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New Book Shares Secrets Behind Johnny Carson’s Penultimate ‘Tonight Show’ Episode (Exclusive)
By Jessica Sager
Oct 21, 2025
Moment of Moments
The penultimate show, the show before the show.
This was the show where all raw emotions would be exposed.
In the weeks leading up to this night, Carson fans went out of their minds angling to get seats. Robin Williams and Bette Midler were chosen as the guests for May 21, 1992, what many considered the final show.
Though it technically wasn’t the final show, it was the final show with
guests.
Behind the scenes, the activity was frantic. Talent coordinator Bob Dolce told Fred de Cordova, “Bette Midler still won’t officially commit.”
Fred commanded, “You have to call and call and call.” Tonight Show writer Bruce Vilanch told me that Bette’s business manager, Bonnie Bruckheimer, pushed back on her client’s appearance being the last guest ever on Carson’s show. Vilanch didn’t mince words, saying, “Are you nuts? It’s history making!”
Bruce prevailed. Bette got on board. But a new question arose: What songs would she sing? Bette agreed on Cole Porter’s “Miss Otis Regrets.” The second and final song, “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road),” was suggested by Marc Shaiman, Bette’s musical director.
Shaiman had been in the shower when he had what he called a “full lightbulb-above-my-head moment.” Still dripping wet, he called Bette to tell her he had the right song. It was perfect. But when he told her the title, Bette balked. “I can’t sing that song,” she said. “I’ll be too nervous to hit those [high] notes.” It took a while, but Shaiman finally convinced her that once they found the right key, she’d have no problems.
Show day arrived. A big Bette fan, Johnny turned up at the rehearsal. Vilanch was there to watch Carson’s reaction. “I think [Johnny] was afraid that he’d break down [during the show],” Bruce said. He recalled Johnny saying to Bette, “I want to thank you for doing this. You need this like a root canal.”
Robin Williams and Bette Midler had nothing to promote. This night was all about Johnny. Bette’s cabaret style harkened back to an earlier era that Carson adored. He also adored Williams, with whom he had an especially happy history. There was one show that Carson hosted while sick, and Williams was a guest for it. In Johnny’s words, “[Robin] saved my ass.” So, Robin’s being selected as one of the final guests on Tonight was a no-brainer, as he always delivered huge laughs and was a huge movie star.
On the way to the curtain for that taping, Carson walked past his staff, who were huddled around a backstage monitor. He offered only two words: “One more.”
The show began, and once he appeared from behind the curtain, the audience gave him an unprecedented standing ovation—two minutes long. Johnny begged them to stop applauding, saying, “This is getting embarrassing.”
When Robin Williams emerged from the curtain, he was pushing a colossal rocking chair that had guitars for legs. Johnny climbed into the chair and rocked back and forth, muttering in an elderly voice, “Can I sit in the sun today?”
After Robin engaged in his nonstop, lightning-paced patter, riffing on everyone from Rodney King to presidential candidate Ross Perot, Bette opened with “Miss Otis Regrets,” rendered upbeat and bouncy. She then moved to the couch with a surprise. Without telling Johnny, Shaiman and Vilanch had refashioned the lyrics to “You Made Me Love You” to “You Made Me Watch You.” Sitting next to Carson, Bette sang . . .
I love the jokes you’re flogging when you are monologuing.
I watched your hair turn slowly from dark to white,
And when I can’t sleep, I count your wives at night.
The highlight came when Bette did her final number, proving that Shaiman had been right. “One for My Baby” was the perfect song at the perfect moment.
Adding to the drama was a never-before-seen camera angle devised by director Bobby Quinn. His son Kevin told me about it. During Bette’s song, Bobby moved camera three around to show a profile of Bette with Johnny in the low light looking at her. The angle was groundbreaking for a late-night talk show. Bette sang directly to Johnny, who was teary- eyed and deeply moved.
The entire staff was huddled in the wings, everyone sobbing.
It was an Emmy Award–winning moment for Midler, and even to day, over three decades later, it is considered one of the most beautiful moments in television history. “She made the whole nation cry,” said Doc Severinsen.
The plan was for Bette to sit with Johnny after the song, but after placing a Hawaiian lei around his neck, the singer was so overcome with emotion that she dashed backstage. Midler’s unexpected departure left the show with forty seconds to fill. Usually, the panel stood while the credits rolled and the music played. But not tonight. Johnny was too broken up. Lassally was forced to run the credits over a gray screen.
After the broadcast, another unprecedented moment: Carson invited Midler and Williams to his basement office.
A year later, Johnny told The Washington Post, “Even when I see it now, it was so affecting … Bette Midler to this day hasn’t seen it. She says, ‘I can’t watch it.’ She sent me a note and said, ‘Of all the things I’ve done in the entertainment business, that was the most magical electric moment.’ And I said, ‘Me too.’ It just happened. You couldn’t recreate it, ever.”
From Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan’s Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend by Mark Malkoff, published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
