FUNNIEST Animals Ever That TERRIFIED On Johnny Carson Tonight Show — Jim Fowler’s Wildest Moments

Throw into There you go. How you like that? Johnny Carson once faced some of the sharpest comedians in America. But nothing made him  lose his composure like Jim Fowler and the guests who refused to behave. A python that could wrap around your neck. A vulture flying straight onto his arm.

 A frog puffing up on his desk. And Carson,  the calmest man on television, suddenly looking like he wanted to run from his  own show. Today, we’re looking back at the funniest, wildest, and most terrifying animal moments Johnny Carson ever faced on The Tonight Show. One. The night Jim Fowler turned Carson’s desk into a terrifying zoo.

 What are we starting off with tonight?  Well, it’s one of the reasons I have it is that it’s a good It’s good to carry uh things around in, right?  Holy lord.  Yeah.  How would you like to be a pickpocket and stop him on the I was just thinking of that and dip his hand into the  Jim Fowler didn’t even have to open a box.

 The moment he reached into his jacket, Johnny Carson knew one thing. Tonight, the host’s desk might become a crime scene.  What the hell is that?  Well, that’s a good question. This is a very unusual  Is that a Is that a snake?  It’s not a snake. It’s a lizard.  Wow.  It’s a legless lizard and if you’ll if you’ll  lizard.  You hold the front end and I’ll show you something funny.

 front end.    Give me a part of that.  the back end.  it.  this is the  When Jim said, “It’s not a snake,” Carson didn’t look any calmer. Because to him, a legless lizard was still nature’s way of saying, “Run.”  What he do? WHAT HE    YEAH, WHY DON’T WE SEE WHAT HE DO? YOU SEE WHAT HE’S DOING THERE?  HE UH BURROWED one under the sand now.

You see that?  You see what he’s doing there? Hang on to him if he’s tries to get out and I’ll  The second the animal disappeared into the sand, Carson turned fear into a punchline. He wasn’t controlling the moment. He was just surviving long enough to joke about it.  That’s a frog.  Right. This is a giant African bullfrog.

Let me see if I can get him out of here. I’ll show you how to do it because you got to like you to have the see how this is done. Just reach down and pick him up by both sides, right? Whoop, there you go. You got to hang on to him a little bit though, right?  Then Jim brought out a giant frog, wet, heavy, and built like a nightmare.

Carson looked at it like it was a guest nobody warned him about.  He blows himself up. Now, he also uh let’s you do this. He also wrestles. This is one of the most unusual things you’ll ever see in that he likes to hold on to you. And uh he’ll actually push against you like this. Okay? Now, try that. You’ll see.

 This is when the talk show officially became a wrestling match. Johnny Carson, a legend of American television, was forced to wrestle an African bullfrog in front of millions.  But it’s one of the largest of all the bullfrogs in the world.  eat those, Jim?  Uh you know, but this eats large things, mice. This has teeth.

 It’s one of the few uh bullfrogs that actually have teeth.  tell me that.  No, I didn’t I didn’t tell you that uh  You always drop these little tidbits on me after I’ve been handling these.  he’s forgetting about that, but yeah.  Jim waited until Carson had already held it, touched it, and tickled its belly. And only then said, “This frog has teeth.

” That wasn’t biology. That was betrayal.  You’ve got I’m not moving. I’m holding him very  Listen, I forgot to tell you I have to leave.    Don’t do that. Uh  Cuz those are pretty sharp.  I’m yeah, giving the hedgehog back to Jim.  Set him back here.  set him in there gently?  Carson put on gloves like he was preparing for surgery, but the hedgehog still got through his final line of defense.

 The audience laughed, and Carson knew nature had just stabbed him in the back.  And hi, hold it like that in front like this.  Like this?  Come back a bit.  What do you mean?  This will be the first time  What do you have to do? Jim, look here.    THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME ever that a vulture’s ever flown to uh There you go.

 The peak came when Carson stood there with meat in his hand waiting for a massive vulture to fly straight at him. This was no longer the Tonight Show. This was Johnny Carson signing a contract with panic.  [cheering and applause]   Two, the giant beetle that suddenly flew and Carson truly panicked.

