Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon (left) during the final taping of 'The Tonight Show' May, 1992. "I'll be right back" -- Carson's response, when asked what he'd like for his epitaph at a press conference after he'd accepted Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Club Man of the Year Award in 1977. Jonny Carson Apparel produced a popular line of pants and turtlenecks. Johnny Carson. He was a writer for "The Red Skelton Show" and the host of quiz show, "The Johnny Carson . His former lawyer, Henry Bushkin, said the host instructed him to tell the president of NBC he wasnt renewing his contract.