, Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, and Jack Paar.

Comedians who have claimed Carson as an influence include David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Dennis Miller, Bill Maher, Joan Rivers, Larry Wilmore, Ray Romano, Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Angie Dickinson, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Dick Cavett, Norm Macdonald, David Steinberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, Garry Shandling, Steve Martin, Arsenio Hall, Craig Ferguson, and Jimmy Fallon.

Brian Wilson was an avid fan of the show and in 1977 wrote a song titled "Johnny Carson" as a tribute. It was released on the Beach Boys Love You album.

Personal life 
Despite his on-camera demeanor, Carson was introverted and shy off-camera. He was known for avoiding most large parties and was referred to as "the most private public man who ever lived." Dick Cavett recalled, "I felt sorry for Johnny in that he was so socially uncomfortable. I've hardly ever met anybody who had as hard a time as he did." In addition, George Axelrod once said of Carson, "Socially, he doesn't exist. The reason is that there are no television cameras in living rooms. If human beings had little red lights in the middle of their foreheads, Carson would be the greatest conversationalist on Earth."

He normally refused to discuss politics, social controversies, his childhood, or his private life with interviewers, and offered the following list of written answers to journalists who wanted to ask him questions:
Yes, I did.
No, I didn't.
Not a bit of truth in that rumor.
Only twice in my life, both times on Saturday.
I can do either, but I prefer the first.
No. Kumquats.
I can't answer that question.
Toads and tarantulas.
Turkestan, Denmark, Chile, and the Komandorski Islands.
As often as possible, but I'm not very good at it yet. I need much more practice.
It happened to some old friends of mine, and it's a story I'll never forget.

Politics 

Carson opposed the Vietnam War and capital punishment, favored racial equality, and was against criminalizing extramarital sex and pornography. He avoided explicitly mentioning his views on The Tonight Show, saying he "hates to be pinned down" as that would "hurt me as an entertainer, which is what I am." As he explained in 1970, "In my living room I would argue for liberalization of abortion laws, divorce laws, and there are times when I would like to express a view on the air. I would love to have taken on Billy Graham. But I'm on TV five nights a week; I have nothing to gain by it and everything to lose." He also seldom invited political figures onto the Tonight Show because he "didn't want it to become a political forum" and did not want the show used, by himself or others, to influence the opinions of the viewers.

In his book, Carson's former lawyer Henry Bushkin stated, he "was by instinct and upbringing definitely Republican, but of an Eisenhower sort that we don't see much of anymore ... Overall, you'd have to say he was anti-big: anti-big government, anti-big money, anti-big bullies, anti-big blowhards." Carson served as MC for Ronald Reagan's inaugural gala in 1981 at the request of Frank Sinatra.

Religion 
As an adult, Carson was not a regular churchgoer, although during his childhood he was raised as a Methodist and during high school attended Christian Endeavor meetings at the local church.

Marriages 
In October 1949, Carson married Jody Wolcott in North Platte, Nebraska. The marriage was volatile, with infidelities committed by both parties, and ended in divorce in 1963.

Carson married Joanne Copeland the same year, on August 17. After a second protracted divorce in 1972, Copeland received a settlement of $6,000 per month in alimony until she remarried or until Carson's death (she received it until his death in 2005). She also received "a pretty nice little art collection." She later had a second marriage that also ended in divorce, and died in California, aged 83, in 2015. She had no children.

At the Carson Tonight Show 10th-anniversary party on September 30, 1972, Carson announced that former model Joanna Holland and he had been secretly married that afternoon, shocking his friends and associates. On March 8, 1983, Holland filed for divorce. The divorce case finally ended in 1985 with an 80-page settlement, Holland receiving $20 million in cash and property.

On June 20, 1987, Carson married Alexis Maas. The marriage lasted until his death in 2005.

Carson reportedly joked, "My giving advice on marriage is like the captain of the Titanic giving lessons on navigation."

