Here’s Johnny

One of the people who knew Johnny Carson best in the early stages of his career was Don Keough, former president of Coca-Cola and now chairman of Allen and Company, the New York investment bank.

Keough and Carson were part of an incredible threesome who called Omaha, Nebraska their home just after World War II. The other was Warren Buffet, the investment king who is still a resident there.

Keough, one of the leading Irish American figures who funded the Keough Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame, was a fledgling television presenter back then, just as the medium was starting up.

His fellow presenter was a man he remembers as John Carson — the Johnny came later. The two became firm friends and the Carson and Keough families moved to apartments opposite each other.

Keough remembers often going over to Carson’s apartment and finding him sitting in the dark listening to Jack Benny tapes or live comedy on the radio.

Once, Keough remembers, the two men decided they both needed a raise and went separately to the station management. They were both turned down, much to their chagrin, and returned home crestfallen to their wives.

Keough and Carson presented the first ever talk shows in the Nebraska market and often ended up producing each other’s shows. There was just a single phone line, and if someone wasn’t phoning in they would make the call to the studio themselves with some hilarious results.

In later years Keough would often visit Carson at his New York apartment and find him utterly involved in his real love, astronomy, rather than catching comedy shows. Carson also spoke Russian and Swahili, languages he taught himself.

This week Keough remembered his old friend from WOW in Nebraska all those years ago who went on to be one of the greatest figures in the history of show business.

“Hs was a very special person,” he said, “a private man, but one of the finest men I have ever met who never hesitated to help out young talent and friends. He had a style back then that was unique, and it is unique today as well. I will greatly miss him.”

Abuse Trial Begins

The trial starts this week in Boston of Father Paul Shanley, the Irish American priest who set off one of the great church sex scandals when he was accused in April 2002 of abusing four boys.

The case, however, has not quite turned out like prosecutors thought it would. Of the four accusers, three have now dropped out and the one person left is claiming the controversial repressed memory testimony. In such cases, the victim claims that he buried memories of the abuse but later recalled them.

The four men have already settled a civil suit against Shanley, which is highly unusual given that civil cases almost always occur after the criminal case is over.

Shanley was a self-described “street priest” during the 1960s and 1970s when his work with the homeless and troubled youth was very widely praised.

Though others have made allegations against Shanley, the statute of limitations had run out by the time they made their accusations. Predicting how this trial will go is very tricky, as unlike in the civil case, which never went to trial, the accuser is bound to come under heavy fire from Shanley’s attorney over the issue of his repressed memories. 

Because the Shanley case was so central to the raft of allegations against the Archdiocese of Boston a few years ago it will be watched very closely.

Kelly Steadfast

Observers who were hoping that Sinn Fein representative Gerry Kelly would backpedal on the issue of who carried out the massive bank robbery in Northern Ireland before Christmas will be disappointed.

Kelly has been vehement in his assertion that the IRA did not carry out the raid, and apparently has been very convincing on the issue to many of those he has met.

Of course, if it turns out that the IRA did carry out the robbery Kelly and the entire leadership of Sinn Fein will be deeply damaged. It will make for an interesting few weeks, as several newspapers in Ireland and Britain have claimed that the police are on the verge of major arrests

A Worthy Grand Marshal

This column has had ample reason to criticize the New York City St. Patrick’s Parade Committee in the past over their choice of grand marshal. (Quick, can anyone remember the name of that Ford executive who won the award a few years back?)

This year, however, is much different.

Denis Kelleher, founder and chairman of Wall Street Access, a major Wall Street firm, is a great choice to lead the Irish up Fifth Avenue on March 17. He was formally installed as grand marshal on Tuesday, January 25 at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan.

Kelleher, a native of Co. Kerry, has been active on Irish issues for decades. He was enormously helpful to a whole range of Irish causes, including immigration reform, and the peace process in Ireland. He will certainly do the Irish proud on St. Patrick’s Day.