   Cincinnati, huh? Cincinnati By the way, they’re having a big A ZPA meeting.  Yeah.  Wow.  The moment that beetle appeared, Carson looked at it like Jim Fowler had just placed an African nightmare on the Tonight Show desk.  Listen, uh let me show  Isn’t that Isn’t that a windup?  No, it’s very gentle, very safe.

 Put your arm out because it’ll show up well against you.  No, I don’t I don’t I’m not trying to just force it on you because it it is really gentle and safe.  Jim said it was very gentle. But to Carson, anything the size of a toy crawling and heading up his arm was no longer wildlife education.  They’re in a They go in the larval stage and uh  Can you imagine waking up at night and seeing this in your bedroom?  That wild?  Carson didn’t have to exaggerate much.

He just asked, “Imagine waking up at night and seeing this in your bedroom.” The whole room understood the fear instantly.  See during the mating season, he bulldozes the other male.  believe  See this hinge point right here? Don’t put your Don’t Don’t put your finger there because they’ll snap shut on your finger at that point.

 It’s quite a pinching animal.  I see. Now, does that They trap their prey in there or what? Or just  No, that’s when they’re fighting. When they’re fighting, they  The moment Jim said, “Don’t put your finger there.” everything changed. The beetle was no longer a guest. It became a living trap with legs.    What’s he doing? You didn’t tell me he could fly.

 I didn’t I didn’t know he could fly.    Well, what the hell else don’t you know about him?  Then the real disaster happened. It flew. Jim admitted he didn’t know it could do that. And Carson turned pure panic into the best question of the night. What the hell else don’t you know?  Tongue that goes out about to this this distance.

 Strike.  You see what he’s You see what he’s doing when he opens his mouth there? Let’s see if we have a little  back down the stick, Jim. Jimmy’s coming down the stick.  The chameleon started crawling down the stick. And Carson called Jim’s name like he was calling for rescue. A few more centimeters and The Tonight Show would have become a survival movie.

 don’t know whether they’re going to do it here. Let’s hold that behind him for a second.  All right.  They So, under some conditions, they’ll suddenly change and they can camouflage and nobody really knows how this color change occurs.  Certain fish also do that in the ocean, do they?  I’m I’m afraid he’s he’s too disturbed now.

 He’s taking  Jim wanted it to change color. Carson just wanted it off his hand. And as it clung to his finger, the audience saw something rare. Johnny Carson elegant as ever but completely trapped.  [applause and music]    The Montefuscos. Oh, boy.  Three: crocodile, snow leopard, and water buffalo.

 That’s what they call them? They call them that for short, a croc, right?  These are some animals I’ve brought from the Los Angeles Zoo today.  Really?  And they’ve got some real good ones over there. This See if I can get him to open his jaws a little bit here.  that.  Show you how he does  The moment Jim Fowler walked out Carson knew he no longer controlled the stage because what Jim was holding wasn’t a prop. It was a living jaw.

 do that in the wild a lot. You know, one of the things, of course, you’re very good with handling animals. But uh No, I want I want to show you just one way to hold this because this is a very friendly crocodile.  Well, if it ever comes to that  you. Just set him there and you can hold him right back of the neck is the best way cuz that way they can’t  When Jim said he had once lost a finger doing this Carson still stayed there.

That was either courage or the moment a host was too polite to run.  There’s about an hour during the day that they don’t fool around in the water together. So I There’s some lot of study been done on them.  Oh my goodness.  That’s right. That’s right. Wait a minute. I think you’ll  Jim said this crocodile was very friendly.

 Carson heard him. But his face said it all. Friendly does not mean it belongs anywhere near your wrist.  Now, that’s that’s not a chimpanzee, is it?  No, that’s a That’s that’s an orangutan.  This is when nature interrupted national television. Carson wasn’t bitten by the crocodile, but he still lost to it in a much more humiliating way.

