About The Actor
Born on October 23, 1925, Johnny Carson grew up in Norfolk, Nebraska. Perhaps Johnny was destined to be the King of Late Night. At 14 he had a magic act called The Great Carsoni. At 20, as an Ensign serving aboard the USS Pennsylvania, Johnny entertained enlisted men during shows on the ship. While a student at the University of Nebraska, he also worked at a local radio station, KFAB and later at WOW in Omaha, where he wrote comedy and announced commercials. Deciding that his entertainment future was in California, he landed a job in 1950 as staff announcer for KNXT in Los Angeles, where he soon hosted, Carson's Cellar. He suspended his on-camera work to write material for Red Skelton's TV program. One night, Skelton ran into a breakaway door and suffered a concussion during rehearsal. Johnny went on in Red Skelton's place, opening with a monologue he had put together while driving to the studio. Jack Benny's said after You better watch that Carson kid. The kid is great... At 29, Carson became host of his own network show, Earn Your Vacation, while also appearing as a substitute host for another up and coming TV personality, Jack Paar, on CBS's The Morning Show. In 1957, Johnny moved to ABC as host of a new daytime game show, Who Do You Trust where he was teamed with his future Tonight Show announcer, Ed McMahon. In 1958 he was again asked to fill in for Paar, this time on NBC's The Tonight Show! On October 1, 1962, Groucho Marx introduced Carson to the nation's late-night television audience as the new host of The Tonight Show and the rest, as the say, is history!

Product Description
Tonight is an all-new release from Carson Entertainment Group and Respond2 Entertainment. This deluxe collection features over 30 hours of timeless entertainment from 4 decades of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson that has never before been released to DVD. Featuring over 50 shows - hand-selected by an original Producer, as the best episodes from the most popular late night show in history! DVD bonus features include over an hour of rescued footage from shows originally airing in the 1960s + all-new interviews with some of the most celebrated and regular guest stars that appeared on the show including Loni Anderson, Comedian David Brenner, and animal handler Jim Fowler!

Episode 1 [December 31, 1965]: Woody Allen, The Muppets
Episode 2 [September 23, 1971]: Della Reese, Bob Uecker
Episode 3 [May 19, 1972]: Adelle Davis, Robert Blake, Gwen Davis
Episode 4 [September 15, 1972]: Vikki Carr, Peter Falk, Albert Brooks
Episode 5 [November 13, 1972]: Mayor Lindsay, Muhammad Ali, Harry Chapin
Episode 6 [September 12, 1973]: Joan Embery, Bette Midler, David Steinberg
Episode 7 [February 20, 1974]: Joan Embery, David Brenner
Episode 8 [April 9, 1974]: The Jackson 5, Jerry Van Dyke
Episode 9 [September 2, 1974]: Doris Day, Rodney Dangerfield, Burt Mustin
Episode 10 [September 26, 1974]: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Art Carney
Episode 11 [May 6, 1975]: Luciano Pavarotti, Maude Tull
Episode 12 [September 19, 1975]: Don Rickles, Robert Blake
Episode 13 [September 23, 1975]: Glen Campbell, Fernando Lamas
Episode 14 [December 9, 1975]: Carol Burnett, Burt Convy, Tom Dreesen
Episode 15 [July 28, 1976]: Burt Reynolds, Robert Blake
Episode 16 [November 12, 1976]: Frank Sinatra, Don Rickles, Olivia Newton-John
Episode 17 [May 4, 1977]: Chevy Chase, Richard Pryor
Episode 18 [June 14, 1977]: Alice Cooper, Jay Leno
Episode 19 [September 9, 1977]: Sid Caesar, Eubie Blake
Episode 20 [March 24, 1978]: Donna Pyle, Milton Berle
Episode 21 [May 2, 1978]: Sammy Davis Jr.
Episode 22 [February 21, 1980]: Engelbert Humperdinck, Steve Landesberg, Loni Anderson
Episode 23 [September 26, 1980]: Steve Martin, The Mighty Carson Art Players
Episode 24 [November 11, 1980]: David Letterman, Pete Fountain
Episode 25 [March 4, 1981]: David Brenner
Episode 26 [March 5, 1981]: Slim Whitman
Episode 27 [March 18, 1981]: Richard Benjamin, Garry Shandling
Episode 28 [May 5, 1981]: Jimmy Buffett, Thalasa Cruso
Episode 29 [October 14, 1981]: Robin Williams
Episode 30 [October 28, 1981]: Lance Burton, Reba McEntire, Dick Cavett
Episode 31 [October 30, 1981]: Michael Landon
Episode 32 [November 12, 1981]: Dom DeLuise, Jerry Seinfeld, Betty White
Episode 33 [November 19, 1981]: Suzanne Pleshette, Luciano Pavarotti
Episode 34 [November 25, 1981]: Kenny Rogers
Episode 35 [August 31, 1982]: Bill Maher, Joe Garagiola
Episode 36 [December 31, 1982]: Tina Turner, Joe D'Auria & Jonathan Brown
Episode 37 [January 5, 1983]: Teri Garr, B.B. King
Episode 38 [May 17, 1983]: Albert Brooks, Brooke Shields
Episode 39 [September 8, 1983]: Bill Cosby, Chuck Mangione
Episode 39 [September 8, 1983]: Bill Cosby, Chuck Mangione
Episode 40 [January 4, 1984]: Dabney Coleman, Paul Rodriguez
Episode 41 [May 17, 1984]: Garry Shandling, Stephane Grappelli
Episode 42 [May 24, 1984]: John Denver, Michael Davis
Episode 43 [November 20, 1984]: Robert Blake, Louie Anderson
Episode 44 [November 22, 1985]: Jim Fowler, Marty Pollio, Ruben Blades
Episode 45 [December 17, 1985]: Bette Midler
Episode 46 [March 27, 1986]: Billy Crystal, Buddy Rich
Episode 47 [April 18, 1986]: David Letterman
Episode 48 [June 27, 1986]: David Letterman, Judge Wapner
Episode 49 [November 26, 1986]: George Carlin, Barney Odom & Flat Nose
Episode 50 [January 8, 1987]: Robert Goulet, Waddie Mitchell, Baxter Black
Episode 51 [May 21, 1987]: Eddie Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres
Episode 52 [July 28, 1988]: Bill Clinton, Joe Cocker
Episode 53 [July 29, 1988]: Michael Landon, k.d. lang
Episode 54 [November 23, 1989]: Lea Johnson, Tom Wilson
Episode 55 [January 18, 1990]: Joan Embery, Art Donovan
Episode 56 [April 6, 1990]: Bob Hope, Jeff Dunham, B.B. King

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003V0FW9K/?tag=imwan-20

Holy crap!

Exactly why do I need a Blu-Ray player again?

All the Carson episodes have been digitized and moved online, although full episodes aren't yet available to the general public... unless you've gotta have this right away, I would hold off until the archives are fully opened.