Johnny Carson's wife died at her home in Los Angeles on Friday, May 8, at the age of 83 while she was in hospice care.
- May 11, 2015
AceShowbiz - Joanne Carson, who was the second wife of "The Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson, died at her home in Los Angeles on Friday, May 8. She was 83 and had been in hospice care.
Born Joanne Copeland, in Los Angeles on October 20, 1931, she worked as a model and Pan Am stewardess. She began dating Johnny Carson in 1960 before they finally tied the knot in 1963.
Their marriage only lasted for 9 years and they divorced in 1972. Their split was allegedly because of Johnny's numerous infidelites, but Joanne never gave comment about her husband's affair at that time. After their divorce, Joanne moved back to her native California and worked in television industry.
Joanne became close to writer Truman Capote after she got divorced from Johnny. He kept a writing room at her house, where he died in 1984. According to Ed Rada, the executor of Joanne's estate, she will be interred next to Capote at Westwood Cemetery in Los Angeles.
In her later years, Joanne remarried Richard Rever, but the marriage also ended in divorce. She had no children and is survived by two half sisters. Carson, who died in 2005 while he was 79, remarried two more times after his divorce from Joanne.
