Johnny Carson's philanthropy

He donated $156 million to his charitable foundation, which now dwarfs some of the largest Hollywood-related charities. The Smoking Gun came across the nine-figure transfer in a tax return filed several months ago by the John W. Carson Foundation.

There has never been a public accounting of Carson's estate, so there is no way of knowing its total value, beneficiaries, or what percentage the $156 million represents. The former "Tonight Show" host, who died of emphysema at age 79, was survived by his fourth wife, Alexis, and two sons from his first marriage. The extremely private comedian did little to publicize his philanthropy, which included hefty donations to environmental groups, AIDS charities, schools, children's aid organizations, and not-for-profits in Nebraska, where he grew up.

Carson died in 2005 (doesn't it seem longer than that?).