Here's Conan

Tonight on NBC Conan O'Brien will take the reins as the new Tonight Show host. He will be filling the seat of predecessor Jay Leno, who aired his last episode as the host last Friday. As O'Brien's first guest for the premiere he will be welcoming actor Will Ferrell and musical guest Pearl Jam to the show.

On Leno's last episode he was given a drawn out farewell applause by the sold out audience. He then made a joke by thanking people whom he said "made it possible" naming off Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, and Monica Lewinsky. Leno has been the host of the Tonight Show for the past seventeen years after taking over for the king of late night, Johnny Carson.

There have only been four host of the Tonight Show, making O'Brien the fifth host of the show. The Tonight Show started back in 1954 with Steve Allen as its host. The acclaimed Johnny Carson, who was the third host of the show, took over in 1962 and turned it over to Leno in 1992.

When Carson decided to retire from late night, there was a lot of controversy about who his predecessor would be. . Carson's chose was David Letterman, who now host the Late Show. Leno was given the opportunity to take over the show by NBC, which did not please Carson.

On Friday, Leno welcomed O'Brien to show as one of his final interviews. They spoke casually about O'Brien and his thoughts about taking over as the host. O'Brien in his usual manner poked fun about the shoes he has to fill.

"It's a compliment to you, because I keep hearing over and over, in my 800 interviews in three days- 'You've got big shoes to fill.' Someday in my career I want fill little shoes," O'Brien told Leno.

Also to wish Leno a farewell was Billy Crystal, who was Leno's first guest in 1992. He kept up with the tradition of singing farewell the Tonight Show host. Afterward, Leno named off all the people that contributed to the show to thank them. Then Leno brought out almost seventy children who parents were staff of the show and were born during the shows run.

Leno stated that they were his legacy, "When these kids grow up and they go, 'Hey, Mom and Dad, where did you guys meet?' they're going to say they met on the stage of the Tonight Show."

When Leno was asked if he was sad about leaving the show, he said was he was thrilled.

"When I took this from Johnny, this show was the No. 1 show on late-night television. When handing it to Conan, it's No. 1, which means I get my security deposit back."

O'Brien's seat on the Late Night was filled by SNL alum Jimmy Fallon, who took over months ago. Tonight's premiere of O'Brien as the host will definitely be one to watch. I just hope that he keeps doing the string dance.

Check out this video about Leno's last show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pltylKbfq_Q&NR=1

(photo via bing.com/images)