11/30/2007
Wayne Newton "Had Beef" with Johnny Carson Over Gay Jokes
Recent Dancing with the Stars contestant and Vegas legend Wayne Newton told Larry King that his friendship with Johnny Carson was destroyed because of the late night talk show host's jokes implying that Newton was gay.
So, Newton paid him a visit to threaten him.
Said Newton to King: "'Mr. Carson,' I said, 'I don't know what friend of yours I've killed, I don't know what child of yours I've hurt, I don't know what food I've taken out of your mouth... but these jokes about me will stop, and they'll stop now. Or I will kick your ass.'... Johnny Carson was a mean-spirited human being. There are people he has hurt that people will never know about. And, for some reason, at some point, he decided to turn that kind of negative attention toward me, and I refused to have it."
Video on Newton's "beef" with Johnny Carson is over at PageOneQ.
Posted 12:30 PM EST by Andy Towle in I'm Not Gay, Larry King, News, Television, Wayne Newton | Permalink
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There's a very old bar in West Hollywood where some of the patrons told me that they used to see Johnny Carson there. They neither confirmed nor denied that Johnny was gay, but he was apparently a regular.
Then, I kept hearing about how private he was about his personal life. I'll always wonder.
Posted by: Hollywood Dave | Nov 30, 2007 12:44:24 PM
As a child in the late 60s, I thought Wayne Newton was "like me", but now I know one can be a little "like me" and not be Gay (might as well be 'cause everybody 's gonna' think you are). So, if he aint, he aint. Who cares? It's not like we're loosing Johnny Mathis from our ranks. Mathis was one of the most beautiful men who ever lived (40 years ago, of course). If Mathis said he wasn't Gay, I'd cry.
I heard that Johnny Carson was mean. Didn't he disown his son because he gave Carson an biracial grandchild?
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Nov 30, 2007 12:54:23 PM
it always seemed to me that johnny carson was a bit of a homophobe, and that he did a lot to perpetuate the gay stereotypes. for that i thought his humor was pretty stupid and pandering.
i cpntinue to wonder though, whether people who are defending their heterosexuality are also being homophobic when they treat the gay label as an extreme insult as wayne newton is doing in this case. i grew up in a place where "cocksucker" was the worst thing someone could be called. johnny carson was definitely part of that problem, and wayne's reaction at the time was appropriate, but i wonder if it still is. there's the old seinfeld line, "not that there's anything wrong with it,' which believe it or not was kind of a breakthrough in mass media.
Posted by: andrew sears | Nov 30, 2007 12:56:39 PM
slow news day?
Posted by: joe | Nov 30, 2007 1:10:16 PM
Apparently WN was so fearful of Carson, he had to wait nearly two decades after JC (interesting initials) died to reveal this tidbit. He wasn't so much worried about the label as he was for its affect on his career. Carson himself was well known to only tolerate toadies, sycophants, hangers-on and cronies like Ed McMahon, but preferred ultimately to be alone. Like many bullies, apparently, he was also something of a coward too.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Nov 30, 2007 1:23:58 PM
ANDREW SEARS: of course people are being homophobic when they defend their heterosexuality by implying that being labelled a homosexual is an extreme insult.
Wayne Newton should be more concerned about getting a better dye job for the rug on his head than whether or not someone implied he is gay.
And, yeah, I believe Johnny Carson was probably a son of a bitch.
Posted by: peterparker | Nov 30, 2007 1:31:56 PM
I recall seeing Johnny around 1991 crossing California Street In SF going into the Mark Hopkins hotel. JC was dressed in tennis clothes from the 70s. (White shorts knee high socks and deck shoes with a rainbow-striped sweater). He was being helped by and amazon blonde woman in a sleazy mini dress. The woman towered over Carson who’s stature was slight with an enormous head. It looked like something out of a Midnight Movie.
As far as Wayne Newton waiting 20 years since Carson’s death to talk about it, that’s probably wise. Hollywood still has powerful folks settling old scores for Ron and Nancy Reagan, Lew Wasserman and even Joan Crawford.
Posted by: ggreen | Nov 30, 2007 1:46:44 PM
Wayne Newton was often known (and still may) for making homophobic jokes about 'swishy', 'effeminate' men.