Children 

Carson had three sons with his first wife: Christopher, Cory, and Richard. His middle son, Richard, died on June 21, 1991, when his car plunged down a steep embankment along a paved service road off Highway 1 near Cayucos, California. Apparently, Richard had been taking photographs when the accident occurred. On the first Tonight Show after his son's death, Carson paid tribute to Richard's photographic work by showing his nature slides, while Stevie Ray Vaughan's 1989 song "Riviera Paradise" played in the background. In addition, the final image of the show, as well as some "More to Come" bumpers, of Carson's last show on May 22, 1992, featured a photo Richard had taken.

Charity 
In 1981, Carson created the John W. Carson Foundation, dedicated to supporting children, education, and health services.  In August 2010, the charitable foundation created by Carson reported receiving $156 million () from a personal trust established by the entertainer years prior to his January 2005 death. Carson's foundation was now by far the largest of the Hollywood charities. The foundation continues to support charitable causes.

In November 2004, Carson announced a $5.3 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the Hixson–Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Department of Theater Arts, which created the Johnny Carson School of Theater and Film. Another $5 million donation was announced by the estate of Carson to the University of Nebraska following his death, while a $1 million donation was announced on November 4, 2011, creating the Johnny Carson Opportunity Scholarship Fund.

Carson also donated to causes in his hometown of Norfolk, including the Carson Cancer Center at Faith Regional Health Services, the Elkhorn Valley Museum, and the Johnny Carson Theater at Norfolk Senior High School. Carson also donated to the Northeast Community College Lifelong Learning Center in honor of his favorite teacher, Miss Faye Gordon. Miss Gordon had appeared on his show a number of times. His last known visit to Norfolk was to throw the 100th-birthday party for Miss Gordon, which Carson had promised to do several years earlier.

Other notes 
Carson, an amateur astronomer, was a close friend of astronomer Carl Sagan, who often appeared on The Tonight Show. The unique way Sagan had of saying certain words, like "billions" of stars, would lead Carson to ribbing his friend, saying "BILL-ions and BILL-ions". Carson was the first person to contact Sagan's wife Ann Druyan with condolences when the scientist died in 1996. He owned several telescopes, including a top-of-the-line unit. In 1981, the minor planet 1981 EM4 was named in his honor, 3252 Johnny.

Carson was shown on a 1978 segment of 60 Minutes practising at home on a drum set given to him by close friend Buddy Rich, who was the jazz musician with the most appearances on The Tonight Show. Gore Vidal, another frequent Tonight Show guest and friend, wrote about Carson's personality in his 2006 memoir.

Carson was an avid tennis player. When he sold a Malibu house to John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal, the escrow terms required McEnroe to give Johnny six tennis lessons. Carson's primary tennis teacher was Bob Trapenberg, who taught him for some time, and traveled with him to Wimbledon.

Death and tributes 

On March 19, 1999, Carson suffered a severe heart attack at his home in Malibu, California, and was hospitalized in nearby Santa Monica, where he underwent quadruple-bypass surgery.

Carson had been a heavy smoker for decades, and in the early days of his tenure on Tonight, often smoked on-camera. He smoked four packs of Pall Mall cigarettes a day. It was reported that as early as the mid-1970s, he would repeatedly say, "These things are killing me." His younger brother recalled that during their last conversation, Carson kept saying, "Those damn cigarettes."

At 6:50 am PST on January 23, 2005, Carson died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of respiratory failure arising from emphysema. He was 79, and had revealed his terminal illness to the public in September 2002. His body was cremated, and the ashes were given to his wife, Alexis Maas. In accordance with his family's wishes, no public memorial service was held. Carson was also survived by his younger brother, Dick, who was an Emmy Award-winning director of, among other things, the competing Merv Griffin Show and Wheel of Fortune.

Numerous tributes were paid to Carson upon his death, including a statement by then-President George W. Bush, all recognizing the deep and enduring affection held for him.

On January 31, The Late Show with David Letterman paid tribute with former Tonight Show executive producer Peter Lassally and bandleader Doc Severinsen. At the beginning of this show, Letterman said that for 30 years, no matter what was going on in the world, whether people had a good or bad day, they wanted to end it being "tucked in by Johnny." He also told his viewers that the monologue he had just spoken, which was very well received by the studio audience, consisted entirely of jokes sent to him by Carson in the last few months of his life. Doc Severinsen ended the Letterman show that night by conducting and playing, along with Tommy Newsom and Ed Shaughnessy, one of Carson's two favorite songs, "Here's That Rainy Day" (the other was "I'll Be Seeing You"). The Tonight Show with Jay Leno also paid tribute to Carson with guests Ed McMahon, Bob Newhart, Don Rickles, Drew Carey, and k.d. lang.

