*[Blog Tour Excerpt] A Hard Act To Follow by Henry Bushkin

Summary:

"A Hard Act to Follow," is a non-fiction literary account of Henry Bushkin's tenure as Johnny Carson's lawyer, business partner, and friend. The book gives genuine insight into the 'Carson behind Johnny' with candid personal vignettes about the two, during the rollicking years when Johnny was the undisputed king of television. This is an engaging, eye-opening, anecdote-packed story about a young lawyer and his client, one of the biggest celebrities in the country. This funny, unfiltered account gives readers a look at the Johnny Carson that none but a select few really knew.
Summary and Cover provided by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer Book Blasts & Book Tours
Length: 240 pages
Publication Date: 2012

Excerpt:

Johnny Carson, his famously puckish face obscured by sunglasses and disguised by distress, led a squad of men with downturned mouths and upturned collars through a rain-swept Manhattan evening. Carson strode purposefully, and his four followers hurried behind, dodging taxis and umbrellas and jumping puddles to keep pace. Their destination: a modest high-rise in the East Forties near First Avenue. Their mission: a dubious if not downright illegal cloak- and-dagger caper to enter an apartment to which they had no title, let alone keys. Their identities: Joe Mullen, a licensed New York private eye, straight out of Mickey Spillane, serious and capable; Mario Irizarry, his tall, gaunt aide-de-camp, adept at lock picking and as conversational as a clam; and Arthur Kassel, my best friend. A security ex- pert/crime photographer/police groupie with slightly grandiose ambitions, Arthur had made it his business over the years to befriend important people, and about a year earlier, at a police benefit, Arthur made friends with the event’s emcee, the host of The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson.
And then there was me, the last in line, the one who was hustling hardest to keep up, the one beset by worries—worried that I’d fall behind, worried that I’d collapse, worried that five hustling men in Manhattan who didn’t resemble the Knicks would draw the attention of the police. But everybody on the sidewalks had their heads down, and we didn’t stand out more than the average bustling New Yorker.
Sucking wind, I was glad when we finally reached our destination, although as we stood in the lobby, shaking the rain off our London Fogs, I began to feel a sense of panic taking hold.What was I doing here? I was a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School! I had sworn an oath to uphold the law, not violate it, and breaking and entering in the state of New York is a felony. As if sensing my panic, Johnny looked over at me. “Don’t worry kid,” he said reassuringly. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. Trust me.”

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