Editing Steve Allen (section)

=== ''The Tonight Show'' ===
{{Main|Tonight Starring Steve Allen}}
[[File:Steve allen Morey amsterdam WNBT shows bookmark.jpg|thumb|80px|Bookmark promotion for Allen's late-night show]]
He then created a late-night New York talk/variety television program that debuted in July 1953 on local station WNBT-TV (now [[WNBC|WNBC-TV]]). The following year, on September 27, 1954, the show went on the full [[NBC]] network as ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', with fellow radio personality [[Gene Rayburn]] (who later went on to host hit game shows such as ''[[Match Game]]'', 1962–1982) as the original announcer. The show ran from 11:15&nbsp;p.m. to 1&nbsp;a.m. on the East Coast.

While ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' developer [[Sylvester Weaver (executive)|Sylvester "Pat" Weaver]] often is credited as the ''Tonight'' creator, Allen often pointed out that he had created it earlier as a local New York show. Allen told his nationwide audience that first evening: "This is ''Tonight'', and I can't think of too much to tell you about it except I want to give you the bad news first: This program is going to go on ''forever&nbsp;...'' You think you're tired now. Wait until you see one o'clock roll around!" It was as host of ''The Tonight Show'' that Allen pioneered the "[[Vox populi|man on the street]]" comedic interviews and audience-participation comedy breaks that went on to become staples of late-night TV.