 This is This is Joy.  Joy.  Right. And uh Let me see. I want to show you how well  she can how well she can climb. Come on, Joy.  Okay.  There you go.  Go down here.  All right. Come up on Johnny. Hold down for it, Johnny.  What?  Let her come up on you now. That’s right.  Yeah.  There you    After the crocodile, a baby orangutan seemed like the cute part.

But to Carson, anything that could hug harder than an audience was suspicious.  Human beings are very  Very well.  Will she climb up you if I set her down here?  Well, I I think she’ll probably Yeah, there I think she knows me a little bit, you know.  The strength in those arms is is is is this.  The weirdest  Okay, Joy. We’ll see you later.

 Good luck.  Do I keep the coat on or take it off?  No, you can take the coat off.  Jim said Joy just wanted to climb a little. Carson bent down, and for a few seconds, the Tonight Show legend became the most polite tree in America.  Pretty quick for you gets up.  What What are you going to  Quick for you gets up.

Wait a minute. Here, let me  Look, I’ll be You get on me, Waldo.  Go ahead, I’ll hold this one. There you go.     There you go.  To end the segment, Carson climbed onto Waldo with the confidence of a man who had not read the insurance paperwork. Jim said it was fine. And that was always the scariest sentence whenever he visited the show.

   Okay. You got to have them.  I got him. I’m under control. I GOT HIM.    BEFORE WE BRING A THIS IS THE HEAD OF a a python, right?  Right.  python.  A a Burmese python is what we brought tonight, and we’re going to show you before we bring her out that people think that these giant snakes, because they kill by constriction, do not have teeth.

 Their teeth are covered with a membrane.  Four. The giant python that made the entire Tonight Show hold its breath. Before they even brought out the full python, Carson was shown the scariest part first, the head. And the lesson was simple. This thing didn’t need venom to make the whole room stop breathing.  100 recurved teeth.

 If they grab a hold of you, and you go to pull your hand from their mouth, because they’re recurved, they only set the teeth deeper. So,  That’s nice to know.  if it has you like this, you do not want to pull back, because you will not get your your hand  When Carson heard about more than 100 backward curved teeth, his smile almost froze.

This was no longer animal trivia. This was survival instruction.  Let go.  Good. Um couple of you A couple of weeks ago out here, was it here in this  Well, in El Toro, a  A lady had a pet python that grabbed her by the neck.  And they had to cut  not let go, and they had to cut the head off of her snake, and she didn’t want them to do it.

 didn’t want them to do it. Frequently, the owner of the pet  Then came the real story. A pet python grabbed its owner by the neck and would not let go. Carson didn’t need to act scared. The entire studio had just been reminded that a pet can become a nightmare.  of Valley in a backyard, somebody called the animal regulation department and said there is a huge snake in my swimming pool.

So we will bring her out and you can come help hold it.  Oh really?  And we’ll  This python didn’t come from a jungle adventure movie. It was found in someone’s backyard in a swimming pool. For Carson that detail made every American home feel a little more suspicious.  Gardner who was called out on this particular case with Los Angeles animal regulation and and this is uh right.

   It’s a heavy snake. What does it weigh? About 50 60 lb?  When the box opened every joke suddenly felt smaller. A long heavy living python was being pulled out right in front of Carson’s desk. And nobody in the room was blinking normally anymore. Carson chose the safer end. The part as far from the mouth as possible.

That wasn’t cowardice. That was survival instinct in a suit.  If only in real life. What a fantasy.     You’re you’re at the you’re better off at that end.  What makes this moment frightening is how calmly the warning is delivered. Never put it around your neck. Never put it around your waist.

Never handle it alone. Every sentence sounds like a rule written in the sweat of people who learned the hard way.  reticulated python and the heaviest snake was an Anaconda weighing about 550 lb. So,  It’s really It’s really beautiful. It really is. And snakes are not slimy. They’re very They’re very  No, and they’re they’re really very beneficial animals.

 Primarily, they eat small mammals and keep rodent populations  In the end, Carson stood beside a python large enough to swallow all confidence on stage. He still joked, still stayed elegant, but the room knew the truth. Tonight, the real punchline was crawling right in front of him. Five. Alice Cooper brought a snake to an audition, and it stole the microphone.

