Mind you, I did not watch it on a regular basis, but when having an overnighter or staying overnight with a friend as a child, the thing to do is to stay up as long as possible, and this is where I was introduced to Johnny Carson.
Somewhere in the 1980's, on the show Bloopers & Practical Jokes (I think, I can only remember for sure that Dick Clark was one of the hosts of whatever show it was) there were a few of the skits from the Tonight Show. Among them, Johnny playing Ronald Reagan in a (then) modern day "Who's On First". It was quite possibly one of the funniest TV moments to this day I have ever seen. My brother had the tape we made of the show, and that portion of the tape had been watched so often it was destroyed. I would love to find it again some day.
Johnny Carson brought laughter to late night for decades. While Mr. Leno is funny in his own right, the Tonight Show was never the same after Johnny left it. I figure in heaven Carson is once again hosting the Tonight Show for God.
Goodnight Mr. Carson, we will miss you terribly.