Jay Leno steps down as The Tonight Show host

Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | May 29, 2009 | Tom Leonard

[Schnucki]

A rare moment in American television history – the passing of the baton in The Tonight Show - will come tonight as Jay Leno steps down as the king of late night talk.

Leno took over as host of the NBC show 17 years ago from another veteran, Johnny Carson. The latter famously hosted the chat and variety show for 30 years.

The five night a week show is one of the most enduring fixtures of American television, having started in 1954 with Steve Allen as host.

Leno, a notorious workaholic, cancelled the show only twice - when he checked into hospital with an undisclosed illness for two nights last month.

But from Monday, it will be The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. At 46, Leno's gangly, ginger-haired successor is 13 years his junior and peddles a spikier humour which NBC hopes will bring in younger viewers.

Not that Leno is going far away. From the autumn he will be just next-door in scheduling terms when he presents a new one-hour week night show which will precede his old billet.

The Jay Leno Show is still under wraps but is unlikely to be that different to what his public has come to expect from him.

Much of America may be asleep by the time they come on – the Tonight show doesn't go on until 11.30pm – but late night chat show presenters such as Leno and his deadly rival, David Letterman, are the most famous names on the networks.

Leno's formula has changed remarkably little over the years. It includes an opening monologue with heavily scripted and often corny jokes, segments about silly newspaper headlines or odd things found on eBay, and a clutch of playful and easygoing interviews with celebrities.

There were howls of protest about the trivialising

[This_far]

Sorry, but for me, the past few weeks have been more enjoyable without the ‘replacement’.

[samtheman]

Leno actually stuck his toe in the water of truthful commentary and intellectual freedom a couple of times, early in the Bush years, but was then promptly taken to the woodshed by friends and relatives and immediately planted his compliant butt back on the plantation where all good liberals and their slaves belong.

It was too bad. He showed a streak of actual independence but then curtailed it abruptly. I lost interest in him after that.

[Ted]

I miss Johnny Carson, at least he was often funny. I stopped watching Leno years ago - if I wanted lame political commentary or attempts at left wing humor I’d open up a newspaper. Newspapers, gee, I really miss those ink stains...

[Jack Hammer]

Haven’t had any use for any of these kids. Johnny Carson was The Greatest, even when compared to Jack Paar and Steve Allen. The generation after Carson weren’t even in the same ballpark.

The Golden Age of Television is long gone, and isn’t even a memory to most Americans anymore.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Actually I thought Leno’s show was good....compared to the other late nite shows his was the least goose-stepping liberal.

NBC will miss Leno at the 11:30P slot....Conan is awful and unfunny....and in the past year was getting beat in the ratings by Craig Ferguson at 12:30A (which is why Leno is going to do a 10P show)

[Peter W. Kessler]

When Johnny Carson retired, I started going to bed earlier.

I don’t think I’ve missed a thing.

[MAD-AS-HELL]

I would have hired Don Rickles to replace Leno. At least he’d ask thoughtful questions to his guests! :P

[mkjessup]

While I have always preferred Leno over Letterman, neither one of them ever measured up to the standard set by Johnny Carson.

An interesting made-for-HBO flick 'The Late Shift' (1996) provides an in-depth look at the struggle between Leno and Letterman to succeed Carson as host of the Tonight Show, Rich Little makes a cameo appearance portraying Carson, while it is nearly impossible to know how much is fiction and how much is fact, I found it very entertaining.

And while I was at first repulsed by Conan O'Brien when he made his appearance on late night TV, he's grown on me and I think he will do a great job taking over for Leno.

The question is, when Letterman finally retires over at CBS, who will step up to replace him?

I'd love to see Jimmy Kimmel take over that show, assuming he would make the jump from ABC to CBS.

This bit from Kimmel was hilarious, IMHO:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8857186239228121557

[Clemenza]

The most unfunny guy on late night TV is that a-s clown Jimmy Fallon, who was UNFUNNY on SNL, and a FAILURE in the movies. WTF does this idiot keep getting work?

[Jack Hammer]

The TV stations nowadays all aim their programming at the kids - the teens and twenty-somethings who’ll be the Big Spenders on advertisers’ products in the coming decade. They want talk show hosts with big hair who listen to rock ‘n’ roll and speak in adolescent slang.

[mkjessup]

I don’t know, Fallon is about as funny to me as dumping a dead body out of the casket at a funeral service.

[MAD-AS-HELL]

i thought all the young kids these days are too busy online and sexting and not watching a peep of TV?

[Jack Hammer]

To be honest, I have no idea what the kids are doing; but, then, evidently neither do the TV programming execