Overview: The Michael Essany Show was an American television talk show hosted by Michael Essany that aired on local, national, and international television from 1997 to 2004. Hosted by Valparaiso, Indiana resident Michael Essany, the program was produced by Leeza Gibbons and broadcast for two seasons on E! Entertainment Television. Essany, a teenager when the show began, based the show on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The program featured such notable guests as ex-President Gerald Ford, Ray Romano, Kevin Bacon, Walter Cronkite, Carrot Top, Kelly Rowland, Michael Ian Black, Tom Green, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Jay Leno. Essany now hosts a similar show on Shovio's, TalkBackTV.