On his final Tonight Show appearance, Carson himself said that while sometimes people who work together for long stretches of time on television do not necessarily like each other, this was not the case with McMahon; he and McMahon were good friends who would have drinks and dinner together, and the camaraderie they had on the show could not be faked. Their friendship spanned 46 years.

The 2005 film The Aristocrats was dedicated to Carson.

The Simpsons, season 16, episode seven, "Mommie Beerest", was dedicated to his memory.

At the first Comedy Awards on Comedy Central, the Johnny Carson Award was given to David Letterman. At the 2nd Annual Comedy Awards on Comedy Central, the Johnny Carson Award was given to Don Rickles.

A two-hour documentary about his life, Johnny Carson: King of Late Night, aired on PBS on May 14, 2012, as part of their American Masters series. It is narrated by Kevin Spacey and features interviews with many of Carson's family, fellow comedians, and protégés.

A park is named in his honor in Burbank, across from the former NBC Studios.

References

Further reading

Accounts on work and life

Humor material collections 
 
 
 Johnny Carson Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

External links 

 

 Johnny Carson papers, 1970–1992 at the Library of Congress
Johnny Carson King of Late Night , an American Masters documentary

1925 births
2005 deaths
20th-century American comedians
American game show hosts
American male comedians
American stand-up comedians
American television talk show hosts
Comedians from Nebraska
Deaths from emphysema
Entertainers from Nebraska
Kennedy Center honorees
Late night television talk show hosts
Military personnel from Iowa
Peabody Award winners
People from Clarinda, Iowa
People from Corning, Iowa
People from Pottawattamie County, Iowa
People from Red Oak, Iowa
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Primetime Emmy Award winners
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
United States Navy officers
United States Navy personnel of World War II
University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni
Jan Kazimierz Daszewski (5 April 1916 – 4 April 1942) was a fighter pilot in the Polish Air Force in World War II.

Jan Daszewski was born on 5 April 1916 in Kiev. He trained at the "School of Eaglets" in Dęblin.  In 1938 he was posted to 112 Fighter Escadrille and participated in the September 1939 campaign in Poland, claiming a Ju 87 destroyed. Via Romania he escaped to France and in May 1940 he was posted to ECD I/55 flying the Bloch MB 152, where he claimed a He 111 destroyed.

On 2 August 1940 he was posted to No. 303 Squadron.

His achievements are described in Arkady Fiedler's book Dywizjon 303 (Squadron 303). With Jan Zumbach, Mirosław Ferić and Witold Łokuciewski Daszewski was part of the famous "four musketeers" of Polish pilots fighting in the Battle of Britain.On 7 September he was wounded in combat, suffering a severe thigh injury and returning to 303 on 27 December 1940.

On 22 November 1941 he became a Flight commander in 303 Squadron. He was shot down and posted missing over the English Channel in April 1942.

His wartime tally was 3 destroyed, 2 'probables' and 1 destroyed on the ground.

He was awarded the Silver Cross of Virtuti Militari, Cross of Valour and three bars.

References

1916 births
1942 deaths
Polish World War II pilots
Polish military personnel killed in World War II
Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II
Missing in action of World War II This is a list of notable ecclesiastical buildings that have suffered significant fires. Some medieval-era places of worship have been subject to repeated fires, causing significant destruction and requiring varying levels of reconstruction. While most of the primary structural elements of these buildings are fire-resistant stone, the roof structures are usually of wood construction, at least as originally built. This list compiles significant fires at prominent religious sites.

Australia
 St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta – The 1854 cathedral was rebuilt following a 1996 fire.

Austria
 St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna The cathedral's roof was destroyed by fire on 12 April 1945.

