Too bad none of the late-night guys are as funny

Bill Carter has an article about a new comedy award in The New York Times:

Looking for a way to make their newly created Comedy Awards stand out, executives from MTV Networks contacted the keepers of the flame of one of the biggest names in television comedy history, Johnny Carson.
The result is a special award, to be announced officially on Monday. The Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence will be the centerpiece of the inaugural Comedy Awards telecast on 10 April. The award will go to a performer selected by a special board created for the show, and will be based on career-long work in comedy.
The producers of the new award show clearly consider winning the right to use the Carson name on their award a coup. Casey Patterson, an MTV Networks executive vice president, who is also serving as executive producer of the special, said the broad notion behind the award was to create something like the comedy version of the Irving Thalberg award from the Oscars. “We just felt it was appropriate to honor Johnny, who did do much for the comedy community, in launching the careers of so many stand-ups,” Ms. Patterson said.
The show contacted Jeff Sotzing, the president of the Carson Entertainment Group (and also a nephew of Mr. Carson’s), who embraced the idea because it came with a commitment to set up a fund to benefit both struggling young comics and older, retired workers in the comedy field.
“I think Johnny would feel like this is an appropriate thing to do and he would appreciate it,” Mr. Sotzing said in an interview by phone. He also noted that the Carson Tonight Show was considered the point of entry for an entire generation of comedians. “It was the game-changer for careers,” he said.
The new comedy award trophy is modeled after the old-style microphone that sat in front of Mr. Carson during his 30-year run on The Tonight Show. The winner of the Carson award itself will receive a special version of the trophy encased in marble, Ms. Patterson said.
The Comedy Awards will be given out on 26 March in New York. The show will be broadcast on 10 April on multiple MTV channels, including Comedy Central, VH1, Spike, CMT, TV Land, Logo, and Nick at Nite.

Rico says he no longer stays up for the after-news shows, because none of them is as interesting and funny as Carson...