Yahoo news story from Associated Press:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050123/ap_on_en_tv/obit_carson
Very sad news.
Although, I cannot say I was the generation to watch him (for I’m young), but my parents have spoke of how great he was on the Tonight Show compared to Jay Leno. 
Sad..
Johnny Carson had so much class.
I watched his show occasionally, and never failed to be entertained.
I have never watched Leno.
Carson could not be replaced, as far as I was concerned.
RIP, indeed.
M
Sorta not fair to compare because Johnny was so much the guy who established the genre (by lasting so long, because Jack Paar really started the show). Leno will never be as good, Letterman is more animated and has established the kind of onsite skits that went beyond Johnny’s “Stump the Band.” So Letterman is up there in his style but as I say, Johnny wrote the book.
He got to live long enough to see that he was irreplaceable, was likely rich and left the business with class, knowing that it had gotten old for him. I can only wish for that kind of success. RIP Johnny.
I like Leno actually. He has a real guy klutzy appeal. But I liked Johnny too, and the news was a surprise. But heck, how many people get to be almost 80? Not that bad.
Lisping Leno’s OK…
yeah, i like jay to, but i really like conan. 
I didn’t care much for Jay when he first started. I think he was trying to be too much like Johnny. When he started doing more of his own thing, it was definately better. There’s no way anyone could replace Johnny’s wit, timing and charisma. He will be missed greatly.
Bob
I always loved Johnny. My favorite shows were always the ones with really good comedians – Steven Wright, Jerry Seinfeld, Howie Mandel and the like. Not for the standups, but for the conversations they had with Johnny. The guy was never out of his element no matter how weird they got.
The absolutely funniest moment I remember was with Art Donovan, a guy who had been a defensive lineman with the Baltimore Colts in the 50’s and 60’s. He was always good for a laugh. Johnny asks him about the salaries that guys were commanding (this was c. 1990). Donovan goes into this story about the conditions when he was playing, and he tells Johnny about one preseason game they played on a field that had had a circus that had been there till the previous day. He says, “and there was elephant dung and all sorts of stuff on the field. . . We were getting set for a play, and the offensive tackle throws a handful of horseshit in my face. So of course, I hit him good, and the ref throws a flag, so I said, but ref he threw horseshit in my face. . .” Johnny and Ed are laughing as hard as I’d ever seen them, and it’s time for a commercial. Johnny says, “Back with Art Donovan and more about horseshit right after these messages.”
I think Carson was better than Leno or Letterman–especially in the “olden days”–back when a lot of people came on just to talk instead of pushing their latest movie, book, whatever. Give me a choice between watching an hour of Carson, Leno, or Letterman, Carson would win hands-down.
Susan
I never watched Johnny Carson.
I think Leno is a better stand-up comedian than Letterman, but Letterman has the better show. Paul Schaffer is very good, of course. 'Tis better to spend the time playing music than watching tv shows.
Ah, Johnny, I hardly knew ye . . . 
Will O’Ban
I grew up watching Johnny Carson in the 70’s. OK, I at least aged! 
There was definately more of an edge to the show, you didn’t always know what was going to happen. There were many times Johnny was surprised by what a guest said or did. Much more of a live, unpredictable feel than exists today.
Bob
I watched the clip with the potatoes that look like famous people lady last night. Never get enough of that one.
Carson was the topic this morning on a local (Miami) radio talk show. They interviewed a man who wrote a book about Johnny many years ago. He claims Carson was a very private individual. His onstage personality was totally different to offstage. He had seen him at parties and Johnny always appeared to be shy to the point of listener not talker.
I always loved his weather reports “How hot was it Johnny?”
“It was so hot I saw a bird cooking his worm on the sidewalk”
…and the night he interviewed Arnold Palmer’s wife who remarked she always kissed his balls before a tournament. After she realized what she actually said, she corrected herself by saying “His golf balls!” By then it was too late. The audience was roaring-laughing and Carson had remarked it probably made his putter “Rise to the occasion”
It took a long time for me to warm up to Johnny Carson after he replaced Jack Paar, but I do like this bit that someone recently sent me:
"Democracy is buying a big house you can’t afford with money you don’t have to impress people you wish were dead. And, unlike communism, democracy does not mean having just one ineffective political party; it means having two ineffective political parties. …
Democracy is welcoming people from other lands, and giving them something to hold onto – usually a mop or a leaf blower. It means that with proper timing and scrupulous bookkeeping, anyone can die owing the government a huge amount of money. …
Democracy means free television, not good television, but free. …
And finally, democracy is the eagle on the back of a dollar bill, with 13 arrows in one claw, 13 leaves on a branch, 13 tail feathers, and 13 stars over its head – this signifies that when the white man came to this country, it was bad luck for the Indians, bad luck for the trees, bad luck for the wildlife, and lights out for the American eagle."
I preferred Arsenio Hall to Leno, Letterman, Conan, and the rest of the latter day hosts, because he often allowed his guests to finish their sentences. I mean, he would ask a question and actually let the guest make a full reply. (Surprisingly, Whoopi turned out to be very good at that, too.)