The Deal Falls Through
In 1980, Carson considered acquiring the Las Vegas Aladdin Hotel & Casino but decided to back out at the last minute. It was later acquired by a competing group. The media’s portrayal of the event made it look like Carson “lost out” on the deal and he mocked the new owner, Wayne Newton, on his show. This began a very high-profile feud between the two.
A War Of Words
In an interview on Larry King Live, Newton opened up about his feelings. He said: “Johnny Carson is a mean-spirited human being. And there are people that he has hurt that people will never know about. And for some reason at some point, he decided to turn that kind of negative attention toward me. And I refused to have it.” Newton threatened to fight Carson if he wouldn’t stop the jokes about him, as Carson finally respected Newton’s wishes and stopped.