A TRIBUTE TO JOHNNY CARSON & LATE NIGHT TELEVISION
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Johnny Carson multi-colored monologue curtains (top center), where he stood at the top of each show and shared headlines of the day and his witty and playfully bawdy observations. Also, new, aspiring comics including Roseanne Barr, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Eddie Murphy, Jerry Seinfeld, and Garry Shandling debuted in front of the fourteen foot high raw silk curtains. Their color scheme would change slightly from bright, bold stripes in the 1970s (this style pictured here), to more subdued sorbet colors from the early 1980s until Mr. Carson’s final goodnight to America on May 22, 1992. We archive both sets of curtains, and they were acquired from Johnny Carson.
CURATOR’S NOTE: “When I heard Johnny Carson was retiring from The Tonight Show , I felt like others felt when they learned The Beatles broke up or Elvis had died; the first sharp pang of a deep loss for someone I had never met. Immediately, I wrote a letter to Mr. Carson, making my case that his Carnac the Magnificent jeweled turban & cape deserved and required professional care, to which there was no response. I sent a second letter, and later a third. I would eventually receive a call from Mr. Carson’s top administrator Helen Sanders, and she said there would be no way to get Johnny to focus on my request until after the show went o ff the air in a few months. Later that summer, after the show had culminated in a media frenzy like no other series before it, Helen called: ‘I brought up your request about the Carnac turban to Johnny and he said he would be fine with you having it. It was put in his car after the final show by his costume designer, so I will need to make arrangements to get it to you.' Wow! I felt like I just won a $100 million lottery, the Daytona 500, and magically lost 20 pounds! Pure, uncut elation. I still managed to blurt out: ‘If it’s easier, I could stop by his home and pick it up.’ Soon after, Helen was back in touch: ‘Okay, James. Let’s meet at a restaurant in Malibu, and we’ll drive up together to Mr. Carson’s home to pick up Carnac.’ We arrived at Johnny Carson’s massive compound and stopped at the gate, and Helen asked me to keep my hands in my lap…but why? I looked up and there were two armed security guards monitoring our entry from a glass guard station near the tree tops, while a third guard with a hand on his holster slowly approached my side of the car. We were instructed to go to the front door, which Helen found curious: ‘Johnny almost never meets people in his home, usually at the tennis house next door. Today’s your lucky day!’ A minute later, a member of his house sta ff opened the door, just as Mr. Carson was descended his regal stairs carrying the Carnac cape. From this point forward It was sensory overload, and I only remember quick flashes: the gleam of the pricey stainless clothing hanger he was holding, waves breaking just beyond a wall of glass, and the uncomfortable awkwardness he had as he greeted me. Not knowing how many seconds I would have in his company, I nervously launched into why his desk and every bit of the set should be preserved. With a low chuckle, Mr. Carson told me he had ‘the tackiest set in Hollywood’ and ‘no one would want to see it again.’ I had to pivot, and fast. Instead of pitching that I should be anointed to have this honor and responsibility, now I had to convince the king of late night not to throw it all away. One year later, Helen called at Mr. Carson’s request, asking if I really wanted his The Tonight Show set, which was coming o ff exhibit at the American Film Institute gallery in Florida. This would be the turning point in my career as a credible curator. Most objections thereafter from potential clients melted away, and the sideways stares of ‘what are you really going to do with this stu ff ?’ went extinct. Now, doors flew open, because I was vetted by the single most influential entertainer in television history. Mr. Carson and I exchanged holiday cards for a few years, and I sit here today still wondering how a kid who snuck out of bed to watch Johnny Carson’s monologue and dreamt of someday writing his jokes became a steward of his legacy. In a professional life filled with adventure & treasure, this will always stand out as my definitive acquisition experience.” - James Comisar
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