Modified On April 23, 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.