The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

*The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson*
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Also known as	The Tonight Show (franchise brand); Johnny Carson (Antenna TV repeats);
Genre	Late-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);
Presented by	Johnny Carson
Narrated by	Ed McMahon
Theme music composer	Paul Anka
Opening theme	"Johnny's Theme"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	30
No. of episodes	6,714 (list of episodes)
Production
Producers	Fred de Cordova; Peter Lassally;
Production locations	NBC Studios; New York City (1962–1972); NBC Studios; Burbank, California (1972–1992);
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	47–105 minutes
Production companies	Tonight Show Company; (1972-1975); NBC; (1962-1980); Raritan Enterprises; (1969-1972); Carson Productions; (1980-1992)
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	October 1, 1962 –; May 22, 1992
Related
	Carson's Comedy Classics
	Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the Tonight Show franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, 1992.^[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 and remained there exclusively after May 1972 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 has been ranked as one of the greatest TV shows of all time in polls from both 2002 and 2013.^[3]^[4]

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

[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 and again in May 1973.

[3] "TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows". Cbsnews.com. Retrieved October 26, 2011.

[4] "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time". December 23, 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Also known as	The Tonight Show (franchise brand) Johnny Carson (Antenna TV repeats)
Genre	Late-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)
Presented by	Johnny Carson
Narrated by	Ed McMahon
Theme music composer	Paul Anka
Opening theme	"Johnny's Theme"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	30
No. of episodes	6,714 (list of episodes)
Production
Producers	Fred de Cordova Peter Lassally
Production locations	NBC Studios New York City (1962–1972) NBC Studios Burbank, California (1972–1992)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	47–105 minutes
Production companies	Tonight Show Company (1972-1975) NBC (1962-1980) Raritan Enterprises (1969-1972) Carson Productions (1980-1992)
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	October 1, 1962 (1962-10-01) – May 22, 1992 (1992-05-22)
Related
Carson's Comedy Classics
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)