Including interviews with all three of his ex-wives--two had never granted interviews about him before--CARSON: THE UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY is a story about wealth and power and celebrity... "He is grouchy in the mornings at Malibu when he awakes; indeed 'grump hour' is what his new wife calls those first moments at Johnny Carson's home. To himself, as well as to many others, this seems odd. After all, when Johnny Carson awakes each morning, he not only awakes on one of the most stunning beachfronts in North America, he is also about $50,000 richer than he was when he went to bed." So begins the first major biography of Johnny Carson, the soft-spoken humorist, whose tremendous popularity has made him one of the wealthiest and most influential men in America. Carson, whose show is regularly watched by between 5,000,000 to 9,000,000 people, now earns in excess of $18,000,000 a year, and according to the New York Times, he is "perhaps the nation's most prominent political commentator." Based on hundreds of interviews and documentary information gathered by the author and four researchers, CARSON: The Unauthorized Biography presents a great American success story. "The son of a utility lineman, Carson grew up in Norfolk, Nebraska, during the Great Depression. He is now a superstar and one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. But his success has not been easy, a product of talent alone. Carson has shown courage and persistence, facing and dealing with many obstacles and failures, such as the first Johnny Carson Show. A TV variety series that ran for 39 weeks, it proved to be a disaster (for reasons other than Carson's performance) which almost ended his career in show business. After the show's cancellation, Carson left Hollywood with $2,000 borrowed from his father to look for work in New York--where his luck would change.