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Johnny Carson's producers were screaming in his earpiece to keep the show moving, but Johnny ignored them. He walked off the stage, took a dying woman's hand, and did something that would force NBC to re-edit the entire episode and save one woman's soul. It was March 17th, 1983, and the Tonight Show was taping at Studio 6B in Burbank. The audience was in high spirits. St. Patrick's Day energy filled the room and Johnny had just finished a hilarious monologue about green beer. Doc Severson and the band were setting up for the next segment and Johnny was settling in to interview his first guest, actress Sally Field, but something was about to derail the carefully planned show. Barbara Martinez sat in the fourth row wearing a green dress that hung loose on her thin frame. She was 42, though aggressive ovarian cancer made her look 60. Her husband, Miguel, sat beside her, gripping her hand. On her other side sat their daughter, Elena, 17, trying not to cry. Barbara had been given 3 weeks to live 6 months ago. She'd beaten those odds through sheer willpower. But 2 days ago, her oncologist was direct. You have maybe 48 hours. Go home. Barbara surprised everyone. She didn't want to go home and wait. She wanted to do one thing she'd dreamed about. Dance with Johnny Carson. Miguel called the Tonight Show that afternoon. My wife is dying. She has 2 days, maybe less. 15 minutes later, they had tickets. Somehow, producer Fred De Cordova had found three seats for a dying woman and her family. Now, Barbara sat in that audience, each breath and effort. For the first hour, she'd smiled through her pain. She'd laughed at Johnny's jokes. She'd let herself exist in this moment of joy. But then Doc Severson and the band started playing Moon River as transitional music. The song hit Barbara like a physical force. Moon River was her wedding song, the song her mother sang to her as a child. The song that represented every good memory before cancer stole everything. Barbara began crying. Deep body shaking sobs she couldn't control. People around her noticed. Then more people. Soon, a ripple of concern spread through the audience. Something was wrong in row four. Johnny was in the middle of introducing his next guest when he noticed the disturbance. He'd been doing this show long enough to sense when something in the audience required attention. He stopped mid-sentence and looked toward the fourth row. "Is everything all right?" Johnny asked, his voice carrying that genuine concern that made America love him. The audience went quiet. All eyes turned to Barbara, who was now standing, supported by Miguel and Elena, crying so hard she could barely breathe.