The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

For the entire Tonight Show franchise, see The Tonight Show. For the 1955–1956 CBS variety show hosted by Carson, see The Johnny Carson Show.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Also known as
GenreLate-night talk/Variety
Created by
  • Steve Allen
  • William O. Harbach
  • Dwight Hemion
  • Sylvester L. Weaver Jr.
Written by
  • Head writer:
  • Walter Kempley (1963–1967)
  • Hank Bradford (1969–1975)
  • Marshall Brickman (1969–1970)
  • Raymond Siller (1974–1988)
  • Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers (1988–1992)
StarringJohnny Carson
AnnouncerEd McMahon (sidekick)
Music byThe NBC Orchestra
  • Band leader:
  • Skitch Henderson (1962—1966)
  • Milton Delugg (1966—1967)
  • Doc Severinsen (1967—1992)
Opening theme"Johnny's Theme"
ComposerPaul Anka
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons30
No. of episodes6,714 (list of episodes)
Production
Producers
  • Fred de Cordova
  • Peter Lassally
Production locations
  • NBC Studios
  • New York City (1962–1973)
  • NBC Studios
    Burbank, California (1972–1992)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time47–105 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseOctober 1, 1962 (1962-10-01) –
May 22, 1992 (1992-05-22)
Related
Carson's Comedy Classics
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of The Tonight Show. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing Tonight Starring Jack Paar and was replaced by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[1] Ed McMahon served as Carson's sidekick and the show's announcer.

For its first decade, Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show was based at the RCA Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City, with some episodes recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, California; on May 1, 1972, the show moved to Burbank as its main venue with extended returns to New York for several weeks over the next 12 months. After May 1973, however, the show remained in Burbank exclusively until Carson's retirement.[2] The show's house band, the NBC Orchestra, was led by Skitch Henderson, until 1966 when Milton Delugg took over, who was succeeded by Doc Severinsen less than a year later.

The series was ranked as one of the greatest TV shows of all time in polls from 2002 and 2013.[3][4]

  1. ^ Bill Zehme (June 2002). "The Man Who Retired". Esquire. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  2. ^ Carson brought the show back to Manhattan in November 1972 for three weeks and again in May 1973 for an additional three weeks.
  3. ^ "TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows". Cbsnews.com. April 26, 2002. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  4. ^ "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time". December 23, 2013.
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