Winnie Palmer, wife of Arnold, was seated on the couch, next to her husband
Arnold, who was a headline guest on The Tonight Show. Arnie had just won a
big tournament. I have no idea which one, but I would guess it was probably
The Masters or a US Open, since talk shows don't make it a habit of inviting
golfers to be guests except right after a big event for which there was
national interest. Although back in those days (the early '60s), Arnie was
such a media darling, it could have been just about any time.
Anyway, Johnny turned to Winnie and asked her if she had any superstitions
before her husband played in a big tournament.
Winnie replied, "I kiss his balls."
Well, the audience erupted in laughter, and as Johnny did his usual facial
expressions, it just fed the laughter further. The laughter seemed to go on
for a minute or two. The Palmers squirmed uncomfortably.
And then Johnny made a crack about Arnie's putter. The way I remember it
(which could be wrong), it was something like, "I'll bet he'll raise his
putter to that."
Another 2-3 minutes of laughter.
The Palmers weren't so amused, and they sued Carson (for defamation of
character, I believe), the outcome of which I have no idea about (although
it's unlikely they would have won such a suit, since malicious intent must
be proven).
But it was classic Carson.