The Michael Essany Show was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television talk show

Talk show

A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....

 hosted by Michael Essany that aired on local, national, and international television from 1997 to 2004. Hosted by Valparaiso, Indiana

Valparaiso, Indiana

Valparaiso is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the 2nd largest city in Porter County.-History:...

 resident Michael Essany

Michael Essany

Michael Essany is an American comedian and talk show host.Essany hosted The Michael Essany Show on local, national and international television for seven years and his self-titled reality/talk series on E! Entertainment television, executive produced by Leeza Gibbons...

, the program was produced by Leeza Gibbons

Leeza Gibbons

Leeza Kim Gibbons is an American talk show host. Gibbons is the host of her own radio show, Hollywood Confidential, part of the United Stations radio syndication company.-Early life:...

 and broadcast for two seasons on E! Entertainment Television. Essany, a teenager when the show began, based the show on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

The program featured such notable guests as ex-President Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...

, Ray Romano

Ray Romano

Raymond Albert "Ray" Romano is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian, best known for his roles on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond and in the Ice Age film series. He recently starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age.-Early life:Romano was born in Queens, New York to Italian...

, Kevin Bacon

Kevin Bacon

Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....

, Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...

, Carrot Top

Carrot Top

Scott Thompson , better known by his stage name Carrot Top, is an American comedian known for his bright red hair, prop comedy, and self-deprecating humor.-Early years:...

, Kelly Rowland

Kelly Rowland

Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...

, and Jay Leno

Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...

.

Essany now hosts a similar show on Shovio's, TalkBackTV.