One of the longest running franchises in television history is still going strong after 71 years. 

The Tonight Show, or simply Tonight as it was first known, went on the air in 1954 with host Steve Allen, who also created the show. It quickly became a staple of late-night viewing across America, continuing on with Jack Parr as host in 1957. 

But the show truly came into it's own with Johnny Carson, who held the host spot for over thirty years, becoming an icon of American culture over the decades. Since his retirement, the desk has been held by Jay Leno, the famously brief tenure of Conan O'Brien, and then finally Jimmy Fallon. 

Look back at the program that created the American talk show, and defined late night television across the decades.