DALLAS (AP) 鈥 When Johnny Carson retired from 鈥淭he Tonight Show鈥 after 30 years, one man was determined to make the iconic set part of his burgeoning collection of television memorabilia.
鈥淚 would love to say that I convinced him that I was the best guy for the job, but really, if I鈥檓 being honest, I had to convince him to save the set at all," James Comisar said. "He told me he had the tackiest set in Hollywood and who would ever want to see it?鈥
That set is among a dizzying number of items from Comisar's collection of props, sets and costumes from beloved television shows that will be sold in early June by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions 鈥 from the bar where Sam Malone greeted customers on 鈥淐heers鈥 to the pink confection Barbara Eden wore in 鈥淚 Dream of Jeannie鈥 to the set from Archie and Edith Bunker's timeworn living room from 鈥淎ll in the Family.鈥
Other items on the block when online bidding starts Monday are a tunic worn by Superman in the 1950s TV series, barware from 鈥淢ad Men,鈥 tools used to cook meth on 鈥淏reaking Bad,鈥 costumes from 鈥淪tar Trek," and costumes and props from the 1960s TV series 鈥淏atman.鈥 The auction, which features about 1,000 lots, wraps up with live bidding from June 2 to 4 in Dallas.
Comisar 鈥 who has been tracking down and preserving television memorabilia since 1989 鈥 had dreamed of creating a museum to house his collection, but when that failed to come together, he decided it was time the items leave the temperature-controlled warehouses where he's been caring for them.
鈥淚 just decided these pieces should go back to the fans and let them enjoy them and then when that good day comes when a TV museum is effectuated, these pieces will be well cared for in the hands of passionate fans and collectors," said Comisar, 58.
Comisar, who grew up in Los Angeles, said that after school each day he 鈥済rabbed my Pop-Tarts and I sat down in front of the TV set" to watch characters who 鈥渇elt almost like after-school friends.鈥
After graduating from high school, Comisar became a comedy writer and began spending time on studio lots, where he realized that items from the TV shows he loved were languishing, with no system in place to save or archive them. He said that when shows went off the air, props would be sold or thrown away, or end up back in the costume department for rent.
He said the bar from 鈥淐heers,鈥 complete with the names of the show's stars carved into it, was in studio storage with a dead skunk in it when he acquired it.
The collection that Comisar has curated includes so many different shows that there鈥檚 something there to appeal to everyone, said Joshua Benesh, Heritage's chief strategy officer.
The collection, he said, also stands out for the way Comisar put it together. 鈥淛ames was out there in the field, in the wild, piecing properties together and discovering things that didn't have value at the time,鈥 he said.
Benesh said though that in recent years, the entertainment memorabilia market "has come alive.鈥
鈥淲e now understand just how rare some of these things are and how fundamental to our collective popular culture they are," Benesh said. 鈥淭hese characters are iconic. They've become part of the fabric of who we are.鈥