 Alice Cooper concert knows that it’s it’s really an experience. It is some kind of happening, and he’s had a lot of strange things on stage with him at one time or another. But, it seems that he wanted a particular artist to join him on this tour. And last week, we picked up copy of the Daily Variety, which is the trade one of the trade papers here in Los Angeles. It says, “Open audition.

Travel, excitement, meet new friends. Alice Cooper wants you.” Alice Cooper’s looking for a  The moment Carson read the ad, trouble was already in the air. Alice Cooper wasn’t hiring a dancer. He was hiring a snake brave enough to go on a rock tour.  winner at the snake auditions yesterday, and I believe that’s it’s sitting in front of  bag, right there.

 Would you welcome Alice Cooper. Alice     Alice Cooper walked out like the bag only had a stage prop inside, but Carson knew the truth. That bag was breathing.  I cracked up when I saw the ad last week.  That’s a funny idea.  Show business.  Show business, yeah.  Did agents show up and the snakes have agents?    They did.

 Yeah, I wouldn’t surprise me out here in this crazy. So, in the bag you have uh How many snakes did you have to audition?  Well, we went through about 100 snakes, and uh you know, we had to bathing suit contest.  had  Oh, we do. Oh, yeah. We had  This this guy here was a big guy.  Good heavens, that’s a boa constrictor, isn’t it?  Yeah, that’s an enormous one, though.

 100 snakes showed up to audition. In Hollywood, even reptiles can break into show business.  These are crazy.  That one there that lady there  Yeah.  is uh  Oh. Now, did most of them have these as pets, uh  Yeah, they were mostly pets, but I mean, I don’t know what her problem was right there. That’s a lot of snakes.

 That’s 10 She had 10 snakes on her.  And this looks like another boa constrictor.  Yeah, they mostly were. Pythons are a little bit more gamey, you know, that I mean, they’ll strike.  Well, I see, you didn’t want to a snake that would attack you, of course, during  I’m a little guy.  Look at kid.

 Now, here’s a kid, you know, most people don’t like reptiles or have a fear of snakes, but kids  Carson looked at those photos like he was reviewing criminal evidence. The more snakes appeared, the more his smile looked like a defense mechanism.  picking up  Yeah, and they pick up a fear smell. And so, like, I I could pick up you could pick up  Right.

 Well,  he can pick up  Oh, hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Tell me a little about the snake first, Alice.  a wonderful little guy here.  Sure.  This is the one that actually was the best snake.  Remember Eve saying that?  Alice said snakes can sense fear. Carson immediately understood the problem.

If that was true, this snake could hear his soul screaming.  Aw.  good one right here.  See, now, most people think you shouldn’t go Oh, they think that snakes are slimy. They are not.  No, they’re not. They’re very clean.  I like snakes myself. I come from the Midwest, and they don’t they don’t bother don’t bother me at all.

This this is a uh  I’m totally surprised he’s doing this.    This is a harmless snake, isn’t it?  It is.  Yeah, sure. There’s nothing  Fine time to ask. I should have asked that question prior to  Carson picked up the snake first, then asked if it was dangerous. That may be the worst order of operations ever performed at a talk show desk.

   Don’t let him get any place else down there.  He’s on the microphone. He’s on the mic. He hooked himself around the microphone.  Well, I’ll get him out of there.  You want to guest host on Monday.  Yes.    Did you see that?  Well, this one really is not that safe.    Yeah, snake’s no trouper.

He’s hooked onto the microphone cord and he won’t let go.  Okay, listen.  The snake didn’t attack anyone. It simply took over the microphone. For a few seconds, the Tonight Show had a new guest who wanted to host.  This is actually NOT A  HE ACTUALLY DID A TAKE.  HE DID A HE DID A SNAKE  A double snake take.

Double tongue take.  Now  He’s all right, really. He’s He’s He’s going on tour with Yeah, this is the one that’s going to go on tour with us.  Now, did you rent the snake or did you buy the snake?  No, her name is Angel.  Uh-huh.  And uh she’s really I mean, you know, unless you  Alice called her Angel.

