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.

October 1, 1962 – May 22, 1992 on NBC

Ed McMahon (left) served as Carson’s sidekick and the
show’s announcer.

(WP) – Dabney Coleman, a Texas-born character actor who
created an acclaimed gallery of comically macho throwbacks
in films including “9 to 5” and “Tootsie” and TV shows such
as “The Slap Maxwell Story” and “Buffalo Bill,” died May 16
at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 92.

1980

The original sitcom television series The Life of Riley aired on NBC
TV from October 4, 1949 to August 22, 1958. Jackie Gleason was
cast in the title role and William Bendix assumed the lead in 1953.

Jackie Gleason and Rosemary DeCamp
in the original 1949 television series.

William Bendix as Chester A. Riley
on The Life of Riley radio show.

(1953) William Bendix (1906 – 1964)

ED DANAHUE

1. 
   Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989)

   
   

   Doctors determined that Ball had succumbed to a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm not directly related to her surgery
   on April 18 to install an aortic valve replacement.

   Lucille Ball was an actress, comedian, producer, and
   studio executive. She was recognized by Time in 2020
   for her work in all four of these areas.

   She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards,
   winning five times, and was the recipient of several
   other accolades, such as the Golden Globe Cecil B.
   DeMille Award and two stars on the Hollywood Walk
   of Fame.