Belgium
 Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp) A fire on 5–6 October 1533 damaged the church.
 Saint Lambert's Cathedral, Liège was destroyed by fire on 28/29 April 1185. It was rebuilt and again destroyed by revolutionaries beginning in 1795
 St. Salvator's Cathedral, Bruges The church's predecessor was destroyed by fire in 1116. A fire destroyed the roof of the present building in 1839.

Canada

Saint-Jacques Cathedral, Montreal  burned down in 1852, 1858, and 1933. Finally demolished, with the spire and south transept wall (which had survived the 1933 fire) being incorporated into the Pavillon Judith-Jasmin of the Université du Québec à Montréal. The seat of the diocese was moved to Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral in 1894. 
 Saint Boniface Cathedral, Winnipeg  Burned down in 1860, and more famously in 1968; the facade still stands, with a modern cathedral building behind it.

Chile
 Church of the Company Fire 8 December 1863, with between 2,000 and 3,000 deaths, believed to be the most to perish in a single building fire.

China
 Yongning Pagoda  The pagoda, built in 516, was struck by lightning in 534 and destroyed.

Czech Republic
 Olomouc Synagogue  The synagogue in Olomouc (then Czechoslovakia was burned at Nazi instigation on the night of  March 15–16, 1939.
 Opava Synagogue  The synagogue in Opava was burned in 1938 by Sudeten Germans.

Denmark

 Aarhus Cathedral The previous cathedral was destroyed by fire, along with the rest of the town, in 1330. In 1642 a fire caused by lightning destroyed the tower and some of the bells. 
 Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen Earlier churches on the site burned in 1314 and 1728. The predecessor to the present building was destroyed during the bombardment of Copenhagen in September 1807.
 Roskilde Cathedral On 14 May 1443, the town suffered a fire which damaged the cathedral.

Fiji
 Kendrit Shiri Sanatan Dharam Shiv Temple  Burned in 2008.

Finland
 Oulu Cathedral The original wooden structure was destroyed by fire in 1822.
 Porvoo Cathedral  Burned in 1508, 1571, 1590 and 1708, and again in an arson attack in 2006.
 Turku Cathedral The cathedral was badly damaged in the 1827 Great Fire of Turku.

France
 Amiens Cathedral A 1258 fire damaged the cathedral while it was under construction. The previous Romanesque cathedral burned in 1218.
 Angers Cathedral The predecessor to the current church burned in 1032, immediately after it was completed.
 Angoulême Cathedral Previous cathedrals on the site were burned in the 6th and 8th centuries.
 Auxerre Cathedral The predecessor to the present cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1023.
 Bayeux Cathedral After fires in 1077 and 1105, the 11th century Bayeux Cathedral was rebuilt into the present church, starting in the early 12th century. An 1160 fire caused extensive damage.
 Bayonne Cathedral An earlier cathedral on the site was destroyed by fires in 1258 and 1310.
 Beauvais Cathedral Three fires led to the start of a replacement for the former basilica at the site. The Basse Oeuvre is the remnant of the original church, having survived fires in the 11th and 12th centuries. The ambitious project suffered from structural instability, leading to repeated collapses, in 1284 and 1573.
 Belfort Cathedral A timber church on the site was destroyed by fire in 1212.

 Chartres Cathedral The present building is the latest of at least five structures destroyed by fire and war, with documented events in 858, 962 and 1020. After the 1020 fire the basis of the present cathedral was begun. In 1134 the town suffered a fire, which may have damaged the cathedral. A fire destroyed the east tower in 1194, leading to the reconstruction of the nave and choir. A lightning strike in 1506 destroyed the northeast tower, leading to its replacement in flamboyant Gothic style. A further fire in 1836 destroyed the lead-covered roof. Its replacement was undertaken in iron.
 Cambrai Cathedral The cathedral was damaged in a fire in 1859 and restored by Viollet-le-Duc.
 Coutances Cathedral The cathedral's predecessor was damaged by fire before the 13th century.
 Dijon Cathedral was damaged by a fire in 1137 that destroyed much of Dijon.
 Evreux Cathedral An early church was destroyed by fire in war in 1119. A replacement burned in 1198 in continuing hostilities between France and England.
 Langres Cathedral The roof of the nave was destroyed by fire in 1314. A lightning-caused fire caused damage in 1562.
 Le Mans Cathedral A church dating to 1160 on the site burned, together with much of Le Mans, on 3 September 1134, with a second fire in 1137. The chevet survived, and a new nave was constructed. The chevet was eventually rebuilt between 1217 and 1254.
 Metz Cathedral A 1468 fire damaged the roof.  Fireworks caused a fire in 1877.
 Nantes Cathedral A fire on 28 January 1972 extensively damaged the roof, requiring a full restoration of the cathedral's interior. Another fire occurred on 18 July, 2020. This fire centred around the organ level right behind the main circular window.
 Nantes Basilica of St. Donatian and St. Rogatian Roofers working on refurbishment accidentally started a fire on 15 June, 2015, which severely damaged the back and roof.
 Noyon Cathedral was built following a fire in 1131.

 Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris On 15 April 2019 the cathedral's roof caught fire, leading to the destruction of the 12th-century roof structure and the 19th-century spire.
 Poitiers Cathedral The organ was destroyed in a fire on 25 December 1681.
 Quimper Cathedral One tower burned in 1620.
 Reims Cathedral An earlier Our Lady of Reims was destroyed by fire on 6 May 1210. Work on the present building began a year later. A fire in 1481 destroyed the attic framing, central tower and aisle gallery roofs. During World War I, German shelling set fire to scaffolding at the north tower, destroying the roof and the bishop's palace. In both cases, the lead roofing material melted. After the war, the cathedral roof was reconstructed using concrete framing.
 Rouen Cathedral Its immediate predecessor was struck by lightning in 1110. An early version of the present church burned on Easter in 1200. It was struck by lightning in 1284. The main spire blew down in 1353. More lightning strikes took place in 1625 and 1642. A fire in 1727 damaged the choir roof. A replacement spire was destroyed by lightning in 1822, and was replaced with a neo-Gothic spire. Two aerial bombings in 1944 damaged the church, the second destroyed the roof, the north tower and much of Rouen by fire.
 Senlis Cathedral In 1504 a fire caused by lightning destroyed the roof and vaulting.
 Strasbourg Cathedral A Carolingian basilica at the site caught fire in 873, 1002 and 1007. Its replacement burned in 1015.
 Synagogue du Quai Kléber The main synagogue of Strasbourg was delibrately burned by Hitler Youth on the night of 30 September-1 October, 1940, following a previous attempt on 12 September.

Germany
 Berlin Cathedral An incendiary bomb set fire to the dome on 24 May 1944.
 Capernaum Church, Berlin The church was bombed and burned out in May 1944, and the tower burned in February 1945.
 Cologne Cathedral The second cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1248 as it was being demolished to make way for a new cathedral. The cathedral was damaged by 14 bomb strikes during World War II.
 Dresden Frauenkirche The Frauenkirche was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden, catching fire on 13 February 1945 and collapsing on 15 February.
 Hildesheim Cathedral In 1046, the cathedral caught fire and the nave of the building was destroyed. On 22 March 1945, a bombing raid during World War II set fire to the building and destroyed the cathedral.
 Lübeck Cathedral On the night of Palm Sunday (28–29 March) 1942 a Royal Air Force bombing raid destroyed the eastern vaults. A fire started in the adjoining museum and spread to the attic, and on Palm Sunday the towers collapsed. An Arp Schnitger organ was lost in the flames
 Magdeburg Cathedral The cathedral burned in 1207. On 16 January 1945, during World War II, a bombing raid set fire to the church. It was successfully contained, but caused significant damage.
 Mainz Cathedral On 29 August 1009, on the Day of the consecration of the cathedral, a fire burned out the building.
 New Synagogue (Berlin) An attempt was made on Kristallnacht to burn it down. It was finally destroyed during aerial bombing in late 1944 into early 1945. At least 267 synagogues of varying sizes were burned or destroyed during Kristallnacht.

 Speyer Cathedral On 31 May 1689 a fire started during the Thirty Years War destroyed the western part of the nave..

Ireland
 St Mel's cathedral, Longford The cathedral was heavily damaged on Christmas Day in 2009 by a fire that originated in a chimney flue.

