That's the question. Both Carson and Griffith became famous around the same time.

Has Griffith ever been a guest? I think a Griffith/Carson conversation would be interesting. A Carson/Knotts exchange would be hilarious.

However, I wonder if Griffith would have been a good guest for Carson since Carson liked to "cut up" and have fun with their guests. But Carson underneath it all was a rural country boy like Griffith, so there could have been humor on that level. I dunno. But I am sure he was on the show because Griffith was a star.

Here's a YouTube clip of Andy on The Tonight Show, but Bill Cosby is guest-hosting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Orz_4liYI

How about Don Knotts or Jim Nabors on Carson?

But that asks the question, Knotts and Nabors were probably a lot more urbane than in their show. Knotts and Carson would also be hilarious and interesting.

(I saw a I think an A and E biography of Johnny Carson. He started in 1962 when TAGS was on.)

What was Griffith not in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Knotts was, along with virtually every comic short of Gleason.