"O'Brien to Take Over for Leno in 5 Years"

[GreenPartyVoter]

NEW YORK (AP) - Jay Leno's takeover as host of NBC's "Tonight" show in 1992 was fraught with drama and bad feelings, but he's assured the next transition will be as smooth as his nightly sign-off: "Stay tuned for Conan."

The comedian and NBC on Monday chose the 50th anniversary of the first "Tonight" show to set a special date for the 55th - when Leno will step down and Conan O'Brien becomes the fifth host of the television institution.

Announcing a transition in five years is odd for any business, let alone one that frequently plans from day-to-day, but NBC was anxious not to lose O'Brien. The 41-year-old "Late Night" host was considered likely to jump to another network without a promise of advancement.

Leno beat out David Letterman for the "Tonight" job, sparking a feud that lives on and was even the subject of a book and movie, "The Late Shift."

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040928/D85CO5E80.html

[edbermac]

1. From Carson to Leno to Conan; the Tonight show slide continues...

:boring:

[bloodyjack]

4. and carson was no steve allen either am i right guys!

guys?

[miss_kitty]

7. Nor was Carson a Jack Paar....n/t

[bloodyjack]

8. You might even say he was SUB-PAAR

edit: Carson, I mean

[mark414]

2. excellent

in my opinion, leno has never been funny

gotta love conan though

fantastic news, even if it IS five years away

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

3. Leno is weak .

I can not wait to see Conan on the Tonight Show .

[pdx_prog]

5. Dupe...

I'll say the same thing I did yesterday though...

Conan irritates the hell out of me....he's no where near funny, and I just don't get the appeal...

[yvr girl]

6. I used to like Conan

I didn't watch him for a few years. I recently tried to watch him again. He is so irritating now

I've always preferred Dave to Jay, although I don't hate Jay. They say that Jon Stewart will most likely succeed Dave - I'll be watching CBS late night for years to come.