Israel/Palestine
 Al-Aqsa Mosque  The Minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque was burned in an arson attack in 1969. 
 Church of the Holy Sepulchre 1808

Italy
 Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls During the 5th century the roof was destroyed by fire. On 15 July 1823 repairs to the lead roof started a fire that destroyed nearly all of the basilica.

Japan
 Kinkaku-ji  Built beginning in 1397, burned in 1565 and again burned by arson in 1950.
 Yanaka  The five-story pagoda in Yanaka Cemetery, Taitō, Tokyo was burned in a murder-suicide in 1957. It had previously burned in the Great Fire of Meguro in 1772.

Kosovo
 Cathedral of Saint George  Burned during the 2004 unrest in Kosovo in Prizren.
 Our Lady of Ljeviš  Burned during the 2004 unrest in Kosovo in Prizren.

Latvia
 The synagogues of Riga were burned in a pogrom by German forces in July of 1941, some with refugees inside. The Great Choral Synagogue was burned on July 4 and the fire was filmed for propaganda purposes. Only the Peitav Synagogue was spared.

Libya
 Slat Abn Shaif Synagogue  The synagogue was destroyed by fire in 1868 but rebuilt in 1870 by the Pasha of Tripoli. It was destroyed by fire again in 1912, and then rebuilt. It was razed in the 1980s by order of Muammar Gaddafi.

Macau
 Ruins of Saint Paul's in Macao  The church was damaged by fire during a typhoon in January 1835.

Netherlands
 St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht The site saw several buildings that were destroyed by fire or military attack from the 9th century onwards. A 1023 structure, known as Adalbod's Dom, was partly destroyed in a city-wide fire in 1253. The current church was started in 1254. The unfinished nave collapsed in 1674 when it was struck by a tornado, and was never rebuilt. However, a 2004 replica, built in scaffolding, was destroyed that year in a storm.

 Fire at the Sint-Brigidakerk in Noorbeek. On February 3, 2021

Norway
 Fantoft Stave Church  Built around 1150, burned by arson in 1992.
 Grue Church fire 1822
 Old Åsane Church  Built in 1795, burned by arson in 1992.

Poland
 The New Synagogue of Tarnów was set on fire by Nazis in November, 1939.

Russia
 Trinity Cathedral, Saint Petersburg A fire on 24 August 2006 destroyed the main dome and a cupola.

Slovenia
 Ljubljana Cathedral  Burned in 1361 and 1469.

Spain
 El Escorial 1671
 Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona The Catalan Gothic church was damaged in the 1428 Catalonia earthquake. In 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, it burned for 11 days.

Sweden

 Gothenburg Cathedral The predecessor to the present cathedral was destroyed by fire on 15 April 1721.
 Lund Cathedral Badly damaged in a fire in 1234.
 Katarina Church, Stockholm The church was destroyed by fire on the night of 1 May 1723, when a fire began in a mill in the Maria Church parish and spread eastward, resulting in the collapse of the Catherine Church's dome and tower. Another fire on 17 May 1990 also damaged the church, leaving only the walls intact.
 Uppsala Cathedral A fire in 1702 damaged the town, including the cathedral..

Syria
 Umayyad Mosque On 17 March 1400, Timur burned Damascus, and with it, the Umayyad Mosque. The mosque was extensively damaged again by fire in 1893.

Turkey
 Hagia Sophia Two predecessor churches at the site burned in 404 and 532.
 Süleymaniye Mosque The mosque was damaged in the Great Fire of 1660. An earthquake caused a partial dome collapse in 1766, and a second fire during World War I while it was being used for ammunition storage.

Ukraine
 Gwoździec Synagogue was damaged during World War I, rebuilt, and entirely destroyed in 1941. At the time of its construction it was within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
 Pohrebyshche Synagogue  The wooden synagogue burned several times before the 1690 restoration was destroyed in World War II.

