All 6 Tonight Show hosts, ranked from worst to best

The Tonight Show is the longest-running talk show of all time. It has been broadcast regularly since 1954. It is two decades older than the man who currently hosts it. Six men have had the chance to sit behind the desk The Tonight Show (at least consistently) and some of them are among the most famous television personalities of all time.

So we thought it would be fun to go through the history of the show and find out which host was the best and which was the worst. Some of these views will be polarizing, but that's part of the fun. Let's start at the bottom.

Jimmy Fallon is a gifted impersonator and was a memorable member of the cast of Saturday Night LiveHe brings the right energy to the sketches and games he performs with his Tonight Show guests. However, he is the worst host in the history of the show.

Fallon isn't a particularly good host, as we discussed in our Big 4 rankings, and reports that he's a bogeyman to his staff behind the scenes don't exactly strengthen his position. He's had some tough competition in the past, and he's just not up to scratch.

Steve Allen was the first host The Tonight ShowHe was a hugely successful comedian and television star in his time, so his placement so low on the list does not reflect his talent. It rather reflects the brevity of his Tonight Show Stay.

Steve Allen shared hosting duties with comedian Ernie Kovacs during the 1956-57 season and then left the show when NBC gave him his own variety program. The Steve Allen Show. Allen had more in his sights than just the Tonight Showtherefore, his influence is ultimately less significant than that of his successors.

Conan O'Brien is the most humorous person on the list. He's a generational late-night talent who did his thing on several shows before landing his dream job in 2009. Then, due to NBC scheduling manipulation and Jay Leno's machinations, Conan was essentially forced off the show. The Tonight Show after less than a year.

It is painful to have Conan under Jay Leno on this list, but Leno just had the consistency and the longevity. Conan was not around long enough to Tonight Show legacy, even though he has proven elsewhere that he has the necessary skills to do so.

Jay Leno's stock is not high right now. Well, it hasn't been high in decades. He is generally viewed as a villain in the comedy world because of the way he seems to The Tonight Show Appearance by two of his far more popular colleagues: David Letterman and Conan O'Brien.

Leno’s first appearance Tonight Show The tenure was well received. Leno is, of course, a talented comedian. However, when he successfully pushed O'Brien out of the host position he had given him and then took it back, he lost ground on this list. It's hard to have a guy like that in the top two.

Steve Allen is a legendary television presenter in his own right, but Jack Paar has done more to The Tonight Show Format. He hosted from 1957 to 1962 and during this time introduced practices that are still active today. Paar's guests were a mix of celebrities, scientists and politicians.

He could handle each of them with ease and comedic ease. He also began inviting guest hosts in his absence (one of whom was a young Johnny Carson). Paar left the show of his own accord after a controversial joke, but his reputation remains as radiant as ever.

Johnny Carson is the embodiment of late-night television. He is the gold standard, the host equivalent of the Beatles. And he has done it longer than anyone else. Carson held the Tonight Show Desk for an incredible three decades, between 1962 and 1992.

During this time, he developed a comedic persona that was memorable without being distracting and funny without being intrusive. It all seemed so natural, and every presenter who followed him on the Tonight Show or otherwise, had to find his own position in his shadow.