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BasketofPuppies · Feb 20, 2005, 08:20 PM

Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, Steve Allen

All overrated.

Apple Pro Underwear · Feb 20, 2005, 08:26 PM

conan o'brien
letterman
carson
john stewart in 90s
arsenio
leno

homoghey express:
kilborne
magic
old guy after letterman in the 90s
new guy after letterman now

demograph68 · Feb 20, 2005, 08:29 PM

Conan O'Brien Is lame.

CD Hanks · Feb 20, 2005, 08:31 PM

^^^ I liked Conan a LOT back when he had Andy Richter on the show. But now that it's just him...eh.

To the OP: None of them.

BasketofPuppies · 08:46 PM

Guys, this poll is strictly about Tonight Show hosts. (Ernie Kovacs and Al Collins are your only choices because Joan Rivers was only a guest host and no one in their right mind would vote for any of the other hosts.)

We did a general best late night talk show host poll back in September 2003. LINK

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Feb 20, 2005, 08:44 PM

conan o'brien, the rest suck.

malvolio · Feb 21, 2005, 02:07 AM

OldManMac · Feb 21, 2005, 02:26 AM

Not much of a poll, when you only include the ones that you think are good. Johnny was the man, period!

paully dub · Feb 21, 2005, 05:52 AM

Ω · Feb 21, 2005, 05:55 AM

Originally posted by paully dub:

"Do you like the lining?"

Busemann · Feb 21, 2005, 06:41 AM

Letterman is by far the best today. Leno just isn't in the same league.

Conan is really funny, but his shows aren't always that great imho. I think he'll improve when he gets the Tonight show.

Big Mac · Feb 21, 2005, 07:13 AM

Originally posted by CD Hanks:
^^^ I liked Conan a LOT back when he had Andy Richter on the show. But now that it's just him...eh.

To the OP: None of them.

It is funny that people come up with a variety of late night personalities to comment on when someone asks about the best Tonight Show host. But whatever. The poll choices given in this thread may have been humorous to the OP, but I don't even know who either of those guys are! Conan is far funnier now that Andy has gone, my brother and I both agree. His skits do not seem to drag interminably as they did years ago. I will always admire Conan for his relatively short contribution to The Simpsons. It is interesting to note that in his tribute to Carson, Conan displayed his show's framed pictures of the greats of late night TV. Letterman was up there, while Leno was conspicuously absent. (Bet Jay did not like that!)

For many, including me, Carson will always be the Tonight Show. He was a TV institution for decades. David is better than Jay, although Jay seems to have better writers. Without them, Jay would probably appear on camera just as lifeless as I have heard he is IRL. There is something strange about Jay - he reportedly makes a $17 million salary but continues aggressive standup tours. I can buy the story that he just loves standup, but you would think he would relax his schedule and not work quite so much in addition to the Tonight Show. And Leno will always be a tool for the way he stole the show from Letterman. In any event, I don't claim to be a late night comedy expert of any sort - I rarely watch any of the shows anymore. The sets on in my house are much more likely to be tuned to Howard Stern.

Buck_W · Feb 21, 2005, 07:28 AM

Originally posted by KarlG:
Not much of a poll, when you only include the ones that you think are good. Johnny was the man, period!

wdlove · Feb 21, 2005, 10:00 AM

Johnny Carson gets my vote.

BasketofPuppies · Feb 21, 2005, 11:37 AM

Originally posted by Big Mac:
The poll choices given in this thread may have been humorous to the OP, but I don't even know who either of those guys are!

I was serious. (Who in their right mind would vote for anyone else?)

How can you not know who Ernie Kovacs and Al Collins are? Ernie hosted the show on Thursdays and Fridays toward the end of Steve Allen's run as host of The Tonight Show and Al Collins hosted the show in-between Steve Allen and Jack Paar.

It is interesting to note that in his tribute to Carson, Conan displayed his show's framed pictures of the greats of late night TV. Letterman was up there, while Leno was conspicuously absent. (Bet Jay did not like that!)

Those pictures have been there from the beginning. They honor the people who hosted late night talk shows in that studio. The Tonight Show moved to Burbank in 1972 so Jay Leno never hosted there.

Webscreamer · Feb 21, 2005, 11:42 AM

Originally posted by Busemann:
Letterman is by far the best today. Leno just isn't in the same league.

Conan is really funny, but his shows aren't always that great imho. I think he'll improve when he gets the Tonight show.

That's pretty funny right there! But everyone has a different taste in comedy.

I think Conan will have to change his style a LOT when he gets the Tonight Show to suite the audience that watches that time slot better. I don't like Conan's random style right now, so it will be intresting to see what happens when the time comes.

malvolio · Feb 21, 2005, 11:48 AM

Originally posted by Big Mac:
The poll choices given in this thread may have been humorous to the OP, but I don't even know who either of those guys are!

You don't know who Ernie Kovacs is?!
Shocking! Ernie was one of the funniest guys in the history of television. If not for him, there would have been no SNL as we know it.

hayesk · Feb 21, 2005, 11:57 AM

This poll is stupid. People under the age of 30 don't know who either of those two people are, unless they're TV buffs. And it's not shocking. I'll bet they know celebrities that you don't have the foggiest idea who they are.

nredman · Feb 21, 2005, 02:53 PM

carson

OldManMac · Feb 21, 2005, 03:00 PM

Originally posted by BasketofPuppies:
I was serious. (Who in their right mind would vote for anyone else?)

How can you not know who Ernie Kovacs and Al Collins are? Ernie hosted the show on Thursdays and Fridays toward the end of Steve Allen's run as host of The Tonight Show and Al Collins hosted the show in-between Steve Allen and Jack Paar.

You're making quite some assumptions; just because you know who they are, doesn't mean everybody should. Different people are interested in different things.

I'm 57, and I don't remember watching The Tonight Show before Johnny Carson. I know of Ernie Kovacs, but I don't remember Al Collins.

BasketofPuppies · Feb 21, 2005, 04:08 PM

Originally posted by KarlG:
You're making quite some assumptions; just because you know who they are, doesn't mean everybody should. Different people are interested in different things.

And you're assuming this thread should be taken seriously.