On May 29, Jay Leno will host his last "Tonight Show" after a 17-year run. Jay will host a new talk and entertainment show on NBC starting in the fall. His guests for his last show will be James Taylor and Conan O'Brien, who will take over The Tonight Show on June 1. Jay also referred to some secret surprises for the last show. Guests during his last week will include Mel Gibson, Billy Crystal, Arnold Schwartzenegger and Prince.
Leno's move to 10:00 PM Monday through Friday will save NBC millions in comparison to the cost of the dramas usually found in that time slot. And you don't find comedies at 10:00 PM, so there seems to be a market for Leno's new show. Leno revealed in an interview in late 2008 that the move was actually the idea of Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal, in order not to lose Conan O'Brien. (This would echo David Letterman's jump to CBS when Leno took over The Tonight Show in 1992.) After the decision to leave, Leno was receiving offers from ABC for a late night show. More than once he referred on the air to what it would be like at ABC.
When asked what his new show will be like, he said the second half hour will be tricky and expressed the importance of a strong lead-in. Leno was also invited as a guest on Letterman's show on June 1, but Jay said he wouldn't do that to Conan.
Unlike the teary 1992 finale of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Leno says, "It's not like you are leaving show business, or leaving the network, or even leaving the (studio) lot." Maybe he'll even keep the same parking space.
Steve Allen for 3 years (1954 – 1957); Ernie Kovacs for 1 Year (1957 - shared Hosting with Steve Allen); NBC Changed for mat to
The ‘Today” Show @ night for 6 months: January 1957 – July 1957; Jack Parr for 5 Years (1957 – 1962); Various guest hosts for 7 Months (March 1962 – October 1962); Johnny Carson for 30 Years (1962 – 1992) Jay Leno for 17 Years (1992 – 2009) Connan O’Brien for ? years (2009 - ?)