Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film Dedication
Photo Courtesy of Carson Entertainment
About the Gift
"I got my start in the Temple Building and have never forgotten the impact of my academic studies at the University of Nebraska on my life and career. It is my hope that this gift will enable future generations of theatre and film students to learn their craft in the Temple Building, which will enable them to pursue their goals just as I did."
—Johnny Carson, Nov. 10, 2004, on the announcement of his $5.3 million gift to renovate the Temple Building
The University of Nebraska—Lincoln's Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film will be dedicated on Friday, October 12, 2007, during UNL's Homecoming Weekend.
"The Dedication pays homage to Nebraska's most prolific son, Johnny Carson," said Paul Steger, Director of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. "The Temple Building was where Johnny spent much of his time while at the University of Nebraska. His generosity makes it possible for future generations of students to have opportunities they couldn't have anywhere else."
Johnny Carson's ties with the University of Nebraska date back to 1947 when he enrolled following his service to the U.S. Navy in World War II. While at the University of Nebraska, he studied radio in the basement of the Temple Building. His senior thesis, entitled "How to Write Comedy for Radio," was a scholarly examination of the techniques and devices that radio comedy writers used to construct the jokes and gags in comedy radio shows and was recorded on a reel-to-reel tape. He received his bachelor of arts degree in radio and speech (with a minor in physics) in 1949.
Temple Building in the Past - Click photo to enlarge
Throughout his successful career, Carson has maintained a strong relationship to the University of Nebraska and a strong desire to help future students gain opportunities to follow their dreams, just as he had done. In the 1970s, he established an endowed scholarship at the University of Nebraska Foundation to assist outstanding Nebraska high school graduates. To date, more than 25 students have been helped with these scholarships. In 1988, Carson gave a gift to support the construction of the Lied Center for Performing Arts, and the black box theatre adjoining the main stage was renamed the Johnny Carson Theater in his honor.
In November 2004, Carson announced a gift of $5.3 million to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the renovation and expansion of the Temple Building, where he got his start, and to create an endowment to keep performance spaces equipped with the latest advances in lighting and sound technologies. The renovation creates a state-of-the-art environment for faculty and students to study and work on the craft of theatre and film.
The renovation project, which began in June 2006 and was completed in June 2007, is the first work done on the building in 25 years. The renovation included a new combination black box theatre and film sound stage for students to use in their productions, a newly remodeled and expanded scene shop and updated lighting facilities, new computer-aided design and theatre class lab space, enhanced storage facilities, and an updated lobby for Howell Theatre. The new black box theatre has a state-of-the-art lighting grid, which features 9 independently motorized studio lighting box trusses with integral lighting circuits and control that will provide professional level lighting capabilities for theatre performances, education, TV and film production, and is the only one of its kind in the Midwest.
Following Carson's death in January 2005, the University of Nebraska Foundation received an additional gift of $5 million from the estate of Carson for endowed support of programs in theatre, film and broadcasting. Annual income from the endowment provides support to the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts and the broadcast program in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
In August 2005, the University of Nebraska renamed the Department of Theatre Arts the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, creating a permanent legacy for Johnny at the University of Nebraska. Johnny's combined gifts of $10.3 million will provide tremendous opportunities for students in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film and College of Journalism and Mass Communications to write their own chapters in entertainment and broadcasting history.
