The Tonight Show first went nationwide

September 27, 1954
Steve Allen sat down at his piano, took his local New York City late night program, the Tonight Show nationally on NBC, on this date.

Steve Allen’s high-energy wit and appreciation for the emerging medium lent itself to spontaneous, original humor. He put cameras on the street and tried to find unscripted comedy in random interviews with passersby. He was a comedy adventurer, jumping into vats of funny stuff like Jell-O, or dressing up in a suit of tea bags and lowering himself into a giant cup of hot water.

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