EXCLUSIVE: Johnny Carson's Secret Death Threat Terror Exposed — How His Crew Demanded Police Protection After Late Night Host Invited Controversial Guest on Show

During his 30 years as host of the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson welcomed hundreds of guests, but one in particular led to death threats, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Carson and his crew were left terrified after the iconic TV star welcomed Stanford professor Paul R. Ehrlich, the writer behind the 1968 book The Population Bomb, which warned readers of the brutal effects of overpopulation.

Despite the backlash the book received, Carson was "fascinated" by the content, according to Mark Malkoff's new book, Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend. In fact, Carson was so much about the controversial book he invited Ehrlich on his show 18 times.

However, Ehrlich's first appearance on the program led to thousands of letters, including some death threats. Even with the death threats, Malkoff writes the show's talent coordinator, Paul Block, told him, "Johnny remained determined to help America understand urgent ecological and environmental issues, including the need for population control."

During one appearance, while Ehrlich was in the greenroom, Carson notified him he had received a death threat and wanted advice from the author on how to deal with the terrifying pushback.

"Sit me at the end of the couch in case the shooter's a bad shot," Ehrlich joked in response, according to Malkoff.

While Carson decided to move forward with the episode, it was no laughing matter for the crew, who demanded they be protected. According to Malkoff, thirty New York cops showed up and took positions all over the studio."

During Carson's monologue, the funnyman told the potential killer, "You might as well do it now. I'm dying anyway." While the crew broke out in laughter, viewers at the time had no idea what he was talking about.

Carson may have played it off, but behind the scenes, he is said to have tried to "create a protective wall between himself and his public," Malkoff writes. And the late-night legend's assistant, Ginny Beauregard, said her boss was "cold and aloof. It was self-preservation.”

Tonight Show correspondent, Louisa Ermelino, also said. We got letters, 'Dear Johnny, my husband died watching your show.' Or, 'Dear Johnny, I know you have lots of money, so please buy me a new car.'"

Staffer Jane Rothchild also recalled when someone sent Carson a "toupee for his chest because he had sparse chest hair. I had to answer the crazy phone. Johnny instructed us to never hang up or be rude. That meant hours of listening to people who spoke of Johnny as though he was their brother, father, or son."

She continued: "On a regular basis, we also received piles of preserves and pies – apple, cherry, peach, you name it – but of course, we couldn’t eat any of them in case some nut had poisoned them."

Carson wrapped up his lengthy tenure as host of The Tonight Show in 1992 and was replaced by Jay Leno. He would die in 2005 at age 79, from respiratory failure caused by emphysema.