The Tonight Show is an American (Television in the United States) late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently-running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today (Today (NBC program)).
The Tonight Show has been hosted by Steve Allen (1954-1957), Jack Paar (1957-1962), Johnny Carson (1962-1992), Jay Leno (1992-2009, 2010-present), and Conan OBrien (2009-2010).
The longest-serving host to date was Carson, who hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 seasons, from the fall of 1962 through the spring of 1992. The current host of the show is Jay Leno, who had previously hosted the show from 1992-2009, and began his current tenure (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno) amongst controversy (2010 Tonight Show conflict) on March 1, 2010.
Show Name: The Tonight Show
Format: Talk show,Variety show
Runtime: Varies
Creator: Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr. (Sylvester "Pat" Weaver)
Presenter: Steve Allen (1954-1957),Jack Paar (1957-1962),Johnny Carson (1962-1992),Jay Leno (1992-2009),Conan O'Brien (2009-2010),Jay Leno (2010-present)
Network: NBC
Picture Format: 480i SDTV (Standard-definition television) (1954-1999),1080i HDTV (High-definition television) (1999-present)
First Aired: start date1954927
Last Aired: present
Num Episodes: 2,000 (before Carson),4,531 (under Carson),3,836 (under Leno) ,146 (under O'Brien),Total: 10,513