A long-running late night program, The Tonight Show was the first, and for decades the most-watched, network talk program on television. Since 1954 NBC has aired a number of versions of the show which has, as of the mid-1990s, seen four principle hosts: Steve Allen (1954-57), Jack Paar (1957-62), Johnny Carson (1962-92), Jay Leno (1992-2009) and Conan O'Brien (2009-?).
in this excerpt, TV Exectutive Don Ohlmeyer recalls the battle between David Letterman and Jay Leno for Tonight Show throne, and how the executives made the decision, and what he believes Jay Leno's strengths are.
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This interview was done in 2004.