January 30th 2008 Johnny Carson - Ed Ames Tomahawk Incident
While playing Mingo on television (the Native American in Daniel Boone), Ed Ames developed some skill in throwing a tomahawk. This led to one of the most memorable moments of his career, when he appeared on The Tonight Show on 29 April 1965. When Ames claimed that he could hit a target from across the room during that show, Carson asked Ames if he could demonstrate this skill. Ames agreed, and a wood panel with a chalk outline of a cowboy was brought on to the stage. Ames proceeded to throw the tomahawk, which hit the “cowboy” in the tip of the crotch. This led to a very long burst of laughter from the audience and Carson’s famous ad-libs; “I didn’t even know you were Jewish!” (which is funny, because Ames was born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents).
