claim: johnny carson made a risqué remark to a starlet who appeared on the
question: pussy quipped
origin: the apocryphal tonight show incident with zsa zsa gabor and her cat is a wellspring for one of the greatest “manufactured memories” in modern popular culture. no matter how many millions of people swear they were watching the tonight show when the exchange below involving zsa zsa’s cat and johnny’s supposedly quick (and dirty) comeback took place, it simply didn’t happen:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  example: [collected via tv guide, 1998]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  zsa zsa gabor was a frequent visitor to carson’s couch. as the tale has it, she once came on carrying a cat, which she held in her lap. she is said to have asked carson, “would you like to pet my pussy?” his fabled reply: “i’d love to, but you’ll have to remove that damn cat.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  although definitively disproving this claim is impossible since nearly all the tapes from the first decade of carson’s tenure as the tonight show‘s host [1962-1972] were erased or discarded, other available evidence (or lack thereof) is sufficient to justify assigning this legend its apocryphal status:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  zsa zsa gabor did bring along a small dog for at least one appearance with jack paar (although it sat on paar's desk rather than gabor's lap), so perhaps the idea is not completely unimaginable.  it should be noted, however, that although ms. gabor expressed a great deal of affection for horses and dogs in her autobiography, she said nary a word about liking (or ever having owned) cats.-->
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  as a final piece of negative evidence, consider that both zsa zsa gabor and johnny carson have denied that this incident ever took place, in letters to us reproduced below and in the following exchange between johnny and jane fonda during a 1989 tonight show appearance:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  those who insist this incident really did happen often claim that carson and gabor’s denials mean nothing, because they were required to issue them under the terms of settlement agreed to after the actress sued the talk show host. however, being embarrassed on television isn’t valid grounds for a lawsuit, as the los angeles times noted in an article on the controversy surrounding the popular 2006 “mockumentary” film borat:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “the whole concept of making people look foolish in an unsuspecting environment has been happening since ‘candid camera,'” said entertainment law attorney mel avanzado, who has represented producers on issues related to unscripted tv shows. “‘borat’ is not new. it’s just taking it to a new level of silliness.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  many of those who appear in “borat” feel they were publicly humiliated, but avanzado says that, legally speaking, is not sufficient grounds for a lawsuit. “it’s not that you are placed in an embarrassing light,” he said. “you have to be placed in a false light.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  (it’s also rather improbable that if zsa zsa were so offended by the alleged remark as to bring suit against johnny carson, she would have continued to appear on his show over the years, or that johnny would have invited her back in the first place.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  this legend almost certainly started out as a generic joke, with real-life participants later added to the tale to lend it additional humor and credibility. eventually, public perception deemed johnny carson the celebrity most likely to make such a quip, so the punchline was put in his mouth. (in earlier days, the payoff line would undoubtedly have been credited to groucho marx.) zsa zsa gabor, the epitome of the sexy, pampered celebrity, more famous for her multiple marriages and her full figure than her talents, was cast as the straight woman, and as her popularity waned in later years (unlike johnny’s), a series of female sex symbols replaced her in the role.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  we sent inquiries to both carson and gabor about this legend back in the 1990s, and both responded and stated that the event described never took place.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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comment: a purported quip by 'tonight show' host johnny carson regarding zsa zsa gabor and her cat has become one of the most infamous of broadcast legends.
summary: zsa zsa gabor is said to have asked johnny carson, “would you like to pet my pussy?” his fabled reply: ‘i’d love to, but you'll have to remove that damn cat.  both carson and gaser have denied that this incident ever took place. this legend almost certainly started out as a generic joke, with real-life participants later added to the tale to lend it credibility.