TA TA, TUT, SAY SLEEPY LATE-NIGHT VIEWERS.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

Los Angeles is giving King Tut's treasures an enthusiastic send-off, even if the last-minute rush seems mostly due to procrastination.

``Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs,'' which tonight wraps up its five-month run at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, sold out its 24-hour closing-weekend tickets by 5 p.m. Friday, even though some midweek tickets had gone unsold.

One disappointed visitor muttered ``oh, that sucks'' as he walked away empty-handed from the ticket window shortly after midnight Friday.

Officials would not disclose revenue figures, but said more than 900,000 time-ticketed admissions were sold for the exhibit since it opened June 16 at LACMA West.

That makes it the museum's second-most popular show since the 1978 ``Treasures of Tutankhamun'' exhibit drew 1.25 million visitors.

Egyptian authorities say this tour will be the last chance to see the relics of Tut and his royal family outside their homeland.

Many in line in Saturday's wee hours - a very quiet crowd - admitted to putting off buying tickets until hearing that, yes, the exhibit really must close to move to the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for its Dec. 15 opening. The run was scheduled to end last Tuesday but was extended five days, then was expanded to 24-hour viewing for the last 48 hours.

``The one thing I've heard about this exhibit from people who've been here is it's too crowded,'' said Sonia Roman of Sherman Oaks, who bought tickets at 8 a.m. Friday. ``I thought, if I come at 1 in the morning, who's going to be here?''

Choosing 1 a.m. tickets solved that concern about crowds. Mark Lach, vice president of Arts and Exhibitions International and creative director of the exhibit, said the standard admission of 500 to 550 guests per hour was cut to about 250 in the early morning weekend hours to allow for lighter staffing inside the museum.

``I was waiting to see if it would be extended,'' said Robert Gonzalez of Anaheim, who brought his family at 1 a.m. He said that was the best time available when he bought tickets on Friday, but it was an easy decision to make anyway. ``One hundred dollars here, or $3,000 to go to Egypt.''

It was a late-night date for Anne Guillebeaux of Woodland Hills and Bernard Fleischer, who is visiting from Austria. When she suggested touring a museum at 1 in the morning, he said, ``Yeah, let's go.''

Inside the galleries, visitors were library-quiet as they read up on Tut's genealogy, Egypt's religious history and more. An older man dozed alone in his wheelchair in front of a relief map of the Valley of the Kings, perhaps lulled by the dulcet voice of Omar Sharif on his audio tour headset.

Chris Mendenhall of Valencia said he was urged by his son-in-law to see the Tut exhibit. Three generations of the family wandered the galleries after 1 a.m., including his infant grandson, Nixon Bergener, who slept in his stroller, unaware of the history surrounding him.

``I think it's worth it,'' said Mendenhall, who came into the city after attending a high school football game.

In the gift shop at 2 a.m., the registers chirped regularly.

``It's buy, buy, buy at all hours of the day,'' said one clerk as she restocked merchandise.

Outside the parking garage about 2:30 a.m., a Super Shuttle van was parked with its lights flashing. Driver Arthur Shakhverdyan said he had been summoned by a party of three who wanted a lift to Orange County Airport after they were finished at the museum.

A coffee vendor did fairly brisk business at an outside kiosk.

``Have a good night - or a good morning, I should say,'' he told his customer.

Valerie Kuklenski, [phone]

valerie.kuklenski(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Late-night visitors walk past the image of King Tutankhamun as they enter ``Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs,'' which closes tonight at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. More than 900,000 people bought tickets for the exhibit, which will go on display at the Museum of Art Fort in Lauderdale, Fla., on Dec. 15.

Bob Riha Jr./LACMA