Jay Leno Retires, I Think of Johnny Carson

Carson was the master.

It was May 22, 1992 and I watched Johnny Carson’s final show.  I had seen the one the night before which was very touching.  I had not been watching Carson for more than perhaps 5 years when he decided to retire but I truly enjoyed his poise and comedic talent.  Last night, on May 29, 2009, Jay Leno bowed out after 17 years to be replaced by Conan O’Brien.  The last shows of Carson and Leno were similar in some ways but, for Carson, it truly was his final show and I was surprised to learn that Leno would be starting in 3 months at 10pm with his own project.  So, for him, it truly wasn’t the end.

Although before my time, Carson ended his show sitting on a stool the same way Jack Parr did June 25, 1965.  Leno finished stretched out on the floor in front of all the children born because of his show.

Leno made a funny joke when he said 17 years ago his hair was black and the president was white.  There were some amusing clips from past shows including a montage with Rodney Dangerfield.  It was nice to see Leno acknowledge him and Carson even though I bet many of his audience had no idea who they were.

Leno’s show always was a throwback in some ways to an earlier time in that his set was very similar to Carson’s (although Johnny had plants behind him not the set of a city like Letterman) and was filmed in the same studio.  The curtains were similar and the rhythm was, too.  Like Carson, Leno never became overly political like Letterman and that is why I believe once he took the lead he held onto it.

Leno did have some touching words about his “legacy” (it was all of the children born because of their parents having met on the set of his show) and it was a nice touch to show pictures during the closing credits of everybody who worked on the Tonight Show.

It will be interesting to see how Conan O’Brien handles the new show.  One thing is that it does make you sense the passage of time having seen two people retire from the same job.

Hopefully, I’ll see a third retire, too.

One last time… Heeeeeereeee’s Johnny (he could get out of a bad joke better than anybody):

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