 Carson looked at her like a very long, very strong Angel that absolutely refused to let go of the microphone cord.  Six. Betty White brought a baby elephant on stage and Carson became the snake handler.  We have to do a commercial first?  a commercial first and then I’m going to Okay.  I’m going to get the feeling this is not a this is not a dog or cat.

 Well, it’s an animal act, kind of.  And you worked with this animal act?  You like snake How do you feel about snakes?  I like snakes. I I’m one of those strange people, weird people who like snakes.  Me, too.  Which shows you where my head is at.  The calmer Betty sounded, the more suspicious Carson became because nobody accidentally brings an animal surprise onto the Tonight Show.

   Is it safe to walk closer? Carson thought he might be about to meet a dog or a cat. Then an elephant walked out like it was the main guest. It’s a a baby elephant obviously. I’ve got that so far. Does she want me to feed her or something? Don, 4 years old? Betty spoke to Dondi like an old scene partner.

Carson stood beside them like the new guy on set. What do  you expect of a 4-year-old elephant? The elephant didn’t need a punchline. It only had to move and the entire studio lost.    Which Which end did that COME FROM?    THAT ELEPHANT THAT ELEPHANT IS A FRIEND. ONE sound rang out and Carson immediately asked the question everyone in the audience was thinking.

    Dondi only wanted affection. But to Carson, that was several hundred pounds of love coming straight at him.    Strong, strong, strong. What does she want? What is she doing?  potty trained.  She’s trying to Well, hold it. Hold it. Strong, isn’t she? Strong elephant, strong.

 Betty told her to be strong, and Carson understood instantly. Cute can still crush YOUR CONFIDENCE.  AW. AW, SHE’S FASCINATED WITH YOU. SHE DOESN’T want to do all  I’ll make it if I get out of THE WAY.  AW. AW, CAN YOU TALK to me a little bit? Can you talk to me a little? Talk to me a little. Just a little talk.

Carson handed over the food like he was paying taxes to nature. Dondi accepted it, and the stage began to hold.       Seven. The angry emu that attacked Carson right in the host’s chair.  [applause and music] [applause and music]  Well, Rod, nice nice seeing you.

 Rod Hull walked out very politely. But the bird under his arm had no intention of behaving like a guest.     Carson had barely finished saying hello before Emu lunged at him like this was personal revenge.  Appeared here.    Before, right?  You just upset him.  Did I upset Emu? I’m sorry.

 say anything to upset him.  I didn’t know that.  Don’t say anything about him being an Australian. Don’t say anything about Australia. Don’t say anything about his very Don’t say anything about what you ever you were going to say.  Does  No.  Does he come from Australia?  Don’t keep doing that.  The more Rod explained, the more confused Carson became.

He didn’t know whether he was interviewing a performer or apologizing to an angry bird.  Good man.  Yes. Richard, will you shine at straight Emu? Just stroke him. See?  What do you see?  He’s very nice, isn’t he?  I’ll try that.    Rod said Emu was very sweet.  Carson believed that for about 3 seconds, then reality pecked him in the face.

 Have a look.  No, no, no, no.  See, there’s there’s a way of making friends with him. If you have to go Who’s a pretty Emu then? Who wants a little cheeky cheeky cheeky choo? See? See now.  No.  You try it.  No, I don’t.  Stop him.  Yes.  Who’s a little Emu?  Oh,  no.  him.  Carson had to sweet talk Emu like a difficult child.

But every gentle word only made the bird more confident in its chaos.  Okay. ONE, TWO, THREE.    YES. STOP.    YES.     YES.  CARSON BENT DOWN TO COUNT THE bird’s feet. And in that exact moment The Tonight Show became a very strange trap.  That’s right.  Yes, sorry.

 Does Emo have a girlfriend at all?  Uh I don’t think so.  No?  No.  Just a bachelor Emo.  He’s just a he’s he’s like Richard.  Yeah.  Yeah.  Okay, we’re going to take a little break here and then we’re We’re going to ask Emo what time we have to pause for a commercial.  Would you like to go for a commercial?  He said no.

