Omaha World Herald wrote: Carson gives millions to revamp UNL building
LINCOLN - Retired entertainer Johnny Carson, one of Nebraska's most famous sons, donated $5.3 million Wednesday to enhance education in performing arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, his alma mater.
The gift, which was made through the NU Foundation, will support the renovation of the Temple Building at 12th and R Streets and will create a $1 million endowment for updating technology.
With the gift, UNL students will be assured of the latest advances in lighting and sound in their performances.
"Through this generous gift, Johnny Carson creates another rich legacy to provide educational opportunities and possibilities for the next wave of actors, designers, writers and filmmakers at the University of Nebraska," said Terry Fairfield, NU Foundation president.
The size of Carson's gifts aren't always made public. Among those that have been publicized, this is the largest.
The Howell Theater in the Temple Building was filled for the announcement Wednesday, with nearly 250 faculty, staff and students present. They applauded, hooted and cheered when Chancellor Harvey Perlman made the announcement.
The Temple Building, nearly 100 years old, is where Carson gained some of his early experience as an entertainer.
Carson, 78, did not attend Wednesday's announcement. In a statement, he said he had not forgotten getting his start in the Temple Building.
"It is my hope that this gift will enable future generations of theater and film students to learn their craft in the Temple Building, which will enable them to pursue their goals, just as I did."
Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, and grew up in Norfolk, Neb. He enrolled at NU after serving as an ensign in World War II, receiving his bachelor of arts degree in radio and speech in 1949.
Carson's 1949 senior thesis was titled: "How to Write Comedy for Radio," an examination of the techniques and devices that radio comedy writers used to construct jokes.
Carson was also the master of ceremonies for the male drama society Kosmet Klub shows from 1947 to 1949.
Both Carson and his brother, Dick, were members of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. The fraternity won first place in the 1947 Kosmet Klub fall revue for its skit, "She was Only a Pharaoh's Daughter, but She Never Became a Mummy," which starred Johnny Carson as Cleopatra.
Carson later worked at WOW-TV in Omaha and later hosted his own Hollywood television show, "Carson's Cellar."
He hosted "Earn Your Vacation" and "Who Do You Trust?" before filling in for Jack Paar on "The Tonight Show" in 1958. Carson was that show's regular host from 1962 to 1992.
In the 1970s, Carson established an endowed scholarship at the NU Foundation to assist Nebraska high school students. The scholarship has helped 24 students.
In 1988, Carson donated to support construction of the Lied Center for Performing Arts. The theater adjoining the main stage was renamed the Johnny Carson Theater in his honor.
The renovation of the Temple Building will include a new space for a variety of state-of-the-art performing arts theaters and labs. A new addition will connect the Temple Building to the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Both are part of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, established in 1993.
The college includes the Department of Art and Art History, the Department of Theater Arts and the School of Music.
Construction of the Temple Building, paid for in part by a donation from John D. Rockefeller, was approved by the Board of Regents in 1904. The building was opened in 1906.
UNL alum Johnny Carson donates $5 million to project
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