Brooke Shields recalls hilarious "Tonight Show" falling prank on Johnny Carson gone wrong

Brooke Shields recently shared a story on “The Tonight Show” about a prank she attempted on TV host Johnny Carson during her 1981 appearance.

In an effort to surprise Carson, Shields planned a pratfall inspired by his recurring character Carnac the Magnificent, who would often trip and fall on the show. However, things didn't quite go according to plan.

“My mom thought it would be a good idea if, as a surprise to Johnny, I did Carnac, which was a pratfall,” she revealed.

Shields, with the help of her mother, decided to keep the prank a secret from everyone, including the camera crew and Carson himself. They only let fellow guest star Tommy Smothers in on the joke.

“Tommy Smothers comes by, and he comes in and he sticks his head in [and] he goes, ‘Hey, Brooke!’” she shared. “And I’m like, ‘Hey Tommy, I’ve got a surprise for you. I’m doing something on the show.”

The plan was for Shields to trip and fall dramatically as she entered the stage. Unfortunately, no one else was prepared for the stunt, and everyone genuinely believed she had taken a tumble.

“I dropped completely out of the frame,” Shields recalled, “and, of course, everybody thinks it's real. And now they feel terrible for me!”

She added that Smothers helped her recover during the interview, by chiming in with a question that made it appear like the fall was all part of the plan.

“Thank God Tommy, on air, said, ‘Was that the surprise?’” she said, expressing her relief. “He totally supported me so that they actually believed it was planned.”

Carson later admitted that Shields’ prank was one of the “funniest entrances [he’d] ever seen.”

A clip, shared by Jimmy Fallon during Shields' recent appearance, shows Carson leaping out of his seat to catch her.