Gracie Allen example), Gracie never used the phrase. The confusion may have been caused by "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In". Stars Dan Rowan and Dick Martin used a similar sign-off routine wherein Rowan would tell Martin to "Say good night, Dick." Martin's reply was always "Good night, Dick." It seemed like something Gracie Allen would have said. George Burns himself said as much in an interview years later, adding that, surprisingly enough, no one ever thought of having Allen say "Good night, Gracie". However, the former "Burns and Allen" head writer, Paul Henning, did use the "say good night" bit in at least
Variety show show; in 2015, the academy separated late-night talk shows and sketch comedy series into separate categories. During Johnny Carson's tenure on "The Tonight Show" on NBC from 1962 to 1992, the show dominated late night ratings, and the other networks attempted late-night talk shows only sporadically. This changed with Carson's retirement, and other networks began to air their own talk show competitors, starting with "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS in 1993. As of 2014, late-night talk shows vary widely on their resemblance to the original variety format, with Jimmy Fallon's incarnation of "The Tonight Show" putting heavy emphasis