The Tonight Show starring Steve Allen, the first nationally syndicated late-night talk show, began airing in September 1954. In this interview, Allen discusses the role that NBC played in deciding on the show’s content during its early days. Says Allen: “I had learned enough about life at that time never to close my mind to any suggestions. You must always entertain them. Then later you can say ‘Hey, that’s great, we’ll do that’ or ‘That is stupid, I’ll fight that to the death’. And, unfortunately, the few practical suggestions they made were in that latter range”.
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