70 Years of The Tonight Show: From Steve Allen to Jimmy Fallon

September 27, 1954 marked the premiere of NBC’s The Tonight Show. That is a startling statistic. Several related superlatives amplify the impressiveness: it is the world’s longest running talk show, America’s longest running regularly scheduled entertainment show, and NBC’s third longest-running show (behand Today and Meet the Press). It is the program that created the template that just about all late night talk shows have followed since.

I have not yet done a post on the show itself because I have created dedicated posts on all of the hosts (there have been WAY more of them than you think; though only a few are typically mentioned). But it made sense to me to tie it all together into one story today, for it’s an impressive one.

The show was originally a retooling of Steve Allen’s local program out of New York City. Previously its late night time slot had been filled by such shows at Broadway Open House with Jerry Lester, and Dagmar’s Canteen. Lester was a nightclub comic. He’d gotten quickly burned out by the demands of a daily show, rapidly using up his material, so he was moved to a weekly show on prime-time. By contrast, Allen was a radio man, a former disc jockey. He was completely used to filling airtime. But while Allen could pad and soliloquize and play the piano until the cows came home, it doesn’t imply that the show wasn’t fundamentally solid. He had all sorts of regular bits that he did, including the “Man on the Street” interviews and other sketches with cast members Don Knotts, Louis Nye, Tom Poston, and others. The ritual of an opening stand-up monologue was established by Allen. There was a lot of fun with audience participation, and dragging the cameras all over the place, including outside the studio. Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé were musical regulars. Skitch Henderson was the bandleader. The original announcer was Gene Rayburn, later famous for hosting Match Game.

In 1956, Allen began hosting a prime time variety show as well. For the 1956-57 season, Ernie Kovacs took over the hosting chores twice a week. It was a very smart arrangement, for Kovacs’ style of comedy lived very comfortably alongside Allens’. Kovacs was more surreal, but like Allen he had come out of radio and had the same spontaneous, watch-what-happens-next approach to showmanship. On Kovacs’ night, the announcer was Bill Wendell, later famous for being David Letterman’s announcer. Kovacs is the first of our many forgotten Tonight show hosts. Many would follow.

In fact, many would follow right away. In 1957, Allen left Tonight to concentrate on his prime time show. Tonight was briefly replaced by a variation, entitled Tonight! America After Dark. This brief experiment was initially hosted by Jack Lescoulie of the Today Show, followed by Al “Jazzbo” Collins, with small jazz combos replacing the orchestra.

Audiences didn’t dig Tonight! America After Dark however. After six months, something like the original Tonight Show was restored to the slot, this time with the witty, erudite and influential Jack Paar as host. This incarnation lasted from 1957 through 1962. Paar’s announcer was Hugh Downs, following a brief experiment in which veteran Hollywood character actor Franklin Pangborn was tried.

After Paar there was a period of several months where numerous hosts were tried in short engagements. They included Art Linkletter (4 weeks), Merv Griffin (4 weeks), Joey Bishop (2 weeks), Jerry Lewis (2 weeks), Jack Carter, Bob Cummings, Jimmy Dean, Hugh Downs (who had been Paar’s announcer), Arlene Francis (one of the first women to host late night), Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, Steve Lawrence (this time without Eydie), Jack E. Leonard,Hal March,Groucho Marx (fresh off You Bet Your Life), Jan Murray, Donald O’Connor, Mort Sahl, and Soupy Sales. Of these, Soupy was perhaps most in the Allen and Kovacs mold, with his radio background and broad comedy bits. Merv Griffin, Joey Bishop and Jerry Lewis would all later get their own talk show vehicles, with Merv’s being the only real success, although Bishop and Lewis were also among the most frequent guest hosts during the Johnny Carson era (177 times for Bishop, 52 for Lewis).

Carson took over in 1962, and held the reins for an astounding 30 years. This was the Tonight Show of my youth, with Ed McMahon as host, Doc Severinson as bandleader, Fred de Cordova as producer, and popular regular bits like Carnac the Magnificent. (My peak years of watching the show were from the mid ’70s to the mid ’80s). During Carson’s reign The Tonight Show succeeded The Ed Sullivan Show as being television’s prime showcase for the top people in entertainment, especially stand-up comedians. Many a young comedian (Jimmy Walker, Gabe Kaplan, Jerry Seinfeld) went from having killer sets on the show to having their own sit-coms.

Carson relied heavily on guests hosts for his many absences. In addition to the aformentioned Joey Bishop and Jerry Lewis there were other strong comedians like Bob Newhart (87 times) and David Brenner (70), and unlikely ones like John Davidson (87) and McLean Stevenson (58). Sammy Davis Jr was the first black guest host, followed by Harry Belafonte. And some were clearly being groomed for their own possible permanent seat at the desk. Joan Rivers hosted 201 times during the 1970s and 1980s, then permanently alienated Carson by getting her own late night talk show. David Letterman hosted 51 times between 1980 and 1981 before getting Late Night in the slot following Carson’s. Garry Shandling hosted 37 times prior to getting The Larry Sanders Show. And of course Jay Leno, who guested an impressive 333 times.

By the late ’80s, Leno was the only guest host, so it was natural (one supposes) that Carson would pass the baton to him in 1992, although this correspondent was disappointed that he didn’t choose Letterman. Leno hosted through 2009.

Then with much fanfare the show was retooled and handed over to Conan O’Brien, who only lasted a year, before Leno was hired back. O’Brien can console himself with the fact that he was there as long as Ernie Kovacs, though. And the fact that many of us preferred him over Leno.

Jay Leno stayed on the job until 2014, when he was replaced by Jimmy Fallon, who has been there since. The fact that he has been there a decade is incredible to me, not just because so much time has elapsed but because Fallon, though a funny and talented guy, seems unsuited for the interview part of the job. Serious conversation or repartee really aren’t his bailiwicks. On the other hand, he is extremely warm and personable. He is able to put his guests at ease, which is a major part on the job (one that some of his predecessors and competitors have not been so good at). He’s been there longer than Steve Allen or Jack Paar put together now. He has miles to go before he passes Leno or Carson however — if the format lasts that long. My instinct is that the future looks more like Hanging with Dr. Z!

For more about show business historyconsult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.