Posted by: Jeff | Nov 30, 2007 1:49:41 PM
This comes as no surprise, I think I recall he used racial slurs against his own grand kid, racists, homophobes, xenophobes, all the same. And he was not funny, and, for the life of me I have no idea how he lasted as long as he did.
The sad thing is that to this day, any implication that you might be "gay" seems to make people run in shame, please Mr Newton, if you were so "hurt" you should have done like all the publicty seekers in Hollywood, call him out on it when he was alive.
And, please, NO MAS plastic surgery, you don't even look like the old Wayne Newton.
Posted by: Luke | Nov 30, 2007 1:53:31 PM
Way to talk ill of the dead.
Posted by: Meeg | Nov 30, 2007 2:32:24 PM
Carson only died in 2005, that's not "two decades", and it's only 15yrs since he retired.
Posted by: Mike | Nov 30, 2007 2:32:59 PM
The "way to talk ill of the dead" comment reminds me of the Bette Davis line upon hearing of Joan Crawford's death: "My mother always said you should only speak good of the dead. Joan Crawford is dead. Good."
Posted by: Seattle | Nov 30, 2007 3:23:00 PM
so will it be in Conan's Tonight Show contract to continue Johnny and Jay's ignorant homophobic schtick ??
Posted by: A.J. | Nov 30, 2007 5:35:57 PM
I think it takes a real man to take a joke from Carson.
Posted by: JOhn | Nov 30, 2007 5:48:52 PM
Who cares really. But, if Newton would've been smart enough or had talent enough to roll with the jokes and exploit them, he'd have actually done his career some good and still had all the muffin he could munch. Does the pussy really get taken away and locked up if someone else says you're homosexual, or is there truth that is at the core unable to be denied by the "offended"?
Posted by: ck | Nov 30, 2007 6:11:06 PM
I thought for sure Wayne Newton was dead too.
And I could have sworn that Carson (after I had to think of who he was) had been dead for decades. Ditto what Davis said...."Good"
Posted by: Jordan | Nov 30, 2007 10:54:48 PM
Yeah, I should have checked the dates, his show ended 15 years ago and he basically disappeared. I believe there is a nasty biography of him available.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Nov 30, 2007 11:02:32 PM
There's a reason why Carson used to razz WN. WN used to bad-mouth Carson behind his back because Carson was always a bigger draw in Las Vegas when Carson did his twice yearly run there than WN, who was a permanent fixture in Vegas. It is typical of WN, who is also known as the "Wicked Witch of Vegas" to bad-mouth the dead. WN bad-mouthed Sinatra once behind Sinatra's back and Sinatra confronted WN and nearly ended WN's Las Vegas career. Poor WN has been battling the "gay" rumours for years. I mean this is a man who wears more makeup and has had more face-lifts than Joan Rivers! That dimple in Wayne Newton's chin used to be his navel! WN is a mean, petty little prick. He ought to STFU.
Posted by: mike | Dec 1, 2007 6:24:37 AM
I'm 40, and a big Carson fan. A couple of points I'd like to make: 1) if Carson was a homophobe in his day, then everybody was - we're talking about a time when the phrase "politically correct" didn't exist, and
2) Carson's jabs were pretty light-hearted and tame.
To hold a grudge for such a long time, and to mention it on TV, is in my opinion, quite girlish.
(NOT womanish - girl-ish)
Posted by: Jeff | Dec 1, 2007 10:17:12 AM
Wayne should be flattered by being called a queen, there is no beef if he is actually straight!
Posted by: Ty | Dec 2, 2007 2:09:10 PM
I always thought that Johnny Carson was a insult to the industry. Although he was powerful in his own mind he brought us some of the newest talent that there was at the time. If you were on Carsons' show you made it or about to make it big.
Always thought that Wayne Newton is gay saw him in NewYork years ago and I was waiting for Liberace to come screaming out on stage with him. I was watching the Saprano's one night and someting that was said and the content of the show I thought Wayne was part of it.
Just a thought.
Posted by: Dr. Pat | Dec 5, 2007 3:46:42 PM