Jay Leno's imminent departure from NBC's "The Tonight Show" to a five-night-a-week slot at 10 p.m. recalls another "Tonight Show" departure, 17 years ago last Friday: Johnny Carson's.
There was a big and justifiable buildup: Carson had reigned as the king of late-night television for 30 years. With his guests (including a poetry-reading Jimmy Stewart, the potato-chip lady, the accordion lady and many more), his skits (Aunt Blabby, Floyd R. Turbo, parodies of newsmakers including Walter Cronkite and Presidents Carter and Reagan), his experiences with animals and his monologues, he set the standard.
His emotional last two shows - May 21 and 22, 1992 - set ratings records, as well as standards. The May 21 show featured Bette Midler and Robin Williams. The May 22 show featured Carson in an unconventional pose - sitting on a stool - through the monologue and the end, when he told the audience, "I bid you a very heartfelt good night."
Carson had hoped to come back to entertain in a different manner. He was seen sporadically - a 1993 Bob Hope birthday special on NBC; as one of the Kennedy Center honorees, also in 1993, and on a couple of editions of CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" - before his death in 2005.
There is an official site for Carson/Tonight Show clips, DVDs and a good guide to who was on and what they talked about. Heeeeere's Johnny:
http://www.johnnycarson.com/carson/home.jsp
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
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