Recent Episodes
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Preview
Johnny Carson: King of Late Night Preview
American Masters
Premieres nationally Monday, May 14 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings).
Johnnyâ??s Master Comedic Skill
Johnnyâ??s Master Comedic Skill
American Masters
Tonight Show guests comment on Carsonâ??s master comedic timing.
Johnnyâ??s Toughest Critic
Johnnyâ??s Toughest Critic
American Masters
The strained and complicated relationship Johnny Carson had with his mother.
Johnny and Ed
Johnny and Ed
American Masters
A look at the relationship between Johnny Carson and his Tonight Show sidekick Ed McMahon.
"Carson's Cellar"
"Carson's Cellar"
American Masters
Carsonâ??s tough and awkward beginnings as a TV personality on the show "Carson's Cellar".
Outtake: Doc Severinsen
Outtake: Doc Severinsen
American Masters
Doc Severinsen talks about his sartorial changes as leader of The Tonight Show band.
Related Content
With credits for Kitty Foyle, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, and the anti-war novel Johnny Got His Gun, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (1905–76) was one of Hollywood’s highest-paid writers. When he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947, he became part of the group known as the Hollywood Ten; convicted for contempt of Congress, he spent 11 months in federal prison and lost all rights to ply his craft. He wrote 30 scripts under pseudonyms — winning an Oscar in 1956 for The Brave One as Robert Reich — and was not recognized again publicly until 1960, when Otto Preminger credited him on Exodus and Kirk Douglas did so on Spartacus — actions considered to mark the end of the blacklist. As late as 1993, Trumbo was awarded a posthumous Academy Award for Roman Holiday (1953). This program is adapted from his son Christopher’s 2003 play and based on the remarkable letters Trumbo wrote during the devastation wrought by the “Red Scare” in mid-20th century.




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