Late Night Hijinks Trivia Quiz

Answer: Toast of the Town

Since everyone referred to "Toast of the Town" as "The Ed Sullivan Show," CBS officially changed it to the latter in 1955. Ed Sullivan introduced many ground-breaking musicians on his show, including Elvis in 1956 and The Beatles in 1964.

Answer: Steve Allen

Steve Allen's show codified the standard format for late night talk shows for years to come: opening monologue, comedy bits, celebrity interviews, and a musical or comic final act. Within a few years, Allen left the "Tonight Show" for ABC where he starred in "The Steve Allen Show."

Answer: Jack Paar

Jack Paar hosted "The Tonight Show" for only five years but made some headlines during that time because of his battles with the censors and his temper: he was not above asking a drunken guest to leave.

Answer: Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson became synonymous with NBC's "The Tonight Show." For thirty years, millions of Americans watched Johnny each weeknight deliver a monologue discussing the news of the day. It averaged over 12 million viewers each night, with a peak of 45 million views on a special episode featuring the wedding of entertainers Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki.

Answer: Jay Leno

Johnny had three major contenders for his highly-desired spot. A frontrunner, frequent guest-host Joan Rivers, had recently joined the new Fox network for her own late night show, and was thus persona non-grata with Johnny. That left David Letterman, longtime host of the show that followed "The Tonight Show," and other regular guest-host Jay Leno.

In a decision that seemed abrupt, NBC went with Jay Leno and Letterman immediately joined CBS to launch the "Late Show with David Letterman."

Answer: Arsenio Hall

"The Arsenio Hall Show" drew in a younger audience than did either Leno or Letterman's late night shows. When then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton's appeared on Arsenio's show where he played the saxophone and answered a question about his underwear, pollsters claimed it helped his campaign significantly by appealing to younger voters.

Answer: Jay Leno

While David Letterman at CBS won the ratings war for a few months after Johnny Carson left "The Tonight Show," it was Jay Leno who pulled out in front and stayed there. Critics have noted that Leno had a broader appeal than Letterman. Arsenio was a pop culture hit, but it was Leno who effectively won the late night war of this era.

Answer: Conan O'Brien

Conan O'Brien was plucked almost out of obscurity to take over "Late Night" on NBC when Letterman jumped to CBS. Surprising many, Conan, whose main claim to fame was as a writer for "The Simpsons", was given the job, and, even more surprisingly, he led the show successfully for sixteen years.

In 2010, NBC felt it was time to retire Jay Leno and move Conan to "The Tonight Show." It didn't work, however, and, after just seven months at the helm, Conan left "The Tonight Show" and Jay Leno returned.

Answer: 45 million dollars

Surely the pain of losing "The Tonight Show" was softened by the pay-out of $45 million. Moreover, Conan was the target of a bidding war among networks and within six months, by September, 2010, had launched a new show, simply titled "Conan," on TNT.

Answer: Jack Paar returned to NBC

Jack Paar passed away in Greenwich, Connecticut at age 85 in 2004, one year before the venerable Johnny Carson died in West Hollywood, California. The youthful Jimmy Fallon had taken over Leno's spot on NBC's "The Tonight Show," and Letterman had announced his replacement, Stephen Colbert. Arsenio had gotten back in the game with a revival of his show and ABC had had its own show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel in place.