Finding Carl Kasell

“Has anyone seen Carl?”

The question chilled the blood in my chest. Anne, Tyler and I were up on the third balcony, placing Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! gift bags and Carl Kasell dolls on every one of the 1,850 seats in the Warner Theater. In three hours, every seat would be filled by fans looking to see and celebrate the final taping of the show with Carl as the Judge/Timekeeper.

Below, onstage, the cast and crew were running through a technical rehearsal — running jokes, testing microphones, adjusting lights.

And Carl was nowhere to be found.