Johnny Carson to Sell TV Unit; Officials Mum

Johnny Carson’s television production firm is up for sale, but details were under wraps Tuesday.

David Tebet, executive vice president of Johnny Carson Production Co., and other company representatives said the Los Angeles office of the investment banking firm Bear, Stearns & Co. was handling the sale.

Tebet said he could not confirm a published report that a minimum bid of $65 million was being sought, but he and another person close to Carson said they thought that the figure was low.

The production firm’s assets include the “Amen” series on NBC-TV and the “Mr. President” series on Fox Broadcasting, and it controls Carson’s “Tonight” show. The company also has part ownership of the “Late Night With David Letterman” show on NBC-TV.

Tebet, as well as Carson spokesmen and the office of Henry Bushkin, Carson’s attorney, said that Michael Klein at Bear Stearns was in charge of selling the company. Through an assistant, Klein said Tuesday that he had nothing to say about the matter.

There was no indication of why Carson, the durable star of NBC-TV, put the firm on the block. He has often invested part of his wealth in business ventures, not all of them related to show business.

One person in the Carson camp said he assumed the sale was strictly for business reasons. Carson has another year to go after the current season of the “Tonight” show. According to published estimates earlier this year, his salary is about $18 million a year.