Jay Leno is an American comedy and television personality who hosted NBC's 'The Tonight Show' from 1992 to 2009 and from 2010 to 2014.
Who is Jay Leno?
At the beginning of his career while in college, comedian Jay Leno moved to Los Angeles in 1970 and wrote for television. He became a guest host of The Tonight Show in 1987 and took over as permanent host after Johnny Carson retired in 1992. Leno quit to launch the prime time show in 2009 but soon returned to The Tonight Show for another four years. The comedian has hosted Jay Leno's garage since 2015.
RELATED: USA Trend Artists
Early life
Leno was born James Douglas Muir Leno on April 28, 1950, in New Rochelle, New York, to Angelo Leno, an insurance salesman, and Catherine Leno, a housewife. He later moved to Andover, Massachusetts, where he spent his childhood.
As an elementary school student, Leno displayed his comic tendencies with practical pranks and Jokes. The comments of his fifth — grade teacher's report card - "if Jay spent as much time studying as he tries to be a comedian, he would be a big star" - turned out to be prophetic.
Foray into stand-up and television writing
Leno attended Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in 1973 with a bachelor of Arts degree in speech therapy. While at school, Leno performed stand-up comedy in local nightclubs and talent shows for extra money. Moving to Los Angeles after graduation, he wrote for the TV show the good times along with his future colleague the late David Letterman. Leno also served as a warm-up act for Johnny Mathis and Tom Jones.
RELATED: USA Trend Artists
Special comedy and late night appearances
Leno first appeared on The Tonight Show in 1977 and became a regular on the variety show the Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. show. In the mid-1980s, Leno hosted his first comedy special on television, Jay Leno and the American dream. Around this same period, he made several successful appearances on late-night television, notably late night with David Letterman. In 1987, he signed a deal with NBC that made him one of the permanent hosts of The Tonight Show, a position that he soon claimed only for himself.
Leno gained a reputation as the busiest entertainer in comedy; for years he booked over 300 appearances a year. He was also famous for his clean, observant brand of humor and cartoon-like facial features, which he noted in the title of his 1996 autobiography, leading with my chin.
'The Tonight Show' host
In 1992, Johnny Carson surprised many by retiring from his long-standing role as America's beloved and leading talk show host. There was speculation that Letterman, whose late-night show was followed by the Carson show, would take over hosting duties, a position to which he publicly aspired. However, NBC instead chose clean Leno, considered a safer and more Central American-friendly option.
Initially, the hosting duties were not transferred to Lino smoothly. There was a well-documented rift between Leno and his longtime manager, Helen Kushnick, who took over executive production duties for the show. In what has become a harsh environment in the world of late-night talk shows, Kushnick reportedly threatened potential guests not to appear on other talk shows if they wanted to be on The Tonight Show.
RELATED: USA Trend Artists
Koshnik was eventually fired , and the show gained momentum and a growing audience. In 1993, Leno's contract was extended for five years, in the amount of 40 million dollars, and two years later, Leno won an Emmy Award for his performance as the host of The Tonight Show. In 1998, his offer was again renewed for another five years, this time for 100 million dollars.
The Jay Leno Show and the Conan O'brien controversy
In 2003, Leno announced that he planned to leave NBC by 2010. Conan O'brien was soon named Late Night With Conan O'brien Leno's heir apparent on The Tonight Show. In December 2008, shortly before the expiration of Leno's contract, the network announced that his next show would air in prime time. The new program, the Jay Leno Show, debuted in September 2009.
Unfortunately, Leno's new show, which aired at 10 p.m., failed to attract a large audience. The ratings of The Tonight Show also dropped after O'brien took over as host. NBC planned to move Leno's show to late night, pushing O'brien's Tonight Show beyond midnight. When O'brien refused to accept the scheduling change, the network eventually decided to put Leno back behind the desk on The Tonight Show.
RELATED: USA Trend Artists
Return to 'The Tonight Show'
Leno returned to late night in March 2010. O'brien went on to launch a rival show, Conan, for TBS.
In August 2012, Leno made headlines for her pay cut. He reportedly decided to cut his salary in an attempt to save the jobs of some of The Tonight Show's employees. NBC has eliminated 20 jobs as part of a cost-cutting effort. Around the same time, rival network ABC announced that it would move Jimmy Kimmel Live! To slot earlier to compete against tonight's show.
In April 2013, Leno announced his plans to exit The Tonight Show at the conclusion of his contract the following year. He hosted his last Tonight Show on February 6, 2014, which featured guests Billy Crystal and Garth Brooks as well as surprise appearances by Oprah Winfrey, Carol Burnett, Jack Black and Kim Kardashian, among others.
In a statement released by NBC, Leno wished the designated successor Jimmy Fallon luck. "Congratulations, Jimmy. I hope you are as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you become the old man."
Jay Leno's garage and other television appearances
After leaving The Tonight Show, Leno returned to touring as a stand-up comedian and performed at various charity events. He soon began hosting Jay Leno's garage, a web series inspired by his love of cars and motorcycles NBC.com , which became a television series on CNBC in 2015.
That year, the sitcom was also joined by the sitcom Tim Allen's the last man standing in a recurring role. He went on to appear in the celebrity competition series Lip Sync Battle and serve as a guest judge on America's Got Talent.
RELATED: USA Trend Artists
Wife, personal life and honors
Leno has been married to his wife Mavis Nicholson since 1980. They live in Los Angeles, where he spends his free time working on his collection of classic cars and motorcycles.
Leno was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2000. In 2014, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and received the Kennedy Center Mark Twain award for American Humor.
