If you’ve ever wanted to make a grand entrance à la Johnny Carson, here’s your chance.
A section of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson’s iconic rainbow curtains is currently up for auction via Heritage Auctions.
Though Carson used rainbow curtains for much of his run, this particular panel was part of his final set—perhaps most memorably serving as the backdrop when the host sat on a stool and closed the book on his 30-year run on May 22, 1992, with the words, “I bid you a very heartfelt good night.”
According to the listing description, the auction lot includes two pairs of curtains that made up the backdrop: the “shimmery” polyester rainbow curtains with bands of blue, orange, gold, lavender, and peach; as well as the set’s “blue and gray curtains with cross-hatch diamond patterns with alternating panels of inset bejeweled adornments and horizontal silver stripes.” The listing notes that the curtains show “signs of production use, handling, and age, including stains, toning, thread pulls, and other expected indications of stage use.”
A similar set of Carson’s multicolor striped Tonight Show curtains is displayed at the National Comedy Center’s “Johnny Carson: The Immersive Experience” exhibit in Jamestown, New York.
The curtains at auction come from the collection of Dr. Stewart Berkowitz, a noted entertainment memorabilia collector who passed away early last year. The lot is part of a larger auction of Berkowitz’s collection, which features more than 300 other lots—including props and screen-used costumes from TV classics like Batman, The Honeymooners, and Gilligan’s Island. (Earlier this year, Berkowitz’s collection of film and TV cars was auctioned off via Barrett-Jackson.)
The curtains are just one artifact from The Tonight Show that Berkowitz acquired from fellow collector James Comisar. When Comisar’s collection went up for auction in 2023, Berkowitz also obtained Carson’s final set—including the desk, guest seating, on-set plants, and Carson’s chair. Those items are now on display at The Paley Museum in New York City as part of the organization’s “Be Part of the Show: Lights, Camera… You!” exhibit.
Bidding for the iconic piece of television memorabilia is already underway, currently sitting at $5,500.The auction closes on Friday, October 24—just one day after what would have been Carson’s 100th birthday.
More information on the Tonight Show curtains can be found at this link.
Lets get them for Dave
These curtains are authentic, though they are made of raw silk and do not shimmer. As well, the other set of curtains were not used in connection with Mr. Carson’s monologues. The late, great super-collector Stewart Berkowitz was a lovely person with impeccable taste–and he rightly recognized that few TV objects would be as iconic as these curtains. 10 out of 10, in this collector’s opinion! Sincerely, James Comisar