page_title: Johnny Carson
section_title: Early life and career
hierarchical_section_title: Johnny Carson / Early life and career
caption_attribution_description: United States Navy portrait of Johnny Carson.
context_page_description: John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known for thirty years as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
context_section_description: Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, in 1925, to Homer Lloyd "Kit" Carson, a power company manager, and Ruth (Hook) Carson, who was of Irish ancestry. 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. At the age of twelve, Carson found a book on magic at a friend's house and immediately purchased a mail-order magician's kit. He debuted as "The Great Carsoni" at age 14 and he was paid US$3; many other performances at local picnics and country fairs followed.
  Carson joined the U.S. Navy on June 8, 1943, received V-12 officer training at Columbia University and Millsaps College, and continued to perform magic.
caption: Navy portrait of Carson
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