Jay Leno bids farewell to "Tonight Show"

Jay Leno bid farewell to "The Tonight Show" on Friday, ending his 17-year run as host with a finale that stayed true to the style that made him the top-rated performer on U.S. late-night television.

The main difference was a long ovation that Leno struggled to quiet as he took the stage for an opening monologue that poked fun, as usual, at politicians, celebrities and current events.

He thanked the likes of pop star Michael Jackson and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, whose affair with Bill Clinton led to the former U.S. president's impeachment, for giving him material over the years. He also took a final jab at his network, NBC, which is mired at the bottom of the ratings among the four major U.S. broadcasters.

Leno takes his act to 10 p.m. on NBC this autumn, where he will mount a program expected to be similar to the "Tonight Show" but attract a wider audience than the roughly 5 million viewers, on average, who tune in nightly to the broadcast.

"I'm going to be going to a secluded spot where no one can find me -- NBC prime time," Leno said. "It's a gamble. I'm betting NBC will still be around in three months, but that's not a given."

He joked that he had finally cleaned out his office and "found O.J.'s knife. I had it the whole time," referring to former football star O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted on charges he murdered his wife in the mid-1990s.

Leno even introduced a new segment, "White Trash Theater," which showed a video clip of a woman throwing a trash can at a man to get him off her porch.

CONSUMMATE COMEDIAN

Throughout the opening, Leno betrayed no special sentiment -- no tears or even a choked-up voice. Indeed, he proved the consummate comedian by putting on a show that made people laugh. Guests included Conan O'Brien, who will take over as host of the "Tonight Show" on Monday, and singer James Taylor.

Leno played a video clip of a young and clearly uncomfortable O'Brien when he first appeared on the "Tonight Show" in 1993, and Taylor sang his classic "Sweet Baby James," which Leno said he remembered hearing when, as a young comedian, he drove across country to move to Los Angeles.

The host ended with a tribute to the "Tonight Show" staff, many of whom stayed with the program throughout his 17 years and even married their co-workers. The show's many couples had 68 children between them, and Leno said his legacy would be that the show had spawned such a close-knit group of friends.

He said the show's former host, late-night television legend Johnny Carson, had taught him one key thing: to keep people laughing through good times and bad.

Leno, 59, took the reins of the venerable program in May 1992 from Carson.

After initially struggling in the ratings against late-night counterpart David Letterman, who had been his rival for the "Tonight Show" job, Leno grabbed the lead in viewership about 13 years ago and become a mainstay of American TV.

He has taken jabs at four presidents, from George H.W. Bush to Barack Obama, who in March became the first sitting U.S. chief executive to appear on a late-night talk show. He made audiences laugh through an era that included natural disasters, wars and the September 11 attacks.

Notable moments included Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement of his candidacy for California governor in 2003 and British actor Hugh Grant's first public appearance after being arrested with a Los Angeles prostitute in 1995.

Leno's comic segments such as "Jaywalking," in which he joked with everyday people on the street, became popular staples.

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE54R6OM20090530

Jay Leno reveals guests on "Tonight Show" swansong

Comedian Jay Leno, America's top-rated TV host, will bow out of his 17-year stint on "The Tonight Show" on May 29 in the company of his successor Conan O'Brien and singer James Taylor.

Leno, 59, also promised "something really out of the left field" for his last "Tonight Show" before going on to launch a new prime-time chat and comedy show in the fall.

Actor Mel Gibson, comedian Billy Crystal, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and rocker Prince will be among the guests in Leno's final week.

"It's not my job to put it together, but everyone knows who I like," Leno told reporters in a conference call.

O'Brien will take over from Leno on June 1 in a reshuffle on struggling network NBC that will see Leno return in a new show five nights a week in the 10 p.m. slot -- traditionally reserved for scripted drama.

Leno said he had barely begun working on the new show but defended the move to the prime-time slot used by network TV for some of the most lucrative hours of advertising.

"There really isn't any comedy on at 10 p.m. Everything is very serious and adult murder and all these procedural shows. It is fun to have something a little bit different," he said.

The move will save NBC, currently lagging at the bottom of the four major TV networks in ratings, millions of dollars compared to the costs of scripted drama.

"This is not a decision we went into lightly," Leno said. "All the research came back saying people wanted some comedy and we thought going earlier was a good idea.

"I am not going to ram it down people's throats. Let's see if it is something that will work," he said..

Leno said he expected to shed few tears at ending his stint after more than a decade battling CBS rival David Letterman.

"It's not like you are leaving showbusiness, or leaving the network, or even leaving the (studio) lot."

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE54D5Q420090514

Leno says exhaustion caused hospitalization

Jay Leno is one of the hardest-working men in show business. And he's embarrassed to admit that it finally caught up with him.

As The "Tonight Show" host prepares to move into primetime, Leno, 58, tells PEOPLE exclusively the cause of his two days of hospitalization that forced him to take his first sick days in 17 years, canceling two shows.

"Exhaustion," he said Friday, shaking his head. He added jokingly, "That's like a rich person's condition. Poor people that work — they don't get exhausted. Only rich people get exhausted. It's an embarrassing thing." He blames not only his talk show and grueling standup schedule, but also his lesser-known writing jobs.

"I think I just probably got worn out," he says. "I do three columns. I write for the London Sunday Times, I write for Popular Mechanics every month and I write for a British magazine called Octane. I do all automotive stuff. And then I'm on the road [doing standup comedy] 160 days. I think it's one of those deals where you just kinda just got worn out."

But the funnyman says he's ready for his next challenge: a primetime show that begins in the fall.

"No, I didn't have swine flu or anything like that at all," he says. "And really, now, I'm fine, I'm great."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30552122/

Leno returns to show after fever

US talk show host Jay Leno has returned to the screen after being treated in hospital for a fever.

The presenter, who missed two editions of the Tonight Show, cracked jokes about swine flu, his 103 degree fever and an armed guard by his bedside.

The 58-year-old told his audience security was put in place after a man posing as a priest tried to get in.

The broadcaster had previously not missed any of his programmes since he became presenter in 1992.

'The Godfather'

"We're back and we're not gonna be cancelling any more shows or appearances," pledged Leno during the show.

Referring to the security scare, he said: "So, now I'm like The Godfather. It's so stupid."

The guard was put in place by the Tonight Show's broadcaster NBC.

Joking about his illness, Leno said: "What happened was - and I think was a mistake - I ate a raw pig a friend brought back from Mexico. It was delicious."

He also made cracks about Conan O'Brien, who is due to replace Leno when he leaves the show in June.

While in hospital, he said: "I had a horrible dream that I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was suffocating... then I woke up and realised Conan was holding a pillow over my face."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8022311.stm

Jay Leno Is Hospitalized

Even in the hospital Jay Leno hasn't lost his sense of humor.

The Tonight Show host, 58, canceled the taping of his talk show and checked into Providence Saint Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank on Thursday. No information has been released on the nature of the funnyman's ailment, but a rep for the show says he's "doing just fine."

"He was kidding around with the hospital staff and running his monologue jokes by the doctors and the nurses," says NBC's Tracy St. Pierre. "He's expected back to work on Monday."

According to sources, Leno, who rarely calls in sick and is famous for his strong work ethic, "was just not feeling well. Somebody from the show drove him over to the hospital."

Actor Ryan Reynolds – as well as an animal handler and several reptiles – had been scheduled to appear on the show.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20274569,00.html