The Tonight Show

The Tonight Show is a long-running American late-night talk and variety show airing on NBC, the third longest-running entertainment program in U.S. television history. The show's longest running hosts have been Johnny Carson (1962-1992) and Jay Leno (1992-on); other hosts include Steve Allen (1953-1957), Jack Paar (1957-1962) and Conan O'Brien (2009-2010).

The Muppets have a long affiliation with the program, dating back to 1956, when Jim and Jane Henson performed Kermit the Frog and Yorick singing "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face". This was the first of several performances of Henson's variety show pieces, which continued into the late 1960s.

Henson made several appearances in the mid-70s promoting The Muppet Show, performing many of his new characters -- Dr. Teeth appeared on the program twice in 1975, the Swedish Chef in 1976, and Link Hogthrob in 1977. In September 1976, just before the Muppet Show's premiere, Kermit introduced Carson to standup comedian Fozzie Bear.

Kermit replaced Carson as the guest host on April 2, 1979, to promote the release of The Muppet Movie. The program essentially became a 90-minute Muppet special, with all of the Muppet characters appearing throughout the show to disrupt things as Kermit tried to interview his guests -- Vincent Price, Bernadette Peters, Leo Sayer and veterinarian Dr. Michael Fox. The show was punctuated with several Muppet musical numbers: two Slinky-shaped Muppets danced to "Java", Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem performed "New York State of Mind", Peters sang "Just One Person" with Robin the Frog, Miss Piggy performed a duet of "When I Need You" with Sayer, and Kermit closed the show with a quiet performance of "Bein' Green".

The Muppets' appearances on The Tonight Show continued in the 1980s, including a 1989 appearance to promote The Jim Henson Hour. In the 90s, host Jay Leno interviewed Kermit and Miss Piggy several times, with the Muppets appearing three times on the show in 1996.

Tonight! (1953-1957)
Steve Allen hosted the program from 1953 to 1957, though his hosting duties were decreased when Allen's new show The Steve Allen Show premiered in 1956. The show originated for local New York City television in its first year, but was picked up nationally by NBC in September 1954. Andy Williams was the resident singer.

Appearances

 * October 11, 1956 - Jim and Jane Henson appeared on the show and performed "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face."

The Jack Paar Show (1957–1962)
Following Allen's departure, the series changed hosts with Jack Paar taking the reins. Though officially still called The Tonight Show, it was also marketed as The Jack Paar Show.

Appearances

 * November 1, 1957 - The Muppets appear

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992)
Johnny Carson took over hosting with Ed McMahon as his sidekick. For all but a few months of its first decade on the air, Carson's show was based in New York City. In May 1972 the show moved to Burbank, California, (although it was announced as coming from nearby Hollywood) for the remainder of his tenure.

Kermit the Frog guest hosted the show for Johnny Carson in 1979, while Grover performed "Near and Far" for the first time on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in the 1969-1970 season.

Appearances

 * December 31, 1965 - Two sketches were performed. In one a Whatnot continually knocks at someone's door as he gets drunk and sings "Let Me In". Immediately afterward, Kermit performed the "Inchworm" sketch with Big V. This episode will be released on the DVD, TONIGHT: 4 Decades of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
 * January 13, 1966 - Performed "Money" and "Sclrap Flyapp".
 * 1968 - Limbo: The Organized Mind.
 * September 26, 1969 - Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Don Sahlin, and Danny Seagren perform Glowworm (with Kermit and Big V) and Sclrap Flyap. (This was the tenth Muppet appearance on The Tonight Show.)
 * 1970 - Grover performs "Near and Far."
 * January 24, 1974 - Jim Henson and Dave Goelz perform Limbo: The Organized Mind; Jim and Kermit are interviewed by Johnny Carson, and Kermit sings "Bein' Green".
 * March 18, 1975 - Dr. Teeth sings "Love Ya to Death".
 * May 25, 1975 - "Piggy Lee" and "Hamilton Pig" perform "That Old Black Magic", Kermit and Grump perform "Visual Thinking", and Jim Henson performs and discusses his art of Muppetry.
 * July 25, 1975 - Kermit the Frog (in a wig) and Yorick sing "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and Jim Henson discusses the art of puppetry with the help of Dr. Teeth.
 * September 14, 1976 - Jim Henson and Frank Oz perform a live sketch with the Swedish Chef, followed by a short interview with Kermit and Fozzie Bear. Jim Henson talks about his new series, The Muppet Show. He shows a clip of the "Rag Mop" number, with behind the scenes footage showing the puppeteers performing the Raggmopps.
 * September 13, 1977 - Kermit sings "Happy Feet". Jim discuss the second season of The Muppet Show, showing a full clip of "Pigs in Space" from episode 209. Carson does a short interview with Link Hogthrob.
 * April 2, 1979 - Kermit the Frog guest hosts, with guests Vincent Price, Bernadette Peters, Leo Sayer and veterinarian Dr. Michael Fox.
 * July 12, 1984 - Johnny Carson interviews Miss Piggy.
 * April 17, 1989 - Jim Henson and Kermit promote The Jim Henson Hour with guest host Jay Leno. A clip of Jacques Roach is shown. Other guests included Loretta Lynn and Tom Brokaw.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992–2009, 2010–)
Johnny Carson retired in May 1992 and was replaced by Jay Leno. Kevin Eubanks was the bandleader for the program from 1995 until 2010, and was replaced by Rickey Minor.

Appearances

 * June 21, 1996 - Miss Piggy, promoting In the Kitchen with Miss Piggy.
 * November 12, 1996 - Kermit the Frog
 * December 31, 1996 - Miss Piggy reports live from the roof of the Mariott Marquis Hotel in Times Square to watch the ball drop.
 * 1999 - Kermit the Frog, promoting Muppets From Space

Mentions

 * May 25, 2009 - Leno shows a sequence of clips with Mel Gibson, after which they comment at how young and good-looking they were. "In ten years time we'll be sitting here looking at this going 'hey, we looked real good!' We'll be looking like the hecklers on The Muppet Show or something."

Mentions

 * September 18, 2009 - Conan shows a clip of Barack Obama's speech with clips of Statler and Waldorf heckling.
 * November 5, 2009 - Conan shows guest Jim Carrey a montage of clips from various A Christmas Carol adaptations to show Carrey that his 2009 film is not the first time the Dickens story has been made into a movie. The montage included clips from The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Connections

 * Steve Allen, host (1954–1957)
 * Jack Paar, host (1957–1962)
 * Johnny Carson (1962–1992)
 * Ed McMahon, announcer (1962–1992)
 * Jay Leno, host (1992–2009, 2010–)
 * Kevin Eubanks, band leader (1995–2009)
 * Conan O'Brien, host (2009–2010)
 * Andy Richter, announcer (2009–2010)

Video releases
Respond2 Entertainment released Tonight: 4 Decades From The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a 15 DVD boxed set with the full length December 31, 1965 - Woody Allen, The Muppets episode on October 26, 2010.