James Douglas Muir Leno
12 min read
Reading time
2,288
Words
Published
223
Film credits
9
Books
3
Awards
Jay Leno took over The Tonight Show in 1992 after Johnny Carson retired. He beat David Letterman for the Emmy in 1995 and hosted until 2009, then returned from 2010 to 2014. He continues to perform stand-up comedy around 200 shows a year as of 2019.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Jay Leno — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Jay Leno by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Jay Leno — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Jay Leno was seven years old when he saw Elvis Presley in a movie and decided to pursue show business. Born in New Rochelle, New York, on April 28, 1950, he later attended Andover High School and Emerson College, earning a speech therapy degree in 1972. His father Angelo was Italian, his mother Catherine Scottish. A childhood fall down the stairs required removal of his spleen, and at 14 he restored a 1934 Ford V-8 truck, sparking a lifelong love of cars.
In 1977, Jay Leno made his first talk show appearance on The Mike Douglas Show, launching a career that began with 300-night-a-year stand-up gigs. He wrote for Good Times and later became Johnny Carson’s permanent guest host on The Tonight Show. In 1992, he succeeded Carson, beating David Letterman for the job. His show won an Emmy in 1995. He hosted until 2009, then launched The Jay Leno Show, returning to The Tonight Show in 2010 and staying until 2014. He still performs stand-up comedy and maintains a car collection.
Jay Leno married Mavis Leno after meeting her at a Los Angeles comedy club. The couple chose not to have children. Mavis is active in the Feminist Majority Foundation. He owns over 170 cars and 150 motorcycles, does not drink hot beverages, prefers denim, and enjoys restoring classic vehicles.
Jay Leno hosted The Tonight Show from 1992 to 2009 and again from 2010 to 2014, winning the Mark Twain Prize in 2014 and earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His work ethic earned him the nickname Hardest Working Man in Showbiz, and his extensive car collection remains a hallmark.
The complete filmography of Jay Leno — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Jay Leno — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Jay Leno's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Jay Leno — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
During the Infamous O.J. Simpson Murder Trial: Actor Wannabe Kato Kaelin Is Very Excited About This Trial. It’s the First Call-back He’s Had in Two Years. ‘Oh, a Part! a Part! I Got Another Part!’
In Huntington Beach, California, Three Police Instructors Lost Their Jobs After Ordering Two Cadets Who Were Caught Smoking to Eat Cigarette Sandwiches as Punishment. and of Course the Tobacco Companies Are Thinking, ‘Cigarette Sandwiches – What a Great Idea.’
A New Medical Study Reports That Men Who Eat Ten Pizzas a Week Are Less Likely to Develop Prostate Problems at Age 50. That’s Because They Are Usually Dead by Age 40.
The Reason There Are Two Senators for Each State Is so That One Can Be the Designated Driver.
It Is Said That Life Begins When the Fetus Can Exist Apart from Its Mother. by This Definition, Many People in Hollywood Are Legally Dead.
You Aren’t Famous Until My Mother Has Heard of You.
Give a Man a Fish and He Will Eat for a Day. Teach a Man to Fish and He Will Eat for a Lifetime. Teach a Man to Create an Artificial Shortage of Fish and He Will Eat Steak.
The Supreme Court Has Ruled That They Cannot Have a Nativity Scene in Washington, D.C. This Wasn’t for Any Religious Reasons. They Couldn’t Find Three Wise Men and a Virgin.
I See That Mike Tyson Has Just Filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. It Marks the First Time That Mike Tyson Has Made It to Chapter 11 in Anything.
People Don’t Mind If You Have a Lot of Money If They Know You’re Working for It.
The Best Way to Ruin a Comedy Is to Throw a Lot of Money at It.
My Dad’s Idea of a Good Time Is to Go to Sears and Walk Around.
Riding a Ducati Is Like Having Sex with an Aerobics Instructor – You Know, I’m Exhausted and Panting and It’s Going: ‘Are You Done, Already?’
This Week, Britney Spears Sent Out Invitations for Her Marriage to Kevin Federline. but Those Aren’t Really Invitations, Those Are More Like Season Tickets. Once You Have One, You Get to Go to All Her Weddings Until January.
Some Sad News: President George W. Bush’s Lapdog Passed Away. Gee, I Didn’t Even Know Tony Blair Was Sick.
If God Had Wanted Us to Vote He Would Have Given Us Candidates.
Happy Birthday to Hugh Hefner. He Just Turned 88. You Might Remember, a Year-and-a-half Ago He Married His 26-Year-old Fiancée, Crystal Harris. Or, as She Calls It, Bed-panning for Gold.
