The Tonight Show

The Tonight Show
The First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush and current host Jay Leno.
The First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush and current host Jay Leno.
Format  Talk show, Variety show
Run time  One hour per episode
Creator  Sylvester L. Weaver Jr.
Starring  Steve Allen
Ernie Kovacs
Jack Paar
Johnny Carson
Jay Leno
Conan O'Brien (starting 2009)
Country  United States
Network  NBC
Original run  September 27, 1954–Present
No. of episodes  2,919, as of April 22, 2005

The Tonight Show is NBC's long-running late-night talk and variety show. The hour-long show premiered September 27, 1954 in a 90-minute format hosted by Steve Allen. The show features at least two guests each night, usually including a comedian or musical guest.

Now in its 51st year (though its roots date back to a local New York program called Broadway Open House in the early 1950s), The Tonight Show is the second longest-running entertainment program in US television history (after the soap opera Guiding Light). During Johnny Carson's 30-year run as the host of the program, his name was synonymous with the Tonight Show.

The Tonight Show became the first U.S. TV show to broadcast with MTS stereo sound in 1984. On April 26, 1999, The Tonight Show started broadcasting in 1080i HDTV, becoming the first U.S. nightly talk show shot in HD. The show is shot in 16:9 with a 4:3 center-cut for standard definition TV viewers.
Steve Allen Introducing the Very First Tonight
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Steve Allen Introducing the Very First Tonight

A kinescope exists of the very first broadcast of The Tonight Show (then called simply, Tonight), and Steve Allen welcomed viewers with the warning, "This show is going to last forever." So far, he has yet to be proven wrong.
Contents
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    * 1 Hosts
    * 2 Recurring gags (Jay Leno)
    * 3 Classic gags
    * 4 Programming history
    * 5 External links

 

Hosts
Host  From  To  Notes
Steve Allen  September 27, 1954  January 1957  variety show
Ernie Kovacs  October 1, 1956  1957  hosted on Mondays and Tuesdays
Jack Paar  July 1957  March 30, 1962  format switch to talk show; also called The Jack Paar Tonight Show
Various hosts  April 1962  September 1962  interlude between Parr and Carson eras. Temporary hosts included Groucho Marx.
Johnny Carson  October 1, 1962  May 22, 1992  -
Jay Leno  May 25, 1992  2009 (announced)  -
Conan O'Brien  Tentatively scheduled to take over in 2009  -
Tonight Starring Steve Allen Bumper Shot
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Tonight Starring Steve Allen Bumper Shot
Tonight Starring Jack Paar Bumper Shot
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Tonight Starring Jack Paar Bumper Shot
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Title Shot
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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Title Shot
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Title Shot
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The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Title Shot

During the later Steve Allen years, regular audience member Ms. Miller became such an integral part, she was forced to join AFTRA the television/radio performers union. Allen's original announcer was Gene Rayburn, who went on to greater fame as host of Match Game.

Music is provided by The Tonight Show Band, led since 1995 by Kevin Eubanks (no relation to Bob Eubanks of The Newlywed Game fame), who replaced Leno's original musical director, Branford Marsalis. In 2004, the long-time announcer Edd Hall was replaced by John Melendez, who started out on The "Howard Stern Show".

Skitch Henderson was the band leader during the Steve Allen and early Carson years, followed briefly by Milton DeLugg. Jose Melis led the band for Jack Paar. For most of Johnny Carson's run on the show, the Tonight Show Band was led by Doc Severinsen and the show's announcer was Ed McMahon. By the end of the Carson years, Severinsen had become the primary substitute announcer when McMahon was absent. When Severinsen was absent or filling in for McMahon, Tommy Newsom would lead the band.

In 1986 Johnny Carson's guest host Joan Rivers jumped ship and abruptly left the Tonight Show for her own show on the new Fox Network. This move infuriated Carson so much that he permanently banned Rivers from the Tonight Show. Unfortunately for Joan Rivers, her new show flopped and was immediately cancelled, and when she tried to call Johnny Carson he refused to speak to her. In an interview on CNN the day Carson died, Rivers revealed that Carson never spoke to her again.

The show's full name is currently The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. During the Carson years, it was known as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

On September 27, 2004, the 50th anniversary of the show's premiere, NBC announced that Jay Leno will be succeeded by Conan O'Brien in 2009. Leno explained that he did not want to see a repeat of the hard feelings and controversy that occurred when he was given the show following Carson's retirement, which is why he named his successor right away.

The death of Carson on January 23, 2005, made Jay Leno the last surviving host of The Tonight Show.
Steve Allen with guest, Zsa Zsa Gabor on Tonight
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Steve Allen with guest, Zsa Zsa Gabor on Tonight
Jack Paar with guest, Jonathan Winters on Tonight
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Jack Paar with guest, Jonathan Winters on Tonight
Johnny Carson with guest, David Letterman on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
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Johnny Carson with guest, David Letterman on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Recurring gags (Jay Leno)

    * Headlines (either Monday or Tuesday): Humorous print items sent in by viewers.
    * Jaywalking: Jay Leno and a camera crew ask people questions in a public area, often Hollywood; it is meant to highlight humorous or ridiculous responses.
    * Ask the Fruitcake Lady: Marie Rudisill, an outspoken older woman, responds to questions about relationships, sex and family. She was originally on the show to promote her cookbook about fruitcake.

 

Classic gags

    * "Man on the Street interviews" (Allen)
    * Stump The Band (Paar, later Carson), currently used (albeit with comical variations) on the Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien
    * Carnac the Magnificent (Carson)
    * The Tea Time Movie, with "Art Fern" and the Matin鐃� Lady (Carson)
    * The "Dancing Itos" (a parody of Judge Lance Ito during the O. J. Simpson trial) (Leno)

 

Programming history

The Tonight Show has been scheduled at various times throughout its history on NBC. All times shown are Eastern.

    * September 1954-January 1957: Monday-Friday 11:30 P.M.-1:00 A.M.
    * January 1957-December 1966: Monday-Friday 11:15 P.M.-1:00 A.M.
    * January 1967-September 1975: Saturday or Sunday 11:30 P.M.-1:00 A.M. (reruns)
    * January 1967-September 1980: Monday-Friday 11:30 P.M.-1:00 A.M.
    * September 1980-August 1991: Monday-Friday 11:30 P.M.-12:30 A.M.
    * September 1991-present: Monday-Friday 11:35 P.M.-12:35 A.M. (though the show may end at 12:45 A.M., on some affiliates)

 

External links

    * NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
    * The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) at the Internet Movie Database
    * The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) at the Internet Movie Database
    * The Tonight Show (1962) at the Internet Movie Database
    * The Tonight Show from the Museum of Broadcast Communications website