Johnny Carson is definitely a part of the history of Burbank. When the tonight show first aired it was based in New York City. The show eventually moved to Burbank in May of 1972. Ed McMahon was Carson’s side kick on the show. He would introduce Carson, with the now infamous heeeere’s Johnny! He also warmed up the audience before the show commenced.
The Carson bandleader was Doc Severinsen. He led the band from 1967 in New York and then moved to Burbank with Carson and continued on until 1992. Once the move was made to Burbank, Monday became known as the guest host night, in Burbank. Joan Rivers and Jay Leno were two of the prominent, permanent guest hosts. Leno, is currently the host of the show.
While Carson hosted the show, he was responsible for launching the careers of a number of stars. Most were comedians. Some of these comedians, to name a few are Jerry Seinfeld, Jeff Foxworthy, Ellen Degeneres, Tim Allen, and Roseanne Barr. Carson was extremely intuitive when it came to finding real talent.
Johnny hosted the show for a total of 30 years. Twenty of these were in Burbank. Carson also received many awards for his work, including six emmys. In 1992, he was honored with the Presidential Medal Of Freedom. This is the same year that Carson officially retired from the tonight show.