From James Wolcott:

His poise, his polish, his precision, were unsurpassed. I was dispatched to LA to catch one of his last shows for Vanity Fair and what struck me sitting in the audience–something that one didn’t come through simply watching at home–was the power of his presence. He was taller than one expected, and when he popped through the curtain, he project a physical force that one didn’t expect.

And let us not forget, Wolcott notes, that Carson “prized science and reason,” bringing Carl Sagan to an audience that might not otherwise have seen him. It was Carson who called Uri Geller’s bluff.