Thanks For The Memory

In just three days all eyes will be on the opening ceremony heralding in the XXII Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. I love the Olympics and look forward to

Leno's first appearance on The Tonight Show.

them with great anticipation and excitement. However, this time I am conflicted. I am excited about the Olympics but on the day before the opening festivities, Jay Leno will host The Tonight Show for the last time. The show will then go dark until 17 FEB when it will return to its roots in New York City with Jimmy Fallon hosting.

This is not the first time Jay lost The Tonight Show. We all remember a few years ago when NBC forced him to give up the show for Conan O’Brien. Jay got a show in prime time (The Jay Leno Show) with hopes it would be a strong draw for viewers. His show was unable to bring in enough viewers and Conan’s show plummeted in the ratings. When Jay left, the show was on top and had been so since 1994. In a response to local NBC affiliates and viewers, they made another move—bringing Jay back to 11:35 pm for a thirty-minute show, moving Conan to 12:05 am. Conan did not like this and decided to leave the network, allowing Jay to return as host. I hated to see Jay leave but was somewhat comforted knowing I could catch him at an earlier time. I, like many viewers, chose not to tune in for Conan so it was no loss when he left. This time is different. There is no move to prime time. While some have suggested he will take a gig with Fox, it still will not be the same.

Billy Crystal. Leno's first guest.

Like others my age, we grew up watching Johnny. Johnny was funny and we all loved him. I was happy when Jay was chosen as his successor. I remember seeing Jay in 1982 at a comedy club in Mobile, AL, and in the mid-80s in Jacksonville, NC outside of Camp Lejeune MCB. He was a funny, clean comic, known for his observational style of comedy. He regularly booked 300 shows a year before hosting. Many compare him to Bob Hope, in that he tells jokes for all of the country—rich/poor, country/city, intelligent/otherwise—he is the Nation’s comic.

I am writing this in a way to feel better about the transition and to hopefully share some information and anecdotes about Jay. Not much editing. Not polished; just my raw thoughts and feelings. Hopefully, you will enjoy it, and perhaps might spur some memories of your own.

Jay—James Douglas Muir Leno— was the baby of the family born in New Rochelle, NY on 25 APR 1950 to Angelo Leno an insurance salesman, and Cathryn (Muir) Leno a homemaker. He was the last of two children; the older son was named Patrick (b. 12 MAY 1940 d. 06 OCT 2002). Jay was born with a condition known as Mandibular Prognathism a condition in which the lower jaw outgrows the upper. Although he is dyslexic, he graduated from Emerson College in Boston, MA (Bachelor of Arts in Speech Therapy). While Jay’s eating and sleep habits leave a lot to be desired, he neither smokes nor drinks. He prefers to eat a lot of red meat and little to no vegetables. He has been married to the love of his life Mavis Elizabeth Nicholson since 30 NOV 1980. He has two passions: telling jokes and automobiles.

In his 1996 autobiography Leading With My Chin, Jay tells of his early years as a young boy playing pranks and telling jokes in the living room to his family. His antics then made it to school classrooms where a fifth-grade teacher commented, “If Jay spent as much time studying as he does trying to be a comedian, he’d be a big star”. I guess this was somewhat prophetic. When Jay finished his day jobs at either McDonald’s or as a mechanic, he was in bars, lounges—including a strip joint—night clubs, and comedy clubs “doing his bit”. In a journal entry on his twenty-second birthday (28 APR 1972), Jay wrote one of his goals: “Hope to host Tonight Show someday. Maybe Johnny will leave”. Just five years later on 02 MAR 1977, Jay made his first The Tonight Show appearance. He was excited because Johnny was actually hosting. Johnny’s other guests that night were Burt Reynolds and Diana Ross. As all comics made it to this stage, they all hoped to (1) make Johnny laugh and (2) be asked to come sit beside Johnny. After he finished with the audience laughing, Jay received the signal to go sit by Johnny. It was one of his proudest moments.

Since his first appearance, Jay continued honing his craft, often writing for TV programs, acting in both television programs and films, and doing stand-up all across the country. I like Jay. He came from a blue-collar family of mixed heritage: his mother was born in Scotland and his father a first-generation Italian. His older brother served in Vietnam and both were taught to work hard and take no financial assistance from anyone.

