George Lopez Has Johnny Carson’s Rolex as a Reminder of ‘1 of the Greatest Things That Have Ever Happened’
Decades after getting a once-in-a-lifetime spot on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1991, George Lopez came into possession of a Rolex that once belonged to the late-night legend. He said touching the watch for the first time made him feel like a “light went through” him. Then, he realized the opportunity had an even more personal meaning. Here’s what he said about it.
George Lopez got a spot on ‘The Tonight Show’ just before Johnny Carson retired
On The Friars Club Podcast, Lopez spoke to host Joe Sibilia about the meaning of being on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show as a stand-up comedian. But he said the moment almost didn’t happen for him when he got bumped for Bill Cosby. Carson was nearing retirement, so the window of time was closing.
Lopez recalled someone saying, “I know a guy that got bumped 20 years ago, and they never called him back.”
So, it could have been a lost opportunity, but they asked him back only days later. Though many others never got a second chance, he did. And it could hardly have come at a better time. He appeared on The Tonight Show in November 1991, before Carson’s May 1992 retirement.
Lopez compared the experience of going on The Tonight Show with Carson hosting to being on the Mayflower and landing at Plymouth Rock. Or going to outer space and then coming back. He said he “never, ever thought” he would do it, and it’s still “one of the greatest things that [have] ever happened” in his life.
George Lopez bought the Rolex Johnny Carson wore during his ‘Tonight Show’ appearance
Notably, Carson retired and mostly avoided the spotlight until he died in 2005.
Lopez told Sibilia his wardrobe person brought an offer to him on the set of his NBC sitcom, Lopez vs. Lopez, explaining a jeweler had an exciting story. An individual received a Rolex watch after Carson’s death that belonged to him, gifted to them by his fourth wife, to whom he was married when he died. They no longer wanted it and were looking to sell it.
Lopez agreed to look at the Rolex to consider buying it. “When I touched this watch [it was] like a light went through me,” he said on The Friar’s Club Podcast. Then, he realized it was familiar. “Johnny Carson was wearing this watch in 1991 when I did The Tonight Show with him,” he shared.
Meeting Johnny Carson left George Lopez starstruck
During his conversation with Sibilia, Lopez recalled being starstruck by Carson, whom he had the chance to meet after his first Tonight Show appearance. The actor said the host stopped for a brief chat backstage, and he complimented him on his standup set.
Though Carson told him to return to The Tonight Show before his final show, Lopez confessed he wasn’t interested in doing it again. “I wasn’t trying to do it twice,” he shared. “I just wanted to do it once.”
He noted that it took about 15 years for his career to take off after that appearance, but it all worked out. “I think my manifestation of destiny is 100 percent,” he concluded.
