Maintaining classic cars and motorcycles is one of Jay's hobbies.
Owns over 30 classic cars and over 40 motorcycles. His very first automobile was a 1934 Ford V-8 truck which he restored himself at the age of 14.
His wife, Mavis, is active in the Feminist Majority Foundation which helps raise funds to combat the strict Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime that requires women to wear head-to-toe shrouds. Her first appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962) was March 2, 1977.
Met his wife while performing at a comedy club in Los Angeles. Mavis was in the audience, and she laughed at all his jokes at the right time.
1972 graduate of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Jay's father was Italian, but his mother was Scottish.
Growing up in Massachusetts, he suffered from dyslexia.
Under the teacher's comments of Jay's 5th-grade report card read, "If Jay spent as much time studying as he does trying to be a comedian, he'd be a big star."
Had guests sign one of his Harley Davidsons (the first being Arnold Schwarzenegger), after which the bike was auctioned off with the money going to help victims of the September 11th attacks.
In May 2003, he hosted NBC's morning talk show "Today" (1952). In a May sweeps promotion, "Today" show host Katie Couric, in turn, hosted "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992).
Is a "seasoned" Monopoly player; likes to play with real money and the "race car" is his favorite playing piece.
Attended Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. Dropped out after only one semester.
Is one of the few owners of the McLaren F1 supercar.
Was a writer on the 1970s comedy series "Good Times" (1974), as was his current late night talk show competitor David Letterman.
He will step down as host of the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) in 2009. His replacement will be current NBC "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993) host Conan O'Brien.
Although Leno's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) predecessor Johnny Carson appeared on rival late night talk show "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) twice (in a walk-on stage appearance soon after Letterman's show debuted, and later in a filmed segment), Carson never once appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) with his successor. Many, including Leno, took this as a sign that "Johnny likes Dave more" and would have preferred David Letterman to have been his "Tonight Show" replacement.
During the Michael Jackson trial in February of 2005, Jay Leno had been subpoenaed to testify at the trial. Judge Rodney S. Melville issued a "gag order" barring anyone involved in the case from discussing it outside court, and the comedian feared that the order would apply to his monologues on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992). He was allowed to write the jokes but not tell them. To get around this order, Leno called on his fellow comedians to tell the jokes he wrote for him. Some of these people included Brad Garrett, Scott 'Carrot Top' Thompson, Roseanne, Dennis Miller, and Drew Carey. They came out and told the jokes while Leno stood beside them on stage. On March 11, 2005, the judge had the gag order lifted. In a statement, he explained, "I am not attempting to prevent anybody from making a living in the normal way that they make their living," adding that Leno may not talk about the specific things to which he is a witness.
Is a die hard fan of Elvis Presley, Patrick Rondat and Johnny Cash.
Is portrayed by Daniel Roebuck in The Late Shift (1996) (TV)
He and his wife were contestants on the couples game show "Tattletales" in the early 80s.
Shares same birthday as Saddam Hussein.
Jay Leno Detailed Biography
Jay Leno (born April 28, 1950) is an American comedian of Italian and Scottish extraction who is best known as the host of the long-running NBC television variety and talk show The Tonight Show. He also owns the production company which co-produces The Tonight Show called Big Dog Productions.
Leno was born James Henry Muir-Leno in New Rochelle, New York to a Scottish mother and Italian-American father and grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and received his Bachelor's degree in Speech therapy from Emerson College in 1973.
Stand-up
Leno started his career performing in nightclubs, bars and any place that would give him even five minutes of stage time. He quickly became known for his work ethic and nice demeanor both on- and offstage, as well as for his striking appearance, in particular his large chin. Though he had made the occasional foray onto television in the form of guest appearances on The Tonight Show, then hosted by Johnny Carson, stardom eluded him and he continued to work wherever he was allowed. It has been reported that Leno would sometimes work as many as eight or nine clubs in one evening.
Leno on Late Night.
He began making more frequent appearances on television when many of his friends and contemporaries became more influential on late night programs. Leno made a record number of appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. His popularity was noted by NBC executives, who decided to make Leno the permanent guest host for The Tonight Show when Joan Rivers left that position.
When Carson retired in 1992 Jay Leno became the new permanent host of The Tonight Show after a long period of debate and negotiations with Leno and David Letterman (who had been considered by many to be Carson's heir apparent). Letterman signed a deal with CBS, sparking an ongoing late-night rivalry between the two talk-show hosts. Although Letterman's Late Show led in the ratings at the start, The Tonight Show took over the lead in 1995 and has, on the whole, had higher ratings ever since.
Although known mainly for his wit, he has also shown his sensitive side on air. When The Tonight Show came back after the September 11 attacks, he nixed his usual monologue to talk about what had happened. He also spoke about the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. In addition, following the skating controversy surrounding the ice skating pairs event at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Leno invited the Canadian pairs teams onto his show the following day and waved a Canadian flag and played "O Canada" for them.
Jay Leno guest hosts The Today Show with Matt Lauer
In 1998, Jay Leno and his show partner Kevin Eubanks were invited to a wrestling show called WCW Road Wild 1998, from Sturgis, South Dakota, in which Leno teamed with Diamond Dallas Page to wrestle against Hulk Hogan and WCW President Eric Bischoff, following a prelude in which the wrestling stars had appeared on The Tonight Show. The match ended with Page and Leno's victory when Eubanks snuck a fast Diamond Cutter on Bischoff.
In 2002, Leno had a group of professionals build him a robot called "Chin Killa" for Battlebots. Although the officials from the show let his robot fight in fun matches, they wouldn't allow it to fight in tournaments because it was built by professionals.
On May 12, 2003, he and Katie Couric switched places, meaning Leno co-hosted the Today Show with Matt Lauer.
On The Tonight Show's 50th anniversary episode (September 27, 2004), he announced that he would retire as host in 2009, when his current contract expires, as part of an arrangement that allowed NBC to have Late Night host Conan O' Brien replace him.
