I haven’t embraced anyone intimately since the love of my life, Johnny Carson, left the "Tonight Show." I agree with Liz that Jay seems like a really nice fellow (though I can’t imagine watching him in prime time), and I think Craig Ferguson’s monologue is almost always funny and spot-on (though since he has gotten married, he has a few too many gooey moments). She is also right that Letterman is a sadist (and worse, just not all that funny anymore – he’s never been better than when he started out with his daytime show 20-something years ago) and I have never, ever understood the so-called allure of Conan. So that leaves me with occasional forays onto Craig’s show and my prized collection of Johnny Carson "Best of" DVDs.

Carson was just absolutely brilliant – dry and so funny and knowing and the master of the sideways look. And humble – just think of all those animals of Joan  Embery’s he let crawl around in his hair and how deftly he treated his guests. I loved his banter with Doc and Tommy and Ed, his Carnac act, his jokes about his expensive divorces (which were never actually all that personal or revealing, which is as it should be). I first saw Robert Klein and Steve Martin (with his banjo and bunny ears) on his show; I can still remember whole chunks of his conversations with Don Rickles and Dyan Cannon and a totally hilarious impromptu love duet he sang with Steve Lawrence. Now that he’s gone I don’t want anyone but my husband or my dog (and, occasionally, Craig) in my late-night bed.