In a perfect world, Jay would remain the host, but this is not the case. During both the first fiasco with Conan O’Brien and now this transition, Jay has remained a gentleman and consummate professional. He took a bad rap from his detractors wrongly believing he pushed Conan out. What NBC told Jay and what happened with Conan was totally different. Regardless, the viewing public did not care for Conan’s comedy and quickly propelled Jay back to the top of the ratings. He gave of himself. He visited the troops and did not speak of this because he did not want people to think he was boasting. Shortly after 9/11, he started shooting an episode on Thanksgiving Day (the only late-night host to do so) with an all-military audience. He would bring in a pretty actress or singer and host inter-service competitions. He paid for all of them to have a great Thanksgiving meal.

Painting by Pres. George Bush.

Through the years we watched Jay ask an embarrassed Hugh Grant, “What the hell were you thinking?” after his arrest for being with a prostitute and cheating on Liz Hurley. We watch both former and current presidents take their seats alongside Jay. We watched Jay help the nation laugh after 9/11. We watched Jason Sehorn surprise Angie Harmon as he walked on set as she was in the guest chair, to take a knee and ask her hand in marriage. We watched Arnold Schwarzenegger announce he will run for governor of California. We watched a special tribute episode to Johnny Carson the day after Carson’s death. In between all of these, we watched sports figures, actors, politicians, and everyday people make their way to The Tonight Show stage. Two of my favorite episodes were the ones he eulogized first the death of his mother, and shortly after, the death of his father. I remember Jay taking a seat behind his desk just days after burying his mother (d. 06 JUN 93) and speaking of her. “I always thought my mom was funny. She could have been the next Gracie Allen….Of all the comedians I think of as friends, none of them could make me laugh the way she did. She was simply the best friend I ever had”. I had just lost my dad a month earlier (d. 08 MAY 1993) so the pain of seeing him speak of his mother increased my grief. He shared more of his mother in those few moments than he had at any other time. His comments were sweet, respectful, and loving. The pain was real, but he tempered it with a bit of comedy. A year later, he sat behind the same desk and eulogized his dad (d. 17 AUG 1994). To see the pain in another man’s face as he spoke of his dad brought back many memories of my dad and the pain and grief I experienced. It is hard to explain, you just need to watch the video below.

We will be able to keep up with Jay through either his “Jay Leno’s Garage” column for Popular Mechanics or his YouTube channel of the same name. I doubt he will make any late-night appearances on any channel. Regardless, it will not be the same after he signs off Thursday night. His last guest is Billy Crystal. Billy was his first guest on the first night he became host in 1992. Jay told him thanks for coming and being the first guest. Billy replied, “It is my pleasure. I will be here with you until the end”. He is the only scheduled guest, but Jay said the show will have a lot of surprises and even he does not know what the producers have scheduled. I do not know how he will end his 22-year career, but I am sure it will be heartfelt with a bit of comedy thrown in.

On Johnny’s last show, the last scene opened with him sitting on a single stool on center stage, much the same as Jack Paar’s last show. The lights were dimmed with only a spot on him. He gave these final words. “And so it has come to this: I, uh…am one of the lucky people in the world; I found something I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it. I want to thank the people who’ve shared this stage with me for thirty years. Mr. Ed. McMahon, Mr. Doc Severinsen, and you people watching. I can only tell you that it has been an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you. And I hope when I find something that I want to do and I think you would like and come back, that you’ll be as gracious in inviting me into your home as you have been. I bid you a very heartfelt good night”. With that, the spot slowly dimmed with just enough illumination to show him sitting in shadow.

Promo shot of the show.

However, he closes the show, I trust it will be one of the most watched shows, and ratings will reflect this. I hope NBC recognizes him for a job well done. Since he has been compared to Bob Hope, it is only fitting I use Mr. Hope’s words. “Thanks for the memory….Awfully glad I met you, cheerio, tootle-oo, Thank you, thank you”.

Timeline

02 MAR 1977  First The Tonight Show appearance.

30 NOV 1980   Married wife Mavis.

01 FEB 1982    Late Night With David Letterman debuts on NBC.

09 SEP 1986    First time as guest host of The Tonight Show.

1987                Named as exclusive guest host of The Tonight Show.

22 MAY 1992  Johnny Carson’s last show.

25 MAY 1992  Jay’s first episode as host of The Tonight Show.

06 JUN 1993    Mother Cathryn Muir Leno passes.

17 AUG 1994  Father Angelo Leno passes.

1995                Won Emmy® for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.

1997                Autobiography, Leading With My Chin.

29 MAY 2009  Last episode as host. Conan O’Brien was the last guest.

14 SEP 2008    The Jay Leno Show debuted. Jerry Seinfeld was the first guest.

01 MAR 2010  Returned as host of The Tonight Show.

AUG 2012       Took a pay cut to save the jobs of some of his staffers.

03 APR 2013   NBC announces Jay will leave as host and Jimmy Fallon as new host.

06 FEB 2014    Last episode as host. Billy Crystal was a guest.

Jay's IMDB Profile

UPDATE: 07 FEB 14

Last night was Jay’s finale episode. I, along with nearly 15 million others, got in bed, got under the covers and tuned in to see how he would sign off. This was the fourth-largest audience during his tenure. (The numbers for his top shows: (1) 20 MAY 1993, Cheers finale: 22.4 million. (2) 25 MAY 1992, Leno’s debut: 16.1 million. (3) 14 MAY 1998, Seinfeld finale: 15 million. (4) 06 FEB 2004, Leno’s finale 14.6 million.)

Show Recap

Along with scheduled guest Billy Crystal, Jay’s favorite Country singer Garth Brooks sang two songs; “The Dance” and “Friends in Low Places”. Notable guests included Oprah Winfrey, Carol Burnett, Jim Parsons, Cheryl Crowe, Jack Black, and Kim Kardashian. Yeah, that last one threw me for a loop too. They sang their own version of “So Long, Farewell” from Sound of Music. Stars that sent a recorded message included Matt Damon, Tyler Perry, Kevin Bacon, Mark Wahlberg, Charlie Sheen, Martha Stewart and Jimmy Fallon. Fallon told Leno, “If a big story ever breaks and you have your head full of jokes, you can always come home to The Tonight Show.” NOTE: A link to his final episode and one for his final comments, are below.

Earlier today, I received a tweet from @YouTooCongress. She complimented me on the blog but reminded me I forgot Mrs. Hawkes. It’s true. In my haste and without much editing, I forgot one of the most influential people in Jay’s life—Mrs. Hawkes. She taught creative writing and was one of Jay’s high school teachers. She told Jay he was always fooling around in class, telling jokes and funny stories making people laugh. She encouraged him to write these stories down and she would grade them for class credit. Jay enjoyed this assignment. Homework was no longer “work”. He threw himself into his assignments, often rewriting the stories until they were perfect. After some time had passed, Mrs. Hawkes asked Jay to read his stories to the class. The class laughed. It was then she suggested he consider becoming a comedy writer. The rest—as they say—is history. When you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. From the manner Jay has thrown himself into his craft, and his heartfelt comments, it is obvious Jay has made a heck of a living, having never worked a day of his adult life. He simply loved being a comedian.

Incidentally, @YouTooCongress in a second tweet, shared this tidbit of information: “I went to HS with [Jay]. He wrote in my yearbook: ‘Never forget Mrs. Hawkes’. I didn’t know why for years.” Small world.

Edited Transcript of Final Comments

“Boy, this is the hard part….This is tricky. I have to thank the audience. We wouldn’t be on the air without you people. This has been the greatest 22 years of my life. I am the luckiest guy in the world. I got to meet presidents, astronauts, movie starts. It’s just been incredible. I got to work with lighting people, who made me look better than I really am. I got to work with audio people who make me sound better than I really do. And I got to work with producers and directors, and just all kinds of talented people. They made me look a lot smarter than I really am. I will tell you something. The first year of this show I lost my mom. The second year I lost my dad. Then my brother died and uh, I was pretty much out of family. The folks here became my family….In closing, I want to quote Johnny Carson who was the greatest guy to ever do this job. And he said ‘I bid you all a heartfelt good night’.”

I think Jay knew, and I certainly agree, there was no better way to close than quoting Johnny. Johnny set the standard. His comments above were for his staff, the audience, and the viewers. However, I really think his last four words were reserved for the one love of his life, his wife Mavis. Well done and Good Night Jay. "Thanks everybody. Watch Jimmy Fallon. I’m coming home Honey".

Jay's Final Episode
Jay's Heartfelt Goodbye