Jay Leno
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jay Leno | |
|---|---|
 Jay Leno in 2005 |
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| Birth name | James Douglas Muir Leno |
| Born | April 28, 1950 New Rochelle, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Genres | Observational comedy |
| Subject(s) | everyday life, American culture |
| Influences | Johnny Carson, Robert Klein, Alan King, George Carlin, Don Rickles, Bob Newhart |
| Influenced | Dennis Miller |
| Spouse | Mavis Nicholson Leno (1980—present) |
| Notable works and roles | Host of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC) |
| Website | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
| Emmy Awards | |
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 1995 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
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James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno (born April 28, 1950) is an Emmy Award-winning American stand-up comedian and television host, who succeeded Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show in 1992. Leno will continue to host The Tonight Show until May 29, 2009;[1]Late Night host Conan O'Brien is his scheduled successor.[1]
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[edit] Biography
Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York on April 28, 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir), a filmaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age thirty one. Her schooling was limited and as a result she prized her children's success. His father, Angelo Leno, who worked in the show business, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy.[2] Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of high school, Jay not only graduated but went on to receive a bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, in 1987. He also attended Bentley College in Waltham, MA, but did not like it. Leno's siblings include his late brother Patrick, who was a veteran.[3]
As he was growing up he used to say that he would take over Johnny Carson's job, which he eventually did. Early in his career Leno did commercials for Doritos brand tortilla chips. In the late 1970s, he was the warm-up act for Johnny Mathis, Tom Jones and John Denver. He replaced Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show in 1992. He plans to retire from the show in 2009, to be replaced by Conan O'Brien. During an August 1, 2007 interview with CNN journalist Anderson Cooper on The Tonight Show, Jay Leno confirmed that he is dyslexic.[citation needed] Though married for many years, he has no children, as mentioned in his July 9, 2008, interview with Aaron Eckhart.
[edit] Comedic/broadcasting style
Leno's comedic style is chiefly observational, with storytelling and topical humor often mixed into his routine. Leno's comedic delivery is usually straightforward and that of a folksy, "everyman" personality.
An audience favorite since Leno's hosting of The Tonight Show is his weekly installment Headlines, in which he features unintentionally humorous newspaper articles, advertisements and other printed media that viewers mail into the show, especially crime reports, nuptial announcements and menus. Leno has a penchant for media items involving stupid criminals, bad foreign language to English translations for household or food items, and he especially finds amusement from unhappy looking animals in silly costumes. Leno has highlighted his cat Cheeses dressed up with a limousine driver's cap in past installments. Leno also has written a series of book collections taken from Headlines, published by Grand Central Publishing.
Another recurring sketch on Leno's Tonight Show is Jaywalking, where Leno asks people off the street some questions regarding current or historical events. Leno frequents the areas just outside the NBC studios such as down Melrose avenue or within Universal Studios Hollywood's City Walk. Radio host Howard Stern has argued that Leno stole the idea of Jaywalking from his program.[4]
[edit] Michael Jackson trial
In the 2005 trial of Michael Jackson over allegations of child molestation, Leno appeared as a defense witness (many celebrity defense witnesses had been expected, but Leno was one of the few who actually testified). Thus Leno was initially not allowed to continue telling jokes about Jackson or the case, which had been a fixture of The Tonight Show's opening monologue in particular. But he and his show's writers used a legal loophole by having Leno briefly step aside while stand-in comedians took the stage and told jokes about the trial. Stand-ins included Roseanne Barr, Drew Carey, Brad Garrett, and Dennis Miller, among others.[5]
After NBC challenged the gag order, the judge permitted Leno to make jokes, as long as they were not related to his testimony. After the gag order was lifted, the next show featured a monologue entirely of Michael Jackson jokes.
In his testimony, he was expected to say he called police to say the accuser was coached by his mother to ask for money. Instead, Leno testified he never called the police, no money was asked for, and there was no coaching but that the calls seemed unusual and scripted.[6]
E! Entertainment Television created a re-enactment of Jay's testimony using the actual trial transcript, with Jimmy Kimmel as Jay.
