Mario Cantone, known for his roles on Sex and the City and its spinoff And Just Like That, has just revealed a mortifying experience he suffered as an up-and-coming stand-up comic.
It happened over 30 years ago, when he was scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and he found his appearance nixed at the last minute… because he was gay.
Related: All the backstage drama that made us wonder, is ‘And Just Like That’ actually cursed?
While speaking to the podcast Allison Interviews, the 62-year-old said he booked an appearance on The Tonight Show in 1986. After initially being welcomed by talent coordinators, he found his fortunes reversed in an instant.
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“When [the talent scout] saw me, he said, ‘Oh my God, you’re amazing! We are going to shape six minutes for you.’ Then he looked at the video again, because he filmed it that night, and he said, ‘You know what? Your comedy has a gay edge to it and I think it’s going to make Johnny nervous, so I’m going to cancel you,’” Cantone recalled.
Honestly, we’re not surprised. Given the cultural climate in 1986–the AIDS crisis had reached a fever pitch–anything even remotely related to queerness was often deemed “too hot” for TV. Putting Cantone on the air could have jeopardized the talent coordinator’s job, or the future of the show itself.
Related: The late Willie Garson’s original storyline on ‘And Just Like That…’ revealed
On top of that, Johnny Carson had a well-known vindictive streak.
The TV icon had a highly-publicized rivalry with Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton, following Newton’s outbidding Carson to buy the Aladdin Casino in 1980. Carson coped by frequently making fun of Newton on his show–so much so that Newton once barged into Carson’s NBC offices and threatened to beat him up. Newton later called Carson a “mean-spirited human being.”
Carson also had a long-running feud with former friend Joan Rivers beginning in 1986. Prior to that, he and Rivers had enjoyed a close relationship, with Rivers serving as permanent guest host on The Tonight Show. But when Rivers phoned Carson to say she’d accepted a deal for her own late-night show on the Fox Network, Carson hung up on her. The two never spoke again, and Rivers claimed that Carson had her blacklisted from NBC as a result.
Watch Cartone talk about the experience below.
Cam
Don’t excuse it by saying there was an AIDS fear, etc…
The talent person said something gay would “Make Johnny Nervous”. So Carson was a bigot.
cc423
Exactly. AIDS was used as an excuse to bash gay people even more than they were being bashed and abused.
Bromancer7
Except I don’t think he was. At least there is no evidence he was. But he knew what was and wasn’t appropriate to the network and his viewers at that time. He certainly was not known for pushing boundaries. Johnny always played it safe. Older conservative middle America was his demo.
cuteguy
Johnny Carson was probably gay himself, hence his homophobic attitude
Brian
Most anti-gay bigots are straight. “Probably,” Carson was straight too. Blaming gay people for their own discrimination is twisted and mean. The hate usually comes from religion, culture, upbringing, stereotypes, ignorance, etc.
barryaksarben
It was very revealing who were our true allies at that time. A few years earlier EVERY celeb wanted to go to Studio 54 and had NO problem with the gay atmosphere but the minuteAIDS hit all showed their TRUE Colors and that is why all of us from then honor and revere people like Liz Taylor and way too few others. There were some true allies but so so many hid
v6origal97
Carson didn’t cancel him, some poor underling who didn’t know up from down, did. Had Carson himself done it, I’d say he should be looked at in a different light. However, he had a pretty stellar reputation amongst his peers, despite why was listed above. His feelings of being personally betrayed by Joan Rivers have been well documented, and what does a feud with Wayne Newton, who also has a reputation, have to do with whether Carson was a decent human? He had high profile gay (albeit closeted friends). However, he was also a product of the times, and he was subject to public scrutiny. Hell, look at Barack Obama and his rather recent evolution on gay marriage: this was decades prior, and it wasn’t even directly from Carson. This is reaching.
Cam
Would that steller reputation include beating his wife?
The assistants do what the boss wants. They are the ones who wanted to hire Catone, it was their fear of Carson’s reprisal for why he didn’t get it.
Heywood Jablowme
Wayne Newton threatened to beat up Johnny Carson? I wish he’d done that! But preferably live on camera.
Terrycloth
Yes it was OK to have Charles Nelson Reilly, Paul Lynde , Truman Capote , Rock Hudson , liberace, Waylon Flowers , Richard Simmons on his show among others. ..I think Mario Cantone is too much everything. Over the top loud and obnoxious
Cam
Caricatures and clowns are always accepted. As compared to a young, aggressive out of the closet guy.
Bromancer7
They understood there was a line you didn’t cross in that era. And none of them were out publicly with the exception of Capote, who was not a comedian. Also, none of them did stand-up routines. So they were ‘safe’.
I don’t think Carson was particularly homophobic, at least I’ve not seen or read anything indicating he was. But he understood what kind of material would and wouldn’t go over well with the network and his older, conservative viewer base. And I’m sure the coordinator knew this too.
Jack
I think Mario Cantone is irritating AF. When he is on The View I just want to go through the TV and tell him to let someone else talk! I can imagine in the 80’s he was just too much for broadcast TV. But it makes a juicy soundbite. Any publicity is good publicity.