Overview
- Mark Malkoff’s Love, Johnny Carson, coauthored with David Ritz, reports that more than 30 celebrities were barred at various times during Carson’s tenure.
- Accounts indicate some of those named still appeared on the program when a guest host was behind the desk instead of Carson.
- Reported reasons for exclusion ranged from on-air missteps or lackluster performances to disrespect toward crew, personal disputes and disputed claims of psychic abilities.
- Names cited across the coverage include Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres, William Shatner, Barbra Streisand, Jerry Lewis, Steve Allen, Orson Welles, Uri Geller and the Amazing Kreskin.
- Burt Reynolds and Rich Little have said they saw a hard-copy list, though no comprehensive, independently verified roster has been released.