Leno’s Departure: 22 Years After The Great Flydini

How time flies.

It was almost 22 years ago that Johnny Carson said farewell. He departed, but not before the appearance of The Great Flydini.

Jay Leno replaced Carson, just as Carson had replaced Jack Paar, and just as Jack Paar had replaced Steve Allen. Soon, Jimmy Fallon will replace Leno.

It has all flown by so fast. I remember Steve Allen’s show. No, not the TV show — the radio show. That was the show that introduced the talk show format. It was on KNX in Los Angeles. I used to listen to it at midnight. My parents didn’t know. My grandmother had given me a radio, and I put it to good use.

I hope I live long enough to hear about Jimmy Fallon’s departure. I won’t see it, of course. I haven’t stayed up that late for many years. But I used to. In 1950.