Johnny Carson Diagnosed with Emphysema
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Retired “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson has been diagnosed with emphysema but the 76-year-old entertainer otherwise remains “in great shape,” a spokesman said on Thursday.
The spokesman said Carson had just come off the tennis court on Thursday when he learned of a newly published tabloid story reporting that he was seriously ill with the respiratory disease.
“He does have emphysema, but he’s dealing with it the best he can and it’s not causing him any major problems,” said Jeff Sotzing, who runs the Carson Entertainment video production company for the comedian.
Sotzing said the late-night comedy icon had played tennis at least twice this week, adding, “He’s in great shape.”
He declined to give any details of Carson’s medical condition, other than to say the entertainer had not been hospitalized.
Carson, who smoked for many years on the air, ended his 30-year stint as host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” in 1992 and slipped into retirement. He underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery three years ago.
In an Esquire magazine interview earlier this year, Carson said he was perfectly content to be out of the public eye, living quietly in a large Malibu home he shares with his wife, Alexis, playing cards with friends and spending time on his yacht.
Categories