Jay Leno, one of the true American entertainment icons, steps down Friday as the host of the famous Tonight Show.

He will be replaced by another popular, but much different and, according to many commentators, less experienced NBC host - Conan O'Brien.

O' Brien will become the fifth host in the show half-century's history and will appear as special guest on Leno's farewell broadcast.

The show is one of the most enduring fixtures of American television, bringing scores of Americans in front of their TV sets at 11:35 pm, five nights a week.

It started in 1954 with Steve Allen as host, but it was Johnny Carson, who made "The Tonight Show" the crown jewel of late-night TV. Carson took over in 1962 to become the favorite of two generations of viewers, at times earning 17% of the NBC profits, while one show has been watched by the record 40 million people.

When Carson stepped down in 1992, after ruling for 30-years, it was presumed he wanted to hand the throne over to David Letterman, but Leno stole the slot.

The end of "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno brings to a close the 17-years-long head-to-head rivalry with Letterman.

Leno got off to a rocky start, trailing Letterman, who took the same 11:30 pm slot on CBS.

In 1995, Hugh Grant made an infamous appearance shortly after his arrest in Los-Angeles for employing the services of a prostitute, and Leno pulled ahead of his rival in the ratings.

He has been the front runner ever since.

But, fortunately for his fans, Leno is not going far away. From the fall he appears on NBC with a new one-hour night show which will precede his old gig.

Desperate to stop him from becoming a rival, NBC chiefs came up with a solution that kept him happy. The new program, to air at 10 pm, titled The Jay Leno Show, is still under wraps but is unlikely to be that different from what his audience has come to expect from him.

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