2005

Who: Johnny Carson
Major Accomplishment: In his heyday he generated approximately 17 percent of the network’s total profit and was, by any reasonable assessment, its most lustrous star since Toscanini. He held an overwhelming majority of late-night viewers in the palm of his hand, and his show was the biggest single money-maker in television history.
Legacy: “Anyone looking at the show 100 years from now,” said Tom Shales, the Washington Post television critic in 1992, “will probably have no trouble understanding what made Carson so widely popular and permitted him such longevity. He was affable, accessible, charming and amusing, not just a very funny comedian but the kind of guy you would gladly welcome into your home.”

Who: Arthur Miller
Major Accomplishment: Sentimental or not, “Death of a Salesman” stunned audiences. The Times drama critic Brooks Atkinson called it “a rare event in the theater,” and “a suburban epic that may not be intended as poetry but becomes poetry in spite of itself.”
Legacy: The Broadway producer Robert Whitehead, who worked frequently with Miller, said in reminiscing about their work together that he found a “rabbinical righteousness” in the playwright. “In his work, there is almost a conscious need to be a light unto the world,” he said, adding, “He spent his life seeking answers to what he saw around him as a world of injustice.”

Who: Peter Jennings
Major Accomplishment: For more than two decades, the magnitude of a news event could be measured, at least in part, by whether Jennings and his counterparts on the other two networks showed up on the scene.
Legacy: “He was a man who came into the anchor chair absolutely prepared to do the job, from years and years of reporting in the field, which is precious and not easily duplicated,” said Tom Bettag, an executive producer of “Nightline.” “He established a level of trust with the viewer that would be difficult for anyone else to match going forward.”

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This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.