I remember all of the ones you mentioned. Almost everyone liked Johnny, he had lots of good people on his show. A lot of them have passed on now to greener pastures. Strange as you reach back in past there was lots of great talent we have lost.
I used to like the Phil Donahue show. Toward the end, his show became somewhat like the Jerry Springer show, though.
You right, I use to watch him sometimes too. There're some far-left ones out there now, I have a hard time if I try to watch them.
The Tonight show had some good hosts. I still remember Jack Paar and Steve Allen before him. Their shows were both good for their time. There wasn't much choice back then. When Johnny Carson started out, he was big on the off color jokes. It got old, imo. He matured over the years to be a great host. Jay Leno was one of the few comedians who had the talent, or the writers, to not need them. The only one I didn't like was the tall red head (Conan O'Brien). Maybe I didn't watch him enough to get to like him. I had quit watching network TV by then.
That is the real me a couple of years ago wearing my custom turtleneck that I use as a dust/pollen mask for walking rural roads. I pasted myself in the radio control room photo. I guess all my posts on SOC compose the Masked Nation.
I like a host named Andrew Wilkow. He's very smart, but I think they all have their flaws. His show is the only reason I hang on to my XM subscription. Their music has gone to crap. If he syndicates to FM, I'll cancel my subscription...well, I'll seriously consider it. I've never been much of a Hannity fan. One woman who has an interesting conservative viewpoint is Sonnie Johnson. She has a show on XM. All of her commentary is overtly from a "black"perspective, and it's interesting to hear her speak on how this "culture" acts out (and thrives) in our capitalistic system...of course, that's often centered on the entertainment industry. I don't always agree with her (nor do I always agree with anyone), but she always succeeds in shifting my perspective.