 No?  Even when it was time for a commercial break Emo  refused to cooperate. Carson wanted to end the segment.    The bird wanted to take over the whole show.    Eight. The tree-climbing dog that Carson couldn’t believe was real.     Barney, how are you?  I’m doing all right.

 I’ve seen a lot of things  Seen a lot of things out here?  Really enjoyed it.  You’re from the Carolinas, aren’t you? Because you say thing all right off, right?  Now, if you can’t understand me, you let me know and I’ll talk a little try to talk a little bit plain.  I understand you perfectly. I spent a I spent a lot of time in the South when I was in the service.

 Carson had seen plenty of strange things. But a dog that could climb a tree sounded like a southern tall tale.  Is this your first trip to California?  Yeah, first time I have ever been on an airplane.  Are you serious?  Yeah, but I brought me a extra pair of britches that are too long in case I needed them.

 You know what I’m talking about.  Really? Was it a  They had they had a They had a show on that plane. I would never would have believed that.  A show? A floor show?  I watched a movie.  A movie?  On the way up in  Barney stepped onto the stage and instantly stole the show with honesty no actor could fake.  Well, that’s that’s true, Barney.

 I’m I’m sorry to say that’s true. How about you? Just one time?  One time.  Yeah, hold you you would get married when you were young?  Well, see then I dated my wife dated about a year.  Yeah.  And she said, “Barney, said, “Will you marry me?” I said, “Well, Frankie, you going to have to give me a few years to think that thing over.

 You know what I’m talking about?”  Yeah.  So, we dated on about 6 months. She said, “Barney, if you don’t marry me,  Mhm.  I’m going to  quit dating you.” You know I thought a lot of her. You know what? I love her. You know what I’m  Yeah.  Carson asked about his life. Barney answered like he was telling stories on a front porch and the whole room collapsed laughing.

 Get out of here.  Yeah.  I’ve been married 26 years. You be married 26 years, you learn how to get out of stuff.     YOU BETTER HAVE LEARNED TO GET OUT OF STUFF. YEAH. You got a good a good attitude there in marriage, Barney. I’ll tell you what.

 Now, we’re going to come back and uh bring your dog out here called Flatnose.  Uh  I have never seen a dog in my life  Before the dog even appeared, the story was already absurd. A dog kept looking up at trees like it knew a squirrel’s secret.  Okay, let’s go on over there.  Uh  And and meet your dog.  Come here, Flatnose.

 Come here, look here, Flatnose.  Okay, Flatnose is waiting.  Come on. Get your dog, Flatnose. Come here, Flatnose.  Come here, Flatnose. Anyway, Flatnose, how are you? Hey, what’s up, dog?   What kind of a dog is this?  He’s a pit and English.  Barney said it like it was the most normal thing in the world.

But Carson understood. If dogs start climbing trees, nature has officially quit its job.  Get up there, Flatnose. That fellow got to kiss HIS BACK. GET UP THERE, FLATNOSE. GO. GO. GO, FLATNOSE. GO, BOY. GO GET IT. GO GET IT.    GO GET IT. GO GET IT. GO GET IT. GO GET IT.    CARSON LOOKED AT THE TREE, THEN AT THE DOG, THEN AT BARNEY.

He didn’t believe it yet. And that was the funniest part. Then Flatnose actually climbed. A southern dog  had just turned the Tonight Show into Barney’s backyard.     IN THE END, CARSON SHOOK HANDS WITH A four-legged legend. Flatnose didn’t need to say a word. He had already climbed into television history.

   I think Flatnose is my date for  Barney, it’s nice to meet you. Yeah, man. Thank you. Thank for coming. Have a nice safe trip back home, and thank you for bringing Flatnose. You’re a nice man. It’s a pleasure to meet you.  These moments live on because Carson didn’t have to pretend  to be scared. He really was.

And that’s what made all of America laugh. If you miss the days when television was chaotic, real,    and completely unpredictable, like, subscribe, and comment with the wildest animal moment you’ve ever seen.