Johnny Carson
Wikimedia Commons
Heeeere’s Johnny! Or … not. The TV host with the golden comedic timing became notoriously private after his retirement in 1992. Even before he stepped down as the king of late-night, the seemingly gregarious star gave few interviews — and withdrew if they went too in-depth.
The one and only social function that Carson continued to participate in was monthly poker night at friend and producer Daniel Melnick’s house. It was mostly the same crew every time, including people like Steve Martin, Neil Simon, and Chevy Chase.
“John was not comfortable playing with someone he didn’t know,” Melnick says. “I’d have to brief him beforehand.” Other than the poker games, Carson spent a lot of time traveling with a very close-knit group, or alone on his yacht.
Such is the paradox of the ever-outgoing man on stage versus the very reserved and quiet man off of it. Perhaps the most relevant reason for Carson’s double persona was the lack of approval by his critical mother, Ruth. Is this why he strove so diligently for the approval of America? Here’s hoping he finally received it before his death in 2005.
Syd Barrett
Stratopaul/Flickr
Rumor has it that during a 1975 recording session, the founding Pink Floyd member showed up to the studio and no one recognized him because of the weight he had put on. That would be the last time that most of Pink Floyd saw Syd Barrett, known by some as the “original acid casualty.”
The pioneer of 1960s psychedelia was the principal songwriter on the Pink Floyd album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. However, he suffered a full-on, psychedelic drug-induced mental breakdown.
He dabbled in a couple other failed music projects before living out the rest of his post-Pink Floyd days in his mother’s Cambridge, England home. He spent his time gardening and then indulging in crazy DIY house projects after his mother passed away.
Barrett’s sister, Rosemary confirmed stories of her brother’s strange behavior: “The house, he wrecked … Every wall would be painted a different color. The idea of painting a room with the same color was just nonsensical to him. I used to say to him, ‘Do two walls the same color.’ ‘But why?’ he’d say. ‘They’re all different walls.'” She also offered the following possible explanation for his exile, “He found his own mind so absorbing that he didn’t want to be distracted.”
Enjoy this article on celebrity recluses? Next, read about these vintage celebrity couples. Then read about the Rock and Roll groupies who changed music.
