May 25, 1992 saw Jay Leno take the reins of the Tonight Show, following the retirement of what host, who had a 30 run behind the Burbank desk?
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno The Tonight Show with Jay Leno The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010 until its ending on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the "Tonight Show" franchise debuted on May 25, 1992, three days after Johnny Carson's retirement as host of the program. The program originated from NBC Studios in Burbank, California, and was broadcast Monday through Friday at 11:35 p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific time zones (10:35 p.m. Central/Mountain time).
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" had the show's highest overnight household rating for a Friday episode in the comedian's 17-year run as host of "Tonight", averaging an 8.8 rating in metered-market households. For at least six weeks following his return to "The Tonight Show", Leno's program beat Letterman in the overall ratings each night, though with a reduced lead in comparison to his first tenure. By mid-2010, "The Tonight Show" was receiving its lowest ratings since 1992, an average of 4 million total viewers, though he remained ahead of Letterman, who experienced a coinciding decline in ratings. In