Biography

Behind the man who is behind the desk

Jim was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but has lived in Phoenix, Arizona since 1981. He's a former award-winning anchorman and reporter, honored for his news documentaries and investigative reporting.

When people ask Jim why he left television news for a career impersonating Johnny Carson, he explains that his decision was determined by what can only be described as his uncanny resemblance to the "King of Late Night"' both in sight and sound.

Jim says, "It was difficult getting my job done out in the field because people were constantly requesting a monologue." When his news director at the CBS affiliate in Phoenix suggested Jim might do his news anchoring as 'Johnny', Jim figured it was time to take the show on the road. "Besides", he adds, "studio cameras don't laugh –or applaud."

Since creating "Heeere's Johnny II" in 1984, Jim's been very busy and very successful. Working gigs from coast-to-coast, he's entertained audiences as small as 60 and as large as 10,000.