Johnny Carson and Aristotle

One of the finest guides to living a good and happy life, the Greek philosopher Arisotle, taught that one should not necessarily count a life happy until it has ended, for the end of life can be one of terrible suffering and misfortune, as the ancient Greek tragedies often portrayed. The choices we make in life direct us towards or away from happiness and enable us to take advantage of good furtune or endure misfortune.

I was saddened today to read of the great television entertainer Johnny Carson's death at the age of 79. Although he has been out of the limelight for some years now, he brought considerable happiness and laughter to so many during his thirty plus years as host of the Tonight Show. While many Hollywood celebrities succumb to the temptations of wealth and fame, and life quite contrary to Aristotle's dictums, Johnny Carson's final years were lived well. He chose to bow out at the top and live a quiet and happy life to the end. Several quotes from today's Associated Press obituary impressed me:

Carson choose to let "Tonight" stand as his career zenith and his finale, withdrawing into a quiet retirement that suited his private nature and refusing involvement in other show business projects.

In 1993, he explained his absence from the limelight.

"I have an ego like anybody else," Carson told The Washington Post, "but I don't need to be stoked by going before the public all the time."

Carson spent his retirement years sailing, traveling and socializing with a few close friends including media mogul Barry Diller and NBC executive Bob Wright. He simply refused to be wooed back on stage.

"I just let the work speak for itself," he told Esquire magazine in 2002.

and

"America never tired of him; Carson went out on top when he retired in May 1992. In his final show, he told his audience: "And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it."