"Tonight Show" swan song on anniversary of Carson's death

The timing is of course a coincidence, but it couldn't be more ironic. When viewers watch Conan O'Brien sign off at the end of his final episode of "The Tonight Show" late tonight, it will be January 23rd, the fifth anniversary of the quiet passing of legendary host Johnny Carson.

Johnny passed away at 79 in the early morning hours of January 23rd, 2005, some thirteen years after stepping down from the "Tonight Show" throne. He wasn't the show's first host, but he'd become its quintessential host. Believe it or not, on Carson's last night hosting the program Comedy Central did the unthinkable -- they cancelled all their programming for that hour and a half. All of it. They put up a simple image with some text along the lines of, "We're watching Johnny, and so should you."

In a further irony, Conan's seven-month reign is ending thanks to Jay Leno, who in a 1992 New York Times article expressed "surprise and disappointment" with NBC executives over that year's confusion as to whether he'd be dropped from "The Tonight Show" in favor of upstart David Letterman. Leno is taking back the late-night mantle he'd ceded to O'Brien last summer, after months of disappointing ratings in his new 10pm time slot.

NBC had promised O'Brien "The Tonight Show" in 2009 some five years earlier, in order to keep him signed to the Peacock Network rather than letting him consider going elsewhere. The network offered to push "The Tonight Show" back a half hour so Conan could keep it following a half-hour Leno show at 11:35, but the comic declined.

The furor has severely tarnished NBC's image, and could be the death knell for the decades-old "Tonight Show" franchise. Ratings have skyrocketed for Conan O'Brien's version over the last several days, but that audience is unlikely to tune in for Jay Leno.