Comedian, Actor and Director Wil Shriner, who has worked more than 20 years both in front of and behind the cameras, will be the next Carson Lecturer on Friday, Sept. 13.
Shriner’s Carson Lecture will be at 3:30 p.m. in Howell Theatre, which is located on the first floor of the Temple Building, on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s City Campus. The event is free and open to the public. However, a free ticket is required for admission. Free tickets for the event can be obtained while supplies last at unltheatretickets.com. Unclaimed tickets will be distributed on a limited basis 10 minutes before the lecture in the Howell Lobby until all seats are filled.
The biennial Carson Lecture Series has been created to celebrate the contributions of entertainment icon and UNL alumnus Johnny Carson.
“By bringing those who knew or were influenced by Johnny to campus, the community can continue to celebrate Johnny’s contributions to the entertainment industry,” said Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film Director Paul Steger. “The series is also a vehicle for students, faculty and the general public to gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”
Shriner appeared on the Tonight Show more than a dozen times.
“There was a magic that Johnny had as a host, as a comedian, as a sketch player and as a comedian,” Shriner said. “And he could relate so well on a cerebral level, on a comedic level, on a silly level. Johnny was the perfect host because he was just a guy that women wanted to sleep with and men wanted to hang out with. I can’t tell you how many people come up and say, ‘Oh my gosh, how we miss Johnny Carson.’ That’s the magic of Carson. He had such a lasting power.”
Shriner likened the experience to another popular show of today.
“To be on the Tonight Show with Johnny back in the heyday was like winning American Idol,” he said. “Everybody would tell you they saw you last night, and people that you would never talk to would come up to you. And that’s such a powerful influence on you as a performer.”
Success or failure on the Tonight Show could make or break a young comedian.
“I had the luxury of doing the show three times with David Letterman before I got to Johnny, so it wasn’t as intimidating,” Shriner said. “But the magic of standing behind that curtain and waiting to be introduced, knowing that if this goes well I’m now going to have a career, and if this doesn’t go well, I’m going to be on a bus back to my hometown was what the Tonight Show was all about.”
Shriner started on television at the age of one doing commercials with his twin brother Kin, a soap opera actor, and his father, television humorist Herb Shriner.
Appearing at the famed Comedy Store, alongside another young comedian, David Letterman, Shriner continued as a writer/director on numerous projects and shows with Letterman. It was one of his films that got him noticed by Francis Ford Coppola, and it produced a co-starring role opposite Oscar nominee Joan Allen in “Peggy Sue Got Married.” From there, he hosted his own nationally syndicated and three-time Emmy nominated talk show, The Wil Shriner Show, and dozens of shows and series followed.
In 2000 he began directing sitcoms, and his credits include “Frasier,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Becker,” “Gilmore Girls” and many others.
Jimmy Buffett asked him to read a book he had optioned and together they turned it into an award-winning family film, “Hoot,” which Shriner wrote the screenplay, produced and directed the film. The film was recently named one of the top five environmental films by the Smithsonian Museum.
Shriner continues to be active as a director, comedian and performer.
He said it would be tough to be Johnny Carson today with the paparazzi what they are today.
“It’s an intrusive experience for anybody,” Shriner said. “It’s different than a movie star. A movie star—like Clint Eastwood or Jack Nicholson—there’s a certain mystique or distance you give them because of the big screen. They are a larger than life persona, as opposed to television stars. You want to hang out with Ray Romano or someone like that. They feel like they know you because you’re sitting in their living room or bedroom every night. That was one of Johnny’s charms. Everyone wanted to tell how much he meant to them or how much he entertained them. They felt like they could walk up to him and say something.”
Shriner is looking forward to the Carson Lecture.
“Because I’m a comedian and director, I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned over the years,” Shriner said. “I’ve been doing it a long time, and it sounds like you have a great program there.”
See clips of Wil Shriner on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson here: http://go.unl.edu/pbs.