From King of the Night: The Life of Johnny Carson By Laurence Leamer:
Whether the writing was good or bad or mediocre, that night's show was soon forgotten in the rush of new deadlines. Whenever the writers reminisced, it was usually the disasters they remembered. On one occasion a writer prepared a sketch commemorating the anniversary of Custer's Last Stand. In this version Colonel Custer, played by Johnny, survived after battling the last Indian to a standstill. The extra playing an Indian had to walk across the stage to Johnny, grapple with him, and fall to the ground, When the Indian reached stage center, he turned toward the camera. "Many moons ago," the actor said, beginning a lengthy soliloquy as Johnny watched incredulously. The speeched ruined the skit, and the phrase "many moons ago" became a code word for impending disaster.
I just realized I'll still be typing next week if I keep talking about the great stuff we've gotten, so I'm going to list it!
Posted by: MBT Online | 07/31/2011 at 02:50 AM