Heartland Politics with Robin Johnson

Midwestern Roots A Key to Johnny Carson's Success

By Robin Johnson

Published January 31, 2025 at 12:15 PM CST

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Mike Thomas, co-author with the late Bill Zehme of a new biography of Johnny Carson called Carson the Magnificent, shares some little-known facts about Carson's rise to stardom, his roots in rural Iowa, place in American culture, and tidbits about Ed McMahon, the 'Tonight Show' theme, his end-of-monologue golf swing, and much more. Thomas, author of two books and current writer for Chicago magazine, also discusses his role in how the book was finished after the untimely death of noted Chicago-based author Bill Zehme.

Heartland Politics with Robin Johnson

Robin Johnson

Robin A. Johnson is a governmental relations, public policy and political consultant. He is an expert on government reform issues and has consulted with numerous local governments on consolidation/merger, public-private partnerships and full-cost accounting of public services. Robin has also helped candidates win elections for the U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, state legislature, judiciary and local government. Robin served as a consultant to the Office of Statewide Performance Review in the Illinois Governor’s Office and is former director of the Illinois Center for Competitive Government, a partnership between the Illinois Comptroller’s Office and the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University. Prior to that, he was Director of the Local Government Affairs Division of the Illinois Comptroller’s Office. Robin served on the Board of Directors of the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP) in 1999-2000.

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