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CNN Live Today

Interview With Bill Zehme

Aired April 29, 2002 - 14:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Since "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson retired about ten years ago, he has dropped so far out of sight, many people were relieved to see him on the cover of "Esquire" magazine, left-hand side there. "Esquire" writer Bill Zehme interviewed Carson about television, his life of seclusion since leaving it -- essentially seclusion, you could say it that way.

Bill is live in New York. How are you? Good afternoon.

BILL ZEHME, "ESQUIRE": I'm fine. How are you, Bill?

HEMMER: I'm doing fine, thank you. One of the things I really like about Johnny Carson, is the man said he was retiring and said he was leaving and actually didn't.

ZEHME: Isn't that something?

HEMMER: What does it say to you, or suggest about the man who does something like that?

ZEHME: This is a Nebraskan stoic, who -- when he said goodbye, he meant it. And it's almost unheard of. He's not like show people, who seem to crave the audience adulation. He's perfectly fine with the silence.

I think the only thing that he misses is being able to sort of unload on a topicality, you know, and tell jokes of the day.

HEMMER: Yes, I want to get to that in a moment. But tell us, why did he want to talk now?

ZEHME: Well, I told him, frankly, that I wanted to commemorate his ten years May 22nd, when he left us. And here is a man who spent 30 years every night sort of comforting us and putting us to bed at night, and trying to help us make sense of our personal problems, as well as world events.

And it seemed to me, now more than ever, it would be nice to just sort of reconnect with him. Because I think it is a comfort.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: A ten-year marker. Go ahead, Bill. What were you going to say? ZEHME: Just sitting across from him, I can't explain the level of comfort you feel. You know, it's still Johnny.

HEMMER: Tell us this. It's my understanding that he insists not to go back on television. Where does that emanate?

ZEHME: I think -- he made that decision, I think, within a year after leaving. He actually was considering doing specials or producing some other kind of programming. And it occurred to him finally that whatever else he tried to do, he couldn't probably have the freedom that he had on "The Tonight show."

He's one of the great spontaneous television performers of all time, if not the greatest. And I think to work with a script and a situation that would be a little more convoluted, I think he just wanted to be remembered for the body of work. That's what he told me. He wants to let the work speak for itself. And I tell you, the work holds up.

HEMMER: Indeed it does. I'm interested to know, you said that you felt so comfortable in sitting across with him and talking with him. Tell us what he's doing today. He's sailing. He has a huge interest in Africa, I understand.

ZEHME: Yes, well, he loves Africa. In fact, he named his boat the Serengeti. He loves the Serengeti plains in Tanzania. He went there one year after he left the air. But really, in the last 6 years, he's been floating around the Pacific.

And starting Wednesday, he's taking a brand new boat, also called the Serengeti, 130-footer, down and through the Panama Canal, which is every sailor's dream, and down into the Caribbean. He's very excited about his new life at sea. So we can think of our king out on the water.

HEMMER: Got it. Bill, did you talk much about modern-day problems? Did you talk about politics, did you talk about issues at all?

ZEHME: This was not so much an interview. I sort of proposed to him that, you know, I was going to commemorate this. And he suggested that we spend a little time together so I could reconnect with him.

And really,I didn't want to take him -- basically, he is the guy who he has always been. He's kept to himself, quite obviously. And he's shy. He's actually a shy guy. And therefore he's not going to pontificate.

Although he's hilarious on the subject of reality television. He finds it to just be truly appalling and thinks people on "Survivor" are in about as much jeopardy as he is having lunch.

HEMMER: That could be. What about Letterman?

ZEHME: He keeps an eye on him, but I think not all that closely. He sort of -- he will tell you, he did it for so long, that it's not even really that interesting for him to watch anymore. If he has the option, he'd probably rather watch a nature program or something. Something about astronomy.

HEMMER: Are we going to wait another ten years for another interview, I'm wondering now.

ZEHME: I don't know.

HEMMER: If the guy sticks to his word, you know, if he says it, he's going to do it.

ZEHME: I think we did it only because we didn't say it was an interview. You know, it was time spent.

HEMMER: More of a conversation.

ZEHME: That's exactly what it was.

HEMMER: Thank you, Bill. Bill Zehme, "Esquire" magazine.

ZEHME: Thank you.

HEMMER: Thanks for sharing your story with us today.

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