Wayne Newton Speaks Out: Johnny Carson Was One Mean Dude

Wayne Newton has two words for the late Johnny Carson, and they aren't "danke schoen."

Newton went on Larry King's talk show Thursday and called the beloved late-night talk-show host a "mean-spirited human being" who continuously made jokes about his masculinity.

"Well, what happened is I had done his show many, many times and considered him a friend of mine. And all of a sudden, a whole new brand of humor started to be displayed by him. And he was in that humor questioning my masculinity," Newton told King.

We here at the People Column feel it's important to point out here that just because one sings songs like "Danke Schoen" and "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" and almost single-handedly established Las Vegas as the capital of cheesy entertainment, doesn't mean one can't be a big, honking blast of virile stud-muffinness. We're just saying ... .

Anyway, Newton told King that the put-downs continued until one day he confronted Carson.

"And I said to Mr. Carson, I said, 'I don't know what friend of yours I've killed, I don't know what child of yours I've hurt, I don't know what food I've taken out of your mouth, but these jokes about me will stop and they'll stop now or I will kick your (expletive)'"

Carson's alleged teasing must have stopped, because if Newton had ever gotten around to kicking Carson's (expletive), we expect he'd be remembered today as the entertainer who was found floating face-down in Lake Mead.

Source: Contra Costa Times