Johnny Carson, who died on 23 January, 2005, was the quintessential television host whose Tonight Show set the standard for prime time entertainment for three decades and earned him the nickname ‘the King of Late Night’.

He began his entertainment career as a magician, and then launched the careers of several generations of comedians and performers when he took over the seminal talk show in 1962, picking up numerous awards in the process.

The Tonight Show, a madcap mixture of chat and comedy skits, attracted the biggest stars of the past, present and future to be interviewed by Mr Carson, famed for his gentle style of questioning and jibing, as well as a boyish sense of humour.

John William Carson was born on 23 October, 1925, in Corning, Iowa. From the age of eight, he was raised in Norfolk, Nebraska. There he began to learn magic tricks and started performing at 14 as ‘The Great Carsoni’ at the local Rotary Club.

He studied at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and then served with the US Navy for two years during the Second World War before resuming his education at the University of Nebraska.

After graduating in 1949 he got a job as a radio DJ with Omaha station WOWT and became their first breakfast TV anchor when they began broadcasting soon afterwards. This led to a comic sketch show for KNXT in Los Angeles which attracted the attention of renowned comedian Red Skelton who hired him as a writer.

When Skelton injured himself before a live broadcast, Mr Carson stepped in to host – he was a big hit and was soon handed several jobs by CBS, presenting quizzes and variety shows. He was also pipped at the post by Dick Van Dyke for a sitcom which launched Mr Van Dyke’s screen career.

The Tonight Show had been running since 1954 and was one of NBC’s biggest ratings bankers. When he was hired to take over stewardship he was following in the footsteps of Steve Allen and Jack Paar after the latter left following a drawn-out censorship row.

He was joined by comedian Ed McMahon, with whom he had worked on Who Do You Trust? for the previous five years. Acting as the show’s MC, McMahon would announce the host by saying "Heeeeeere’s Johnny!", a catchphrase later given more sinister overtones by Jack Nicholson in The Shining (1980).

Other regular features of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson were Mr Carson’s trademark ‘golf swing’ mime at the end of his opening monologues and his mocking of Doc Severinsen’s house band, including asking them to play obscure (and often made-up) songs, as well as several recurrent sketches.

It was the scene of numerous moments that have gone down in American television history, such as Mr Carson discovering an antique cigarette box on his desk had been broken by actor Don Rickles the previous night live on air and walking into the studio next door to confront Rickles during filming of a sitcom. Other highlights included Dean Martin flicking cigar ash into comedian George Gobel’s glass as he explained how he fought the entirety of the Second World War in Oklahoma, and Bette Midler’s sentimental, impromptu serenade to Mr Carson on his final show.

Over his famous desk he chatted to and was put in stitches by comics ranging from Bob Hope to Robin Williams, Richard Pryor and Jim Carrey, as well as all the greatest movie and music stars of the day. Going on The Tonight Show was a defining moment in many entertainers’ lives and a successful appearance could make or break a career.

In the 1970s, the show moved from New York to California to enable live broadcasting (before it had been taped and broadcast ‘as live’). Following the move, Mr Carson began appearing only four nights a week, leaving the Monday night show free for guest hosts, such as Joan Rivers, George Carlin and Jay Leno, the latter eventually replacing Carson when he stepped down in 1992.

Johnny Carson was elected to the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987 and won six Emmys and a Peabody Award. His other work included hosting five Academy Award ceremonies.

After leaving the show he went into full retirement and rarely gave interviews, though he did appear in the Simpsons. He also gave a famous interview to David Letterman on The Late Show (he was reported to be still writing jokes and sending them to Letterman to use on his show up until his death).

Mr Carson, a chain-smoker who had suffered a heart attack in 1999, died six years later from lung failure at the age of 79. He was married four times and was survived by his fourth wife, Alexis, and two of his three sons from his first marriage.

David Letterman paid tribute to Mr Carson, saying: "He gave me a shot on his show and in doing so gave me a career. A night doesn’t go by that I don’t ask myself, ‘What would Johnny have done?’ All of us who came after are pretenders. We will not see the likes of him again."

Photograph shows Johnny Carson, far right, with Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds.