The Bel-Air estate that legendary late-night host Johnny Carson once called home has hit the market for the first time since his passing in 2005.
Johnny Carson’s Bel-Air Home For Sale
The late-1940s mansion in the iconic Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles was purchased by Johnny Carson and third wife Joanna Carson, shortly after their 1972 wedding.
Following their divorce in 1985, Joanna maintained possession of the property until her death in July 2025, leaving her nephew, Robert Ulrich, as the trustee of the estate, according to Wall Street Journal.
The Midcentury Modern estate—which spans nearly 9,000 square feet and sits on roughly 1.5 acres of prime Los Angeles real estate—was listed for $39.995 million.
When “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” relocated the host from New York to Los Angeles, Carson had to convince his new wife to leave her beloved New York.
“She was truly a New Yorker to her core, so it was hard for her to move out to California,” Ulrich told WSJ. “They were close with the Sinatras. Nancy Reagan was their neighbor,” he added, calling his aunt a “socialite.”
The home, listed by David Kramer and Andrew Buss of Compass, offers a tennis court and pavilion, a large swimming pool, a private security booth and a separate structure that once housed Carson’s office.
“Johnny Carson was an iconic figure and there are many people who would want to keep his spirit in the home,” Kramer told the outlet, explaining that some buyers might look to tear down the existing structure. “It would be great to see it restored or brought up to current standards, but it could go either way.”
Johnny Carson’s Marriage to Joanna Carson
Johnny was married four times throughout his life. His first marriage to Jody Wolcott in October 1949 ended in divorce in May 1963.
That same year, the TV host married second wife Joanne Copeland. That marriage ended in nine years later in 1972.
Carson met his third wife, Joanna Carson, while having dinner with friends in New York City. Joanna, who was 40 years old at the time, was a former model. The pair secretly married on September 30, 1972, announcing the news that evening at “The Tonight Show’s” 10th-anniversary party, the New York Times reported.
The pair separated in November 1982, and Carson moved into a beach house in Malibu. He would go on to marry fourth wife Alexis Maas in 1987. His fourth marriage lasted until his death in 2005.
