Every once in a great while, there comes an entertainer who manages to capture the collective heart of a nation of millions. A performer with an undeniable style, dignity and grace all his own, something everyone admires and wants but is nevertheless untouchable. James Dean had it, as did other such legends such as Cary Grant, Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn.

But no one fit that bill as perfectly as the late Johnny Carson, a marvel of a man who many regard as the single finest entertainer of the 20th century. Indeed there may be little room for arguing such a claim. As host of the "Tonight Show" from 1962 to 1992, Carson was a true original who single handedly set the bar and developed the paradigm for what late-night television could and should be. His show was in many ways a reflection of the man, someone who was equal parts mild-mannered Midwesterner and youthfully jubilant playboy with a taste for wackiness and absurdity. Make no mistake about it, Carson was the "Tonight Show," and none of his late-night contemporaries could ever make a run at him.

Looking back, it's hard to imagine another performer who has had such a pivotal impact on popular culture and the world we live in. Aside from being an inspired comic mind in his own right, Carson was an impeccable judge of talent and skill. All one has to do is look back and see how many careers he's launched: Bill Cosby, Jay Leno, Albert Brooks, even future late-night kingpin and onetime rival David Letterman, all made their first mark on the world on the "Tonight Show" stage.

In spite of his far-reaching impact on the entertainment world and our society at large, there was no ego or big-headedness to the man; only modesty and humbleness, the same attributes he carried at the center of himself all his life. Sure, Carson was good, hell, he was great. But he was always more concerned with making other people look good and sharing the spotlight with his guests, and it's precisely that sort of down-to-earth generosity that people treasure about him. When he left the show in May of 1992, he was gone from the public eye until his peaceful passing Sunday at the age of 79. But people like Carson don't die, not entirely anyway. They live on in the hearts of millions of people who watched him day in and day out, in every late-night monologue and every laugh from the audience. No, Carson isn't dead. It was just his time to go, and just as when he walked of the "Tonight Show" stage for the last time, he left with no regrets.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 27 2005.