United Kingdom
 St Mary's Church, Barnes The church was badly damaged by fire in June 1978.
 Canterbury Cathedral The cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1067. Another fire in 1174 damaged the choir, leading to the rebuilding of the east end of the cathedral. An earthquake damaged the cathedral in 1382. An 1872 fire destroyed the roof of the Trinity Chapel. Fires sustained during World War II bombings were quickly extinguished.
 Chichester Cathedral An 1187 fire destroyed the cathedral and town.
 Coventry Cathedral The Gothic St Michael's Church was destroyed in the Coventry Blitz on 14 November 1940. A new church was built next to the ruins, which have been stabilized and preserved.

 Croydon MinsterThe medieval predecessor of the present church building was destroyed by fire during the night of 5 January 1867.
 St Mary's Church, Ewell The entire north aisle of the church, except for a print by William Holman Hunt, was destroyed in a fire in 1973.
 Hereford Cathedral Welsh forces burned the predecessor of the present cathedral in 1056.

 St Paul's Cathedral, London The predecessor to the present St Paul's Cathedral was destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London. Built starting in 1087 after a city fire the same year, it was damaged while under construction by another London fire in 1135. A 1561 fire in the church's  spire was ignited by a lightning strike, destroying the spire and much of the roof, melting the lead The final 1666 fire was abetted by scaffolding around the building, whose heat calcined the stone. Demolition of the ruins was complicated by solidified lead that bound the ruins together.
 List of churches destroyed in the Great Fire of London and not rebuilt Many London churches were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.
 St Botolph's Aldgate, London Damaged by fire in 1965.
 St Clement Danes, London On 10 May 1941, during the London Blitz, a bombing raid set fire to the church.
 St Mary-at-Hill, London The predecessor was rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666. On 10 May 1987, a fire destroyed much of the church's interior, including its box pews.
 St Peter's Church, Eaton Square, London The original church was destroyed by fire in 1837, only a decade after its completion. Its successor was very badly damaged by arson in October 1987.
 Newcastle Cathedral A Norman predecessor burned in 1216.
 Norwich Cathedral In 1171 a fire damaged the nave. A lightning strike in 1463 ignited the spire and destroyed the nave roof. The heat of the fire changed the limestone of the nave from cream colored to pink in places. In 1509 the transept roofs burned.
 Peterborough Cathedral A 22 November 2001, arson caused substantial damage to the cathedral where the wooden ceiling came within moments of catching fire. Fortunately the fire was spotted by one of the vergers allowing a swift response by emergency services. The timing was particularly unfortunate, for a complete restoration of the painted wooden ceiling was nearing completion.
 St Mary's Church, Putney The church was badly damaged by fire as the result of an arson attack in 1973. The interior was completely rebuilt and the church re-consecrated in 1982.
 Sheffield Cathedral The parish church predecessor was burned in 1266. The present cathedral has suffered from fires in the 20th and 21st centuries.
 Southwark Cathedral The cathedral's predecessor was destroyed in 1212 by the Great Fire of Southwark.
 Southwell Cathedral Lightning striking the southwest tower burned the tower roof, nave and crossing on 5 November 1711.

 York Minster An earlier church was destroyed by fire in 741. Its successor was damaged in 1069 during the harrying of the North, and finally destroyed by the Danes in 1070. A new Norman style structure was built from 1080 and was damaged by fire in 1137. It was replaced in stages by the present structure. An 1840 fire destroyed the roof over the nave, southwest tower and south aisle. On 9 July 1984 a major fire destroyed the roof and vaulted ceiling of the 13th-century south transept.

United States
 Adas Israel Congregation  The synagogue in Duluth, Minnesota was destroyed by arson in 2019.
 Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City On December 18, 2001, the unfinished north transept of the cathedral was badly damaged by fire.
 Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (San Francisco, California) Destroyed by arson on 7 December 1962.
 Church of the Epiphany (Roman Catholic, Manhattan) The predecessor to the present building was destroyed on December 20, 1963 by a lit cigarette.
 Precious Blood Church fire Destroyed 27 May 1875 when a breeze from an open window blew lacing draped over a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary into a lit candle.
 St. Peter's Church (Washington, D.C.) Destroyed March 17, 1940, when a blowtorch being used to remove paint from the windows of the clerestory set off a spark.

References

worship
worship