Happy TV Talk Show Host Day: Celebrating legendary TV talk show hosts

The late, great Johnny Carson did it. Funnymen David Letterman, Jay Leno and Craig Ferguson are still doing it. Funny ladies Chelsea Handler and Ellen are doing it too. And Oprah Winfrey did it like no other! What do all these people have in common?

October 23 is TV Talk Show Host Day, an annual holiday that celebrates television talk show hosts. While the origins of this “holiday” are unknown, October 23rd is the birthday of one of America’s most beloved talk show hosts, the "King of Late Night," Johnny Carson.

If you have the gift for gab, perhaps you have secret aspirations of becoming a talk show host? Would you host a serious television program or would you prefer a more entertaining show? The following men and women became hosts of very popular TV shows that forever changed television programming and the role TV played in our lives.

Legendary TV Talk Show Hosts

• Jack Paar

• Steve Allen

• Merv Griffin

• Johnny Carson

• Dick Cavett

• Tom Snyder

• Larry King

• Regis Philbin

• Phil Donahue

• Sally Jessy Raphael

• Jerry Springer

• Oprah Winfrey

October 23rd also celebrates an iconic gadget that revolutionized the way the world listens to music.