Gartenberg Media and Getty Images Present Raimondo Borea's Photographs of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson"
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Johnny Carson on the set of The Tonight Show, circa early 1960s. © The Estate of Raimondo Borea.
Gartenberg Media Enterprises has partnered with Getty Images to make Raimondo Borea's behind-the-scenes photographs of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson available for licensing. GME and Getty have entered into a co-exclusive agreement to more widely share these historically significant images with the public.
To license Borea's photographs of The Tonight Show via Getty Images, click here.
Over a 40-year career of active photography, Raimondo Borea amassed an impressive body of work that permeated all areas of fine art photography, television, music, book publishing, and advertising. From 1962 to 1972, he had extensive behind-the-scenes access as a freelance photographer to the set of The Tonight Show, when host Johnny Carson filmed in New York City, prior to his relocation to Burbank.
During his time photographing the The Tonight Show, Borea captured moments of television and pop culture history from a unique, fly-on-the-wall perspective. Furthermore, as many Tonight Show episodes during this period were either taped over, discarded, or lost (only 33 complete episodes of The Tonight Show that originally aired prior to May 1972 are known to exist), Borea's photographs remain some of the only extant material documenting these episodes and their celebrity guests.
"Heeeeere's Johnny!" (1962) © The Estate of Raimondo Borea.
Borea captured dynamic moments both in front of and behind the camera. The photograph on the right is a notable example, depicting Carson making his entrance on an episode of The Tonight Show, the corresponding shot visible on a television monitor.
A number of Borea's photographs also document Carson in his office at NBC, planning his show with members of his staff. These images offer rare glimpses into the day-to-day work and creative process that fueled one of the most popular and culturally significant shows in American television history.
Borea immortalized the appearances of numerous celebrities on Carson's show, including Bette Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Trevor Howard, Shari Lewis, Mamie Van Doren, and Twiggy. These photographs and more can be viewed in the video below, which is excerpted from GME's Photo Licensing Reel.
GME has previously licensed a number of Borea's images from the set of The Tonight Show. Recently, Borea's photograph of Shari Lewis and Lambchop was licensed for the critically-acclaimed 2023 documentary Shari and Lamb Chop, which premiered at DOC NYC.
For inquires regarding acquisition of the original Tonight Show photographs by Borea, please contact info@gartenbergmedia.com.
Tomorrow, May 22nd, GME will partner with Getty Images Archive to share selections of Borea's photographs from The Tonight Show on Instagram. Visit @gettyarchive and @gartenbergmedia on the Instagram app to view these images.