Johnny Carson’s legacy celebrated in Chicago pop-up museum

Johnny Carson’s legacy celebrated in Chicago pop-up museum

The greatest star in the history of late-night television is being remembered with a special exhibit in Chicago.

CHICAGO - The greatest star in the history of late-night television is being remembered with a special exhibit in Chicago.

After being closed for a couple of years, Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications is reopening in a new pop-up location in the West Loop with a salute to the king of late night.

What we know:

For more than 30 years, tens of millions of Americans ended their day by tuning in to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson until Carson’s retirement in 1992.

Now, as a special anniversary approaches, Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications is opening a major new exhibit on the history of late-night television.

"We are looking at the legacy of Johnny Carson," said Dave Plier, the museum’s executive director. "He turns 100 years old on Thursday, which is when we are actually going to open this museum with a really big event Thursday night. But it really takes you through not only Johnny’s childhood but his entire legendary career."

Plier has curated scores of artifacts from Carson‘s career, including the childhood magic book that sparked Carson’s interest in entertaining.

"His magic book is really the book that got him out of his shell as a teenager," said Plier.

The centerpiece of the exhibit is a stunning re-creation of Carson‘s Tonight Show set, including the desk, microphone and couch familiar to millions of Americans.

"This is actually the Danish modern sofa, the exact model that is on the Tonight Show," Plier said.

Of course, you can’t do an exhibit about Johnny Carson without the famous multicolored curtains that he and his guests walked through every night. Visitors will be able to do the same.

"His show was iconic. Iconic guests," said Plier. "There were so many moments in Tonight Show history that you really get to experience here at the museum once again."

Chicago Woodworker Dan Sullivan built the Carson desk from scratch, using "pictures from the original set."

"They also had drawn up a sketch of some proportions, some dimensions that were critical for us to be able to accurately reproduce this replica," said Sullivan.

The pop-up museum also features many objects from its extensive archives that had been warehoused for several years. Some will bring a tear to anyone who grew up watching Chicago television, like the set from Bozo’s Circus, Svengoolie’s original coffin and Bill Jackson’s puppet, The Blob.

And for fans of Chicago radio history, there’s an exhibit highlighting the history of legendary radio station WLUP, "The Loop." 

"It was all about Jonathan Brandmeier, Kevin Matthews and Steve and Garry. Icons in Chicago," said Plier. "This entire exhibit was curated by Rick Kaempfer, who wrote the ultimate book on The Loop."

What's next:

The museum, located at 440 West Randolph St., opens to the public Friday morning and will remain open through February 2027. And yes, you too can sit behind Johnny’s desk.