EXCLUSIVE: Johnny Carson’s Secret Anguish Revealed Over 'Failing As a Father' to Son Killed in Car Crash — As Late Night Icon Mourns Eldest Child After He Died Aged 74
Johnny Carson felt he failed as a father.
June 4 2025, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Johnny Carson was left pained over not being a "better father" following the shocking death of his son, Rick, in 1991, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The late-night icon's eldest son, Chris, was recently confirmed to have also passed earlier this year, bringing to light Johnny's role as a father.
Carson's Secret Pain
Carson may have been all smiles on his late-night show, but he had plenty of pain behind the scenes.
Mike Thomas, coauthor with the late Bill Zehme of the book Carson the Magnificent, once explained that Johnny's relationship with his mother severely impacted how he interacted with his own children.
"His mother could be domineering, emotionally withholding, and hard to please,” Thomas said. "That breeds insecurity in a child."
Thomas continued: "He was always a bit emotionally separated. When his son Ricky died in 1991, you could see the depth of love Johnny had for him. He lamented the fact that he hadn’t been a better father."
The TV star is said to have felt he failed as a father following the death of his son, Rick.
In 1991, Rick was driving alongside California's Highway 1, which is near the Pacific Ocean, when his car went over the edge of the road and rolled down an embankment.
Rick was thrown from his car and died from his injuries. It is believed that Rick, who was a photographer, may have been trying to take snaps while driving and was distracted, leading to the crash.
Johnny would take four weeks off from his popular late-night show, but returned to pay tribute to his son.
"When Rick was around, you wanted to smile. He had a laugh that was contagious as could be. He tried so darn hard to please," he told the audience.
Johnny's Son Chris Confirmed Dead
Just one year after the accident, Johnny would retire from his popular late-night show and soon be replaced by fellow comic Jay Leno.
On Monday, June 2, Howard Smith, a longtime friend of Johnny's other son, Chris, confirmed he also passed away, but did not reveal the cause of death.
"When (Johnny died in 2005), I tried to keep in communication with Chris,” Smith said while on Joe Sibilia’s Nostalgia Tonight podcast. "I moved and bought a house outside of Fort Lauderdale.”
The legendary star focused more on his show than his children, according to author Mike Thomas.
He continued: "When I went to this show that Jeff put on about John, and it was a fantastic, two-hour show that he did for about 100 people, and I said, 'So Jeff, what’s happening with Chris?' And he looks at me, goes, 'Howard, Chris just died last week.' ‘Really?’ I go, 'Oh no.'"
Johnny may have been more focused on his show while alive, something Thomas claimed pushed him further away from his children, and said the TV star didn’t have whatever it took “to be a father the way he wanted to be a father or the way he thought he should be a father."
Johnny, who was married four times, shared his sons Chris, Rick, and youngest Cory, with his first wife, Joan Morrill Wolcott. The two parted ways in 1963 after nearly 15 years.
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"That sense of failure overcomes you,” Carson revealed to Barbara Walters about his first divorce. "That you have been less than you should have, as a husband or father. Those guilt feelings can be overwhelming at times, especially if the children are young.”