I’ve Live with Five Women in My Life. Everyone Was Born on September 5Th. Including My Wife. I Can Always Spot a September 5Th. I Guess I Must Just Be Attracted to Women Born on September 5Th.
Little-known facts about Jay Leno — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
He met his wife Mavis while performing at a comedy club in Los Angeles; she was in the audience and laughed at his jokes at the right time.
Jay’s 5th-grade report card teacher comments read, If Jay spent as much time studying as he does trying to be a comedian, he would be a big star.
On Thanksgiving Day shows of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the entire audience consisted of Armed Forces members; he was usually the only late-night host to tape a new show on Thanksgiving.
In November 2006, on his show, he ate a vegetable for the first time in 37 years.
He does not drink coffee, soup or any hot beverages; if it doesn’t have ice, he’s not interested.
He claimed on his show that he got in his first auto accident 81 hours after getting his driver’s license.
He owns over 170 classic cars and over 150 motorcycles; his first car was a 1934 Ford V-8 truck he restored at age 14.
Two of his motorcycles were featured in the movie Batman & Robin 1997.
During the Michael Jackson trial in 2005, he was subpoenaed but gagged from discussing it; he had other comedians like Brad Garrett tell his jokes on his show.
He confessed to Scarlett Johansson that he hoards: he still has every car magazine since 8th grade and kept a Soupy Sub Sandwich from 1993.
He and his wife have no children due to a mutual agreement.
He had guests sign one of his Harley Davidsons first was Arnold Schwarzenegger, then auctioned it to help September 11th victims.
He was a writer on Good Times 1974, as was David Letterman.
As of 2019, Jay still performs around 200 stand-up gigs a year in the United States.
He is one of the few owners of the McLaren F1 supercar.
His father Angelo was Italian, and his mother Catherine was Scottish, born in Greenock, Scotland.
After seeing Elvis Presley perform Teddy Bear in Loving You 1957, he was determined at age seven to pursue show business.
Barack Obama’s 2009 appearance on his show marked the first television talk show appearance by a sitting president.
He is a seasoned Monopoly player who likes to play with real money and favors the race car piece.
His wife Mavis is active in the Feminist Majority Foundation; her first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was March 2, 1977.
He wrote jokes for Jimmie JJ Walker’s stand-up act and his series Good Times.
Johnny Carson never appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which many took as a sign he preferred David Letterman as his replacement.
He earned a Bachelor’s in speech therapy from Emerson College in 1972 and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2014.
As a child, he fell down the stairs, ripping his spleen which had to be removed.
Billy Crystal was his first guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 25, 1992.
He owns three Shelby cars.
He was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2002.
He prefers to wear denim jeans and denim shirts as casual clothing.
He is a die-hard fan of Elvis Presley, Patrick Rondat, and Johnny Cash.
His Fiat 500 sold for $385,000 at auction, with proceeds going to a charity for wounded war veterans.
Early in his stand-up career, he opened for acts including Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.
His first screen kiss was with Fran Drescher in American Hot Wax 1978.
He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television on April 27, 2000, at 6780 Hollywood Boulevard, where he had been picked up for vagrancy twice as a fledgling comedian.
The final guest on his run of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was Conan O’Brien, with musical guest James Taylor.
His first talk show appearance was on The Mike Douglas Show on October 19, 1977, with Danny Thomas and Teddy Pendergrass.
He won the 2014 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center.
In 2007, Forbes estimated his annual earnings at $32 million.
Maintaining classic cars and motorcycles is one of his hobbies.
He stepped down as host of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2009, replaced by Conan O’Brien.
In May 2003, he hosted Today while Katie Couric hosted his show.
He and his wife were contestants on the game show Tattletales in the early 1980s.
The first guest on The Jay Leno Show 2009 was Jerry Seinfeld, with a musical performance by Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Ye.
He continued doing stand-up even after landing The Tonight Show to bank his TV salary and live off comedy income.
His comedic influences include Rodney Dangerfield, Johnny Carson, Don Rickles, Mort Sahl, Alan King, Bob Newhart, David Brenner, George Carlin, and Robert Klein.
He never uses the swimming pool at his Beverly Hills home.
He drove the Pace Car at the 83rd Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1999.
He attended Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts, but dropped out after one semester.
He received Hasty Pudding’s Man of the Year award at Harvard University on February 4, 2011.
He roomed with Freddie Prinze when both were fledgling entertainers, teaching Prinze to drive and working at the Playboy Club in Boston.
Steve Martin first introduced Johnny Carson to Jay at one of Leno’s stand-up gigs.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Jay Leno.
Celebrities similar to Jay Leno — same craft, ranked by reach.
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