Johnny Carson's final stint as host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" became the highest-rated late-night TV show ever, with an estimated 55 million Americans tuning in, a network spokesman said Saturday.
John Hogan, an NBC spokesman, said overnight numbers show Carson's final show averaged a 31.9 rating, or a 62 percent audience share. Based on those numbers, NBC researchers estimate 55 million people watched the show.That rating shatters the previous all-time record, the Dec. 17, 1969, marriage on "The Tonight Show" of singer Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki. That show was watched by an estimated 45 million people, Hogan said.
Because of the late hour, however, Carson's farewell didn't even crack the Top 50 of all-time television shows. The No. 1 rated show was the final episode of "MASH," which aired on Feb. 28, 1983, and earned a 60.2 rating.