text: On March 19, 1999, Carson suffered a severe heart attack at his home in Malibu, California, and was hospitalized in nearby Santa Monica, where he underwent quadruple-bypass surgery.
  Carson had been a heavy smoker for decades, and in the early days of his tenure on The Tonight Show, he often smoked on-camera, at one point having smoked four packs of Pall Mall cigarettes a day. It was reported that as early as the mid-1970s, he would repeatedly say, "These things are killing me." His younger brother recalled that during their last conversation, Carson kept saying, "Those damn cigarettes."
  In 2002, he turned down an offer to appear at NBC's 75th anniversary.
  In September 2002, Carson revealed that he had emphysema but denied he was terminally ill. On January 23, 2005, Carson died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of respiratory failure arising from emphysema. His body was cremated, and the ashes were given to his wife, Alexis Maas. In accordance with his family's wishes, no public memorial service was held. Carson was also survived by his younger brother, Dick, who was an Emmy Award–winning director of, among other things, the competing Merv Griffin Show and Wheel of Fortune.
  Numerous tributes were paid to Carson upon his death, including a statement by then-President George W. Bush, all recognizing the deep and enduring affection held for him.