Dave Letterman? Is that you?

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on April 23rd, 2005

Somebody bought Johnny’s old microphone.

An anonymous bidder Friday snatched a piece of TV history, offering $50,787 for the microphone that sat prominently on the desk of late-night king Johnny Carson until the 1980s. The offer was about twice that expected at auction.

The label on the 10-pound Shure model SM33 ribbon microphone bluntly declares: “Johnny’s Mic… Not Ed’s… Not Fred’s” — a reference to announcer Ed McMahon and producer Fred DeCordova.

The auction house, Heritage Galleries, plans to auction off Johnny’s old desk as well.