Johnny Carson took over NBC’s “Tonight Show” (NBC, 1954) in 1962.
He left the show in May 1992.
When did he introduce Carnac the Magnificent? Aunt Blabby? Art Fern?
In 1964, 1964, and 1971 respectively.
Don Novello played Father Guido Sarducci on “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 1975), who has since gone on to occasional roles in films such as The Godfather Part III (1990).
The song that made Carol Burnett famous was “I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles,” which she introduced in a New York nightclub in the late 1950s and debuted nationally on “The Tonight Show” with Jack Parr.
Susan Lucci has played villainous Erica Kane on “All My Children” (ABC, 1970) since the the TV show’s debut in 1970.
Almost 100 million, nearly half the population of the United States, watched the concluding episode of the TV mini-series “Roots” (ABC, 1977). The miniseries was broadcast on eight consecutive nights beginning January 23, 1977. It became the most-watched dramatic show in TV history.
The TV game show “The $64,000 Question” (CBS, 1955-58) cost only a small fraction of that to produce each week, about $15,000 per weekly episode. This was much cheaper than another top-rated half-hour show of the period, “The Jack Benny Show” (CBS, NBC, 1950-65), which cost $42,000 an episode.
John Daly hosted it the first year; Parks took over until 1980. Several hosts followed, including Ron Ely and Gary Collins. It is now co-hosted by Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford.