In 1976, Charlie Hodge, a devoted friend of his boss, Elvis Presley, lost a bet with me. I became the victor after enough rounds of pinball against each other at the Hickory Log restaurant across the street from Graceland in Memphis,Tennessee.

If I won, he had to tell me (as President of the Texas Chapter of the Elvis Presley Graceland Fan Club and a young university journalism student) a story about Elvis he had never told before. He laughed at the bet as we started taking turns filling our quarters into the pinball machine slot.

I barely won. He was such a good sport that he also  bought hamburgers and drinks for us after the “tournament.”

Charlie began with a loud laugh as we took our seats at a table. This is what he told me per how I published it.

A few years prior, during the night, Elvis called down from his bedroom upstairs to summon Charlie, who lived downstairs.

“He wanted me to run up to the store and buy a bunch of toilet paper,” Charlie sparkled, recalling the event.”Get all you can get.”

It actually wasn’t that much of a surprise because “there was really nothing that shocked me anymore about what or when Elvis wanted something,” he grinned. “I thought maybe we were going to toilet paper a house or something because this was one really odd order.”

Charlie laughed so hard he had to wipe his eyes, trying to tell me the story.

“He’d been watching the Tonight Show, and Johnny announced something about a severe toilet paper shortage spreading across the country. Elvis didn’t want to wait. I guess his competitive nature kicked in and wasn’t waiting the next day, but wanted us to beat everyone to the punch before they woke up and found out.

“Sure enough, a couple of us went down the street and bought all the toilet paper we could fit in a pickup.”

“Elvis was sure relieved,” Charlie grinned. “But we had plenty of toilet paper to go around.”

I published this story in the Texas Fan Club Newsletter, Flaming Star, in late May of 1976. I’ve only seen it published one other time, by the late Paul Lichter, who I wrote for in his Memphis Flash magazine.

Legendary late night talk show host Johnny Carson was known for his quick wit. He was constantly making jokes, but one joke, in particular, went on to have serious repercussions.

In December 1973, Carson thought it would be funny to report that there was a national shortage of toilet paper. Some viewers didn’t see the humor in this and took it seriously, running out to stock up on toilet paper.

This panic buying from his viewers spread across the country, even at Graceland, resulting in his joke actually becoming a reality.

The shortage that resulted from this prank had manufacturers and shops placing a ration on toilet paper until the rumors stopped spreading. It caused so much chaos that Carson was forced to make a public apology.

Even the New York Times commented on the prank, saying it was a “classic study” of how gossip is spread.

One thing no one could have foreseen from this prank-gone-wrong was one portable toilet company trying to get on the bandwagon. Taking advantage of Carson’s popularity, they named one of their toilets “Here’s Johnny”, which was the famous phrase that Carson walked on stage to for his show.

Carson was not going to let his catchphrase be used without consent, and especially not for this kind of product. He sued the company, claiming he had the rights to the phrase “Here’s Johnny”.

It was no easy process however, with the ensuing court battle going on to last ten years and two appeals. The court eventually ruled in Carson’s favor, prohibiting the company from using this phrase in their marketing or signs. Despite the ruling, Braxton, the toilet company, is still trying to reclaim the name for their use.

After Carson’s death in 2005, comedian Steve Martin said, “every one of us who grew up watching Johnny Carson enjoyed 30 years of going to bed happily. He loved to make people laugh, he loved to laugh, and he loved entertainers and comedians.”

“His casual naughtiness and boyish demeanor made the country a better place to live in. He enriched this nation for sure,” Martin noted.

Fellow talk show host Jay Leno also had kind words for the late Carson, stating, “nobody has ever made an impact on television as great as Johnny. Johnny was definitely the gold standard.”

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IN GOD WE TRUST

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