Johnny Carson's hometown remembers the longtime "Tonight Show" host for his modesty and generosity more than for his reign as the king of late-night television.

Carson, who died Sunday at age 79, was a revered figure in Norfolk, where he lived from age 8 until he went into the Navy after high school graduation in 1943.

It's been almost a decade since Carson last visited Norfolk, but he never forgot his roots.

He was known to have donated nearly $5 million to causes and organizations in Norfolk and millions more to the University of Nebraska, his alma mater.

Carson began his television career in Omaha at WOW-TV, now WOWT.

"Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning," said his nephew, Jeff Sotzing. "He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable." Sotzing did not provide further details, but NBC said Carson died at his Malibu, California home of emphysema, a respiratory disease that can be attributed to smoking. Carson often had a cigarette in hand in the early years of The Tonight Show, eventually dropping the on-air habit when smoking on TV became frowned on. But he remained a heavy smoker for some years afterward, said a former associate who spoke on condition of anonymity. His nephew said there will be no memorial service.

Following graduation, Carson worked at WOW-TV (now WOWT) and WOW radio in Omaha. He started at WOW-TV when the station first hit the airwaves in 1949 when Mal Hansen was the station's farm editor. Hansen thinks Carson's success came in large part from his down-to-earth, Iowa-Nebraska mentality. "I suspect that they will classify him as one of the outstanding television personalities of all time," Hansen said Sunday. "I think also it reflects a man who worked hard at his job and never forgot his roots. The audience in Omaha loved him. He kept going and his jokes were great. At the same time, he was rather modest. He was not one of these showoff guys you sometimes run into in that profession." Hansen remembers Carson, who everyone called simply "John," as a funny guy. "He interviewed the pigeons on the Douglas County Courthouse." Carson once found another use for birds during a cooking show with Martha Bolson. "He put a live chicken in her oven one day." Hansen also recalled Carson's fondness for practical jokes. "One time he went up to our station manager and asked him if he would like to see a joke. The station manager said yes. Johnny handed him his paycheck." Hansen also remembered his generosity, recalling a time when former WOW staff announcer Merrill Workhoven drove to California in a rundown car to visit Carson. "When Merill left California to go home, Johnny had a brand new car he gave him the keys for." Carson left for KNXT-TV in Los Angeles in 1950. "I said, gee, I hope the guy makes it because that's a lot of competition out there," said Hansen.

President Bush Sunday described Carson as "a steady and reassuring presence in homes across America for three decades. His wit and insight made Americans laugh and think and had a profound influence on American life and entertainment."

Carson made his debut as Tonight Show host in October 1962 and quickly won over audiences. He even made headlines with such clever ploys as the 1969 on-show marriage of eccentric singer Tiny Tim to Miss Vicki, which won the show its biggest-ever ratings. The wedding and other noteworthy moments from the show were collected into a yearly "Tonight" anniversary special. In 1972, "Tonight" moved from New York to Burbank. Growing respect for Carson's consistency and staying power, along with four consecutive Emmy Awards, came his way in the late 1970s. His quickness and his ability to handle an audience were impressive. When his jokes missed their target, the smooth Carson won over a groaning studio audience with a clever look or sly, self-deprecating remark. Politics provided monologue fodder for him as he skewered lawmakers of every stripe, mirroring the mood of voters. His Watergate jabs at President Nixon were seen as cementing Nixon's fall from office in 1974. Carson made presidential history again in July 1988 when he had then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton on his show a few days after Clinton came under widespread ridicule for a boring speech at the Democratic National Convention. Clinton traded quips with Carson and played "Summertime" on the saxophone in what was hailed as a stunning comeback.

"Heeeeere's Johnny!" was the booming announcement from sidekick Ed McMahon that ushered Carson out to the stage. Then came the formula starting with the topical monologue, the guests, and the broadly played skits such as "Carnac the Magnificent." But America never tired of him and Carson went out on top when he retired in May 1992. Actress-singer Bette Midler, who memorably serenaded Carson on his next-to-last show with "One More For My Baby," recalled him warmly. "I was his last guest and it was one of the most moving experiences of my life. He had it all. A little bit of devil, a whole lot of angel, wit, charm, good looks, superb timing and great, great class," Midler said in a statement.

