Johnny Come Latelys : Their Last Chance to Catch Carson

The dreamy lilt in Jan Gosting’s voice was no accident. She had just emerged from Studio 1 at NBC-TV in Burbank, where Johnny Carson is counting off the final days before his retirement as host of “The Tonight Show” next month.

Just an hour before, the Bellflower housewife was cheering from the audience: “We’ll miss you, Johnny!”

And Carson had actually replied. “Thank you,” he’d said, smiling up to the crowd during a taping break. “I’ll miss you, too.”

The shows have been like that these last few months. Gosting was just one of hundreds who line up each broadcast day, most of them standing for hours, though others come prepared with sleeping bags, lawn chairs, knapsacks, radios, board games, paperbacks and food. It’s all part of the increasing clamor for admission into “The Tonight Show” before Carson leaves May 22, after nearly 30 years as host.

After that, the show is set to be transformed, with new host Jay Leno, a new backdrop and furniture, a new band and even a new theme song.

“I think everybody should get to see him once before he leaves, because there’s nobody else like him,” said Gosting, smiling peacefully in spite of some wisecracks from the three friends she’d brought along. She has been to the show at least 15 times since graduating from high school in 1973, when boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman were guests at her first taping. “I always bring someone who has never been before.”

Tickets to these final Carson shows are increasingly difficult to come by. It’s already too late to order the complimentary passes by mail, and few are available when the NBC ticket booth opens at 7 a.m. Tuesday through Friday. At least 200 people are turned away from the ticket office every broadcast day.

Those looking for admission are an upbeat mix of new and longtime fans, from young college students to those well into retirement. And even if a few are actually more interested in a particular night’s guests, such as singer k.d. lang or heartthrob Patrick Swayze earlier this month, most say they feel fortunate to see Carson before he leaves.

“He’s going away, so this is pretty special,” said Amanda Talavera of Pasadena, a self-described lang fanatic who travels with friends to the singer’s concerts across the country. “Any of his last shows you can get tickets for I’d like to be at.”

It wasn’t until Carson’s self-imposed departure date began to draw near that Jim and Carol Sheppard of San Bernardino finally requested tickets a month ago. “We’ve talked about it for the last 13 years,” said Jim Sheppard, a homicide detective. “It’s just a matter of not being able to. Now we’ve taken the time off work and made certain we were able to accommodate it once we were able to get tickets.”

Judy Goens had come all the way from Basehor, Kan., a 1,500-population town outside Kansas City. She was near the front of the line, waiting quietly for the 5:30 p.m. taping with her daughter, Lisa, who lives in San Ramon. The show was a Mother’s Day gift from Lisa, timed to coincide with one of her mother’s regular visits. “She’s watched the show for years,” the daughter said. “And I wanted to do this before Johnny retired.”

Judy Goens smiled. “I’ve watched him ever since he first came on,” she said. “I was real upset when he took over from Jack Paar because I thought no one could replace Jack Paar. And then I started watching Johnny and fell in love with him.”

Few people have had more direct contact with Carson’s audience than Mike Huber, who for the last nine years has screened the host’s mail and talks with fans as they wait in line. In recent months, he said, the mail and live audiences have expressed distress over Carson’s departure.

“It’s almost like they’re addicted to him,” Huber said. “They’re going, ‘What am I going to do without you?’ He’s been getting a lot of letters like that. It’s made me realize how many lives he has touched over the last 30 years. People are really worried about what they’re going to do without their Johnny Carson each night.

“They love him. These people come out here at 3, 4 in the morning, wait in line to get the tickets. I’ve seen them out here, literally, in sleeping bags, camping. Rain, shine, days of earthquakes, they’re out here waiting.”

The desperation to get into these show tapings has had some would-be audience members turning “nasty” when told there is no more room on a particular day. “They rip their tickets up,” said Ronilyn Reilly, an NBC page who helps usher the audiences. “We try to explain the situation,” she added, explaining that an excess number of tickets are distributed in order to ensure a full audience for each show.

Those who do get in are “really enthusiastic,” Reilly said. “Lately, he’s been getting standing ovations.”

Troy Fagnani has only lived in Burbank since March 16, but he’s already been to “The Tonight Show” five times, usually bringing along friends or family members. This month, he was treating his college buddy Bryon McCrary, who was about to leave for U.S. Army helicopter flight school.

“My wife is pretty bummed at me that she didn’t get to go,” said Fagnani, a marketing/sales representative raised in Lodi. “She’s working, and she’s never seen him. She’s from Burbank. So I probably want to make sure she gets to see Johnny before he leaves. But tickets are hard to get right now. You’ve got to get there early.”

For McCrary, who was visiting from San Diego, seeing Carson on “The Tonight Show” was just one of nearly 100 specific accomplishments he hoped to complete before he left, along with river rafting, riding in a variety of aircraft and other adventurous stunts.

“Everyone who comes my way, I definitely take them here,” said Fagnani. “Even after Johnny’s gone, because everyone who’s seen the show, it’s really exciting to be in the studio, to see how it works, and to see how small the studio is compared to how it looks on television.”

He was still talking about that studio--the stage, the bandstand and Carson’s desk crowded close together--when Fagnani happened to mention Leno’s name. And McCrary suddenly went into a momentary panic. “Is he playing tonight? Johnny!”

“Yeah,” Fagnani said calmly, Carson was scheduled for that night.

“OK, cool,” McCrary said, relaxing. And with that settled, he was free to think about some of these other events he’d planned for the next two weeks. “I haven’t bungee-jumped yet. I think that’s right after Johnny Carson.”