[edit] Vehicle collection
In automobile collecting circles, Jay Leno is known as an avid student, collector and restorer of cars and motorcycles. He has a large antique car and motorcycle collection of various international marques. The collection spans from the early 1900s to the late 1960s. He constantly works on his collection in his spare time. The collection includes an original 1912 Stanley Steamer and a very rare 1964 Studebaker Avanti, as well as classic sports cars like Bugattis. He is also a promoter of the mechanical crafts through a column in Popular Mechanics and his educational activities.
Along with his collection of classic cars he has several high performance cars. These include a 1994 McLaren F1, Porsche Carrera GT, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Ariel Atom, Ford GT and a custom Corvette C6RS (a modified Z06 built by Pratt & Miller). This Corvette can run on either E-85 Ethanol or gasoline. His EcoJet car runs on bio-diesel fuel. Its engine is a 650 horsepower (480 kW) Honeywell LT-101 turbine. The shell is carbon fiber over Kevlar.
The Blastolene Special is a 21-foot (6.4 m)-long aluminum-bodied roadster powered by a V12 engine from an M47 Patton tank Leno bought from Blastolene Brothers.[7] It was featured in the 2005 racing game Gran Turismo 4, and Monster Garage.
Leno's column in the American magazine Popular Mechanics showcases his car collection and gives advice about various automotive topics, including restoration and unique models, such as his jet powered motorcycle and solar powered hybrid.
Leno also writes occasional "Motormouth" articles for The Sunday Times[8] (London), reviewing high end sports cars and giving his humorous take on automotive matters, and has a monthly column at Octane_Magazine.
Leno's passion for classic cars led him to an affiliation with the Automobile Restoration Department at McPherson College. Today he serves on the National Advisory Board for the college's automotive restoration program and helps fund the Fred Duesenberg Memorial Scholarship.
Leno also has an Internet site called, "Jay Leno's Garage," which contains video clips and photos of the automobiles in detail.[9]
In 2001, he auctioned off a Harley-Davidson motorcycle signed by his celebrity guests in an effort to help victims of the September 11 attacks. The bike sold for about $360,000. In 2005, he repeated the gesture twice: early in the year to aid victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake — the bike sold for $810,000; and later to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. That bike sold for $1,550,100.
Since 2006 Leno has had his garage work on a biodiesel, turbine powered car in collaboration with GM, the EcoJet concept car.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Associated Press (2008-07-21). "Leno's last 'Tonight' announced". CNN.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-21. "Leno's last show will be Friday, May 29, and O'Brien will start the following Monday, June 1, NBC executives told a Television Critics Association meeting Monday."
- ^ "Jay Leno Biography (1950-)". Film Reference. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
- ^ Aivaz, Mike (2007-10-18). "Obama on Leno: Hillary has declared 'mission accomplished' too soon". The Raw Story. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
- ^ FOXNews.com - Stern Rails Against Leno for Lifting 'Stuttering John' - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment
- ^ "Showbiz Tonight". CNN (2005-03-08). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
- ^ Sweetingham, Lisa (2005-05-24). "Comedians Jay Leno and Chris Tucker testify for Michael Jackson". Court TV. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
- ^ "The Blastolene Special". Blastolene. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
- ^ "Jay Leno's million dollar garage". The Times (2007-05-09). Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
- ^ www.jaylenosgarage.com, www.nbc.com: "Jay Leno's Garage"
[edit] External links
- Official Tonight Show Web Site
- Jay Leno's Car Collection
- Jay Leno's Columns at Octane magazine
- New York Times on Leno's affiliation with McPherson College
- Live Performance Videos from the Tonight Show
- On-line petition to keep Jay Leno as host of the Tonight Show
- Jay Leno at the Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by Johnny Carson |
Host of The Tonight Show 1992 – current |
Succeeded by Conan O'Brien starting in 2009 |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Leno, Jay |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Leno-Muir, James Douglas |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | TV Personality |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 28, 1950 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Rochelle, New York, U.S. |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
