Don Rickles’ Final Bombshell About Johnny Carson

Don Rickles, the legendary comedian known as “Mr. Warmth,” spent more than half a century on America’s stages and television screens, carving out a reputation as one of the sharpest insult comics to ever hold a microphone.

Yet behind the humor and the laughter, Rickles carried stories that he rarely shared publicly.

In his final years, before his death in 2017 at the age of 90, he opened up about his longtime friend and frequent on-screen partner, Johnny Carson, the undisputed king of late-night television.

What Rickles revealed shocked even those who thought they knew the pair’s decades-long relationship.

Rickles and Carson first crossed paths in the 1960s, when Carson had just begun his iconic run as host of The Tonight Show.

Rickles, already a rising name in comedy clubs, was invited onto the program as a guest. Their chemistry was immediate.

Rickles’ biting humor and Carson’s dry, understated responses created some of the most unforgettable late-night moments in television history.

Yet as Rickles later admitted, their friendship was far more complicated than audiences realized.

Speaking candidly in one of his last interviews, Rickles confessed: “Johnny wasn’t the man people thought he was.

He was brilliant, he was kind to me, but he also carried a darkness that very few ever saw.

” Rickles went on to explain that Carson, often seen by millions as calm, witty, and in control, struggled privately with loneliness and insecurity.

“He could be surrounded by people, but still feel like he was alone,” Rickles recalled. “I loved him, but I also worried about him.”

Rickles recounted one evening in the early 1970s, after a taping of The Tonight Show, when Carson invited him to his home.

“It was quiet, too quiet. Johnny poured us drinks, and he started talking about how sometimes he felt trapped by being ‘Johnny Carson.’ Everyone wanted something from him.

Nobody wanted to just sit with John, the man he really was.” For Rickles, that night revealed a side of Carson that he never forgot.

While audiences roared with laughter at their on-screen antics—like the famous moment when Carson barged onto Rickles’ set after the comedian accidentally broke his cigarette box—Rickles knew the humor masked a deeper struggle.

“Johnny could make a nation laugh, but when the cameras went off, the smile didn’t always stay,” Rickles said.

What shocked many when Rickles shared these memories was not just the revelation of Carson’s private pain, but also the depth of affection Rickles held for his friend.

Though Rickles built his career mocking celebrities, politicians, and even his closest friends with biting wit, his tone softened when speaking of Carson.

“He was the best we had,” Rickles insisted. “I never met anyone who could hold an audience the way he did.

But he was human, and being human isn’t easy when the world thinks you’re a god.”

Rickles also admitted that, toward the end of Carson’s life, he regretted not reaching out more.

After Carson retired in 1992, he largely disappeared from the public eye.

Rickles recalled calling a few times but hesitating to push too hard. “I thought he wanted to be left alone. But sometimes I wonder if maybe he needed someone to knock on the door and not leave.”

In reflecting on their friendship, Rickles shared one final story that underscored the complicated bond they shared.

On one of Carson’s last birthdays before his death in 2005, Rickles sent a handwritten note instead of a joke.

In it, he thanked Carson for giving him countless opportunities and for allowing their friendship to shine on national television.

According to Rickles, Carson never replied directly, but through a mutual friend he heard that Carson kept the note by his bedside.

“That meant more to me than any laugh we ever got on television,” Rickles said with emotion.

By the time Rickles himself passed away in 2017, his confession about Carson had become a reminder that even the most legendary figures are vulnerable.

Behind Johnny Carson’s unmatched timing and effortless charm lay a man who wrestled with the same doubts and insecurities as anyone else.

And behind Don Rickles’ sharp tongue was a loyal friend who, in the end, wanted the world to know that Carson was more than just the “king of late night.”

For fans who grew up watching their hilarious exchanges on The Tonight Show, Rickles’ words serve as both a revelation and a tribute.

The shocking truth he revealed wasn’t scandalous—it was human. Johnny Carson, the man who made millions laugh, sometimes couldn’t find laughter for himself.

And Don Rickles, the man who made a career of teasing, chose to honor his friend with honesty, vulnerability, and love in his final days.