Johnny Carson~ The best talk show host ever! Late-night TV hasn't been the same without him. Heck, given the option, I'd watch his old reruns any night, over all the junk that's on hundreds of channels at night!
Paul Harvey. Do you remember Little Bits, the dog looking for a home? This is the .... rest of the story.
Well, being that I had to be at work at 7AM during the week, watching the Johnny Carson Show just didn't happen. TV: Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, Oprah and Sally Jessie Raphel, but, only if I was off a day sick, on vacation (but didn't go anywhere) or unemployed. For me, job hunting was done Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Generally, Thursday and Friday were bad days for looking for a job. Radio: Rush Limbaugh, but sometimes he would get way to radical for me. And, he wasn't really a "talk show host", being that he was the only one talking.
I would say Art Bell, with Rush Limbaugh as a close second. With a few exceptions that were so outrageous that even he couldn't pull it off, Art Bell had the ability to allow his guests to have their say even when their subjects were nutty. Thus, he was at the head of the most popular paranormal radio show in history, despite the likelihood that he didn't believe half of it. To be sure, he had more than his own share of quirks but they served to make the show interesting, in my opinion. Plus, he had a voice that was easy to listen to. Similarly, Rush Limbaugh didn't talk down to callers who were disagreeing with him, or whose opinions were clearly based on something less than clear political thinking. People who hated him hated him because of his politics, but there was no evidence that he returned that. If you weren't triggered by disagreement with his politics, he was also easy to listen to. He also didn't stick to Republican talking points like so many of the others. When I first started listening to him, George H.W. Bush was president and I didn't get the idea that Rush liked him very much. As for the others mentioned here so far... Johnny Carson had a good show, although I understand he wasn't a very friendly guy outside of his show. Tucker Carlson is a good host, and his show is interesting, but I don't think he's on the side he pretends to be on, particularly given that he generally attacks what we are supposed to believe is his side just before an election. Laura Ingraham annoys me, and I'm not sure why. I don't generally disagree with her but I don't enjoy her. David Letterman's show was interesting but he was quite a bitter man, and not a very nice guy. Michael Savage annoys me, too. I often agree with what he says, but I don't like listening to him say it. I don't think of Paul Harvey as a talk show host, although maybe he had a talk show at some point. Wasn't he a news anchor? I don't remember him well, probably because I have always hated television news anchors. Kim Komando has a pretty good show. I never remember when she's on but when I come across her on the radio, which I would do only when I am driving somewhere, I listen to her, enjoy it, and sometimes learn something.
Agree with you, and still listen to Art on Saturday nights here. They both were very smart and knew how to host the show.