McMahon said Sunday that Carson was "like a brother to me." "Our 34 years of working together, plus the 12 years since then, created a friendship which was professional, family-like and one of respect and great admiration," McMahon said in a statement. "When we ended our run on The Tonight Show and my professional life continued, whenever a big career decision needed to be made, I always got the okay from 'the boss."'

John William Carson was born in Corning on October 23, 1925 and lived in the Iowa towns of Clarinda, Red Oak, and Avoca before his family moved to Norfolk in 1933. Carson lived there from age 8 until he went into the Navy after high school graduation in 1943, honing his comedy timing and magic tricks. He performed as "The Great Carsoni" at the Elks, Moose, and Redman lodges in Norfolk starting at age 14. After World War II, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio and speech with a minor in physics in 1949. His senior thesis was titled "How to Write Comedy for Radio."

In LA, Carson started a sketch comedy show, "Carson's Cellar," which ran from 1951-53 and attracted attention from Hollywood. A staff writing job for "The Red Skelton Show" followed. The program provided Carson with a lucky break. When Skelton was injured backstage, Carson took the comedian's place in front of the cameras. Producers tried to find the right program for the up-and-coming comic, trying him out as host of the quiz show "Earn Your Vacation" (1954), the variety show "The Johnny Carson Show" (1955-56), and the game show "Who Do You Trust?" (1957-62), where in 1958 he was joined for the first time by McMahon.

A few acting roles came Carson's way, including one on "Playhouse 90" in 1957, and he did a pilot in 1960 for a prime-time series, "Johnny Come Lately," that never made it onto a network schedule. In 1958, Carson sat in for Tonight Show host Paar. When Paar left the show four years later, Carson was NBC's choice as his replacement.

Competing networks tried a variety of formats and hosts to challenge Carson, but never managed to best "Tonight." There was the occasional battle with NBC. In 1967, Carson walked out for several weeks until the network managed to lure him back with a contract that reportedly gave him $1 million-plus yearly. In 1980, after more walkout threats, the show was scaled back from 90 minutes to an hour. Carson also eased his schedule by cutting back on his work days; a number of substitute hosts filled in, including Joan Rivers, Jerry Lewis, and Jay Leno, Carson's eventual successor. Rivers was one of the countless comedians whose careers took off after they were on Carson's show. After she rocked the audience with her jokes in that 1965 appearance, he remarked, "God, you're funny. You're going to be a star." "If Johnny hadn't made the choice to put me on his show, I might still be in Greenwich Village as the oldest living undiscovered female comic," she recalled in an Associated Press interview 20 years later. She tried her own talk show in 1986, quickly becoming one of the many challengers who could not budge Carson.

Carson's generosity to up-and-coming comics who got their big break on "Tonight" was lauded by Bill Cosby and others. "Johnny was responsible for the beginning and the rise of success for more performers than anyone. I doubt if those numbers will ever be surpassed," Cosby said in a statement on Sunday.

In the '80s, Carson was reportedly the highest-paid performer in television history with a $5 million "Tonight" show salary alone. His Carson Productions created and sold pilots to NBC, including "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes." Carson himself made occasional cameo appearances on other TV series. He also performed in Las Vegas and Atlantic City and was host of the Academy Awards five times in the '70s and '80s. Carson's graceful exit from "Tonight" did not avoid a messy, bitter tug-of-war between Leno and fellow comedian David Letterman to take over his throne. Leno took over on May 25, 1992, becoming the fourth man to hold the job after Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Carson. Letterman landed on rival CBS.

Carson choose to let "Tonight" stand as his career zenith and his finale, withdrawing into a quiet retirement that suited his private nature and refusing involvement in other show business projects. In 1993, he explained his absence from the limelight. "I have an ego like anybody else," Carson told The Washington Post, "but I don't need to be stoked by going before the public all the time." Carson spent his retirement years sailing, traveling, and socializing with a few close friends, including media mogul Barry Diller and NBC executive Bob Wright. He simply refused to be wooed back on stage. "I just let the work speak for itself," he told Esquire magazine in 2002. Carson did find an outlet for his creativity, writing short humor pieces for The New Yorker magazine, including "Recently Discovered Childhood Letters to Santa," which purported to give the youthful wish lists of William Buckley, Don Rickles, and others.

After his retirement, Carson took on the role of Malibu-based retiree with apparent ease. An avid tennis fan, he was still playing a vigorous game in his 70s. He and his wife, Alexis, traveled frequently. The pair met on the Malibu beach in the early 1980s when he was 61. When they married in June 1987, she was in her 30s. Carson's personal life could not match the perfection of his career. He was married four times and divorced three. In 1991, one of his three sons, 39-year-old Ricky, was killed in a car accident. Carson's first wife was his childhood sweetheart, Jody, the mother of his three sons. They married in 1949 and split in 1963. He married Joanne Copeland Carson that same year, but divorced nine years later. His third marriage, to Joanna Holland Carson, took place in 1972. They divorced in 1985.

On the occasion of Carson's 70th birthday, former "Tonight" bandleader Doc Severinsen, who toured with musicians from the show, said he was constantly reminded of Carson's enduring popularity. "Every place we go people ask `How is he? Where is he? What is he doing? Tell him how much we miss him.' It doesn't surprise me," said Severinsen. The brisk sale of the video collection ``Johnny Carson: His Favorite Moments From The Tonight Show,'' released in 1994, offered further proof of his appeal. Carson won a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor in 1992, with the first President Bush saying, "With decency and style he's made America laugh and think." In 1993, he was celebrated by the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for career achievement.

The last time anyone knows for sure he stepped foot in his hometown was about nine years ago when he surprised his former penmanship teacher, Fay Gordon, at her 100th birthday party. He was known to have donated nearly $5 million to causes and organizations in Norfolk and millions more to the University of Nebraska. In November, Carson gave $5.3 million to the University of Nebraska Foundation. The gift from Carson was earmarked for the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts' Department of Theatre Arts. "This is a guy who never forgot the University of Nebraska and the role it played in his formative years in the things he was able to accomplish, first in radio and then in television and comedy," said Jack Oliva, dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts.

News of his death stunned 88-year-old Fred Egley, who taught physical education at Norfolk High School when Carson was a freshman at the school in 1939. Egley said he last heard from Carson in November, after he had sent him a newspaper article about whether the city's name should be pronounced "Nor-folk" or "Nor-fork." "I assumed he was in good health because he sent a note back thanking me for sending him the clipping," said Egley. "So this is quite a shock." Egley said Carson was fast to respond financially when a worthy cause arose. Three years ago, after the town's Senior Center failed to raise $250,000 for a new roof, Carson got word of the shortfall and sent a check for $100,000.

Carson's donations helped fund the Carson Regional Cancer Center, the high school's Johnny Carson Theater, the Norfolk Public Library, the Norfolk Arts Center, the Elkhorn Valley Museum and Research Center, and the Lifelong Learning Center at Northeast Community College.

Although Carson didn't spend much time in Corning where he was born, the comedian gave back to Iowans in laughs and donations to community projects. Corning Mayor Guy Brace said Carson was a generous person, donating money to a local school and skate park. Gov. Tom Vilsack called Carson an "entertainment legend" who will be remembered for his talent, as well as his support for Main Street America. Paul Lane, owner of the Funny Bone Comedy Club in Urbandale, said Carson made many people's careers when he gave them the chance to appear on The Tonight Show.

In a 1982 NBC special titled, "Johnny Goes Home," that documented a return trip to Norfolk, Carson described growing up in the town as "an era that gave you a direction in your life." "Everyone gets a little homesick, especially if you have fond memories of your early years and I do."