The Tonight Show With Steve Allen

The Tonight Show has been airing on NBC since 1954. Currently recorded in New York City, it is the longest show currently running. This is the longest running talk show in television history, it has only gone under minor title changes. First it was "Tonight" now it is "The Tonight Show with *insert host name here* However it has still remained as a talk show ever since then!

 The Tonight Show has been hosted by Steve Allen (1954–57), Jack Paar (1957–62), Johnny Carson (1962–92), Jay Leno (1992–2009, 2010–14), Conan O'Brien (2009–10), and Jimmy Fallon (2014–present). Several guest hosts have also appeared, particularly during the Paar and Carson eras. The current host is former Late Night host and Saturday Night Live cast member, Jimmy Fallon.

 The longest-serving host to date is Johnny Carson, who hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 seasons from October 1962 through to May 1992, though Leno has hosted the most episodes over the course of his two tenures and guest-hosting for Carson. The most recent host of the show is Jimmy Fallon, who has hosted the show since February 17, 2014.

Music during the show's introduction and commercial is supplied by The Tonight Show. This was a big jazz ensemble until the end of Johnny Carson's tenure. After Carson's tenure, the named was later changed to NBC Orchestra.

When the show first broadcasted, they went live on January 12, 1959. Later, the show began to be videotaped. Color broadcasts went big on The Tonight Show on September 19, 1960.

The Tonight Show became the first American television to broadcast with MTS stereo sound. On April 26, 1999, The Tonight Show started it's first 1080i HDTV showing, becoming the first show to premiere in that format.On March 19, 2009, The Tonight Show became the first late night talk show in history to have the sitting of the president as a guest, when President Barack Obama visited.

 Throughout the years, the time at which The Tonight Show aired and the length has changed multiple times. At the beginning of development of the show, the local news had no room to broadcast their 15 minutes of  news. This made the show change from 11:15-11:30 to start at. However, people were worried about this time difference because they were worried they were gonna crash and sleep in the audience and in the middle of the tv show!