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). Unlike Carson or
his predecessor Jack Paar, Leno only once used a guest
host, preferring to host the series in person.

Billy Crystal (left) was the first guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Leno’s first opening monologue featured a joke about Vice President Dan Quayle and the controversy over Murphy Brown
becoming a single mom.

On May 25, 1977, Memorial Day weekend opened with an
intergalactic bang as the first of George Lucas’ blockbuster
Star Wars movies hit theaters.

The incredible success of Star Wars–it received seven Oscars,
and earned $461 million in U.S. ticket sales and a gross of close
to $800 million worldwide–began with an extensive, coordinated marketing push by Lucas and his studio, 20th Century Fox,
months before the movie’s release date.

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas