NBC’s The Tonight Show premiered with Steve Allen as host in 1954.
The program began on September 27, 1954, under the title Tonight!, with Allen as its first host. It developed from an earlier New York television program called Broadway Open House and helped establish the late-night variety format.
Allen’s version combined monologues, comedy sketches, celebrity interviews, musical performances, and audience interaction. His tenure ended in 1957, when Jack Paar succeeded him. The show was later renamed The Jack Paar Show and eventually became The Tonight Show.
The premiere year is sometimes confused with 1957, the year Johnny Carson became host, or 1962, when Carson’s long tenure began. Those dates mark later eras rather than the program’s launch.