"HEEERE'S Johnny!" the introduction for US talk-show host Johnny Carson for 30 years has been ranked number one most memorable TV catchphrase in the top 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catchphrases, Reuters has reported.
The list complied by TV Land covers 60 years of American television shows, cartoons, commercials and quotes from news programmes. Now seen in over 88 million US homes, TV Land is a division of MTV Networks.
Johnny Carson became a household name as host of "The Tonight Show" from 1962 to 1992. His co-host Ed McMahon introduced Carson every evening to the nation with the rallying call "Heeere's Johnny!"
Neil Armstrong's famous "One small step for man ..." comment when stepping on the moon on July 20, 1969, took second place in the list. Millionaire businessman-turned-TV star Donald Trump came in third with his curt "You're fired!". He used that to reject contestants from the TV show "The Apprentice." In this popular reality series, elimination took the form of one contestant being "fired" by Trump at the conclusion of each week's episode.
"We have found that television is such a huge part of Baby Boomers' DNA that it makes sense that so much of America's pop culture jargon has come from TV," stated Larry W. Jones, President of TV Land. "We are sure that The 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catchphrases will strike a chord with the TV Generation and will illustrate the influence the medium has had on pop culture." 21ST
The Top 10 Greatest TV Quotes and Catchphrases
1. Heeere's Johnny! (Ed McMahon, The Tonight Show)
2. That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. (Neil Armstrong)
3. You're fired! (Donald Trump, The Apprentice)
4. Baby, you're the greatest. (Ralph Kramden, The Honeymooners)
5. Ask not what your country can do for you ... (John F. Kennedy)
6. D'oh! (Homer Simpson, The Simpsons)
7. Where's the beef? (Wendy's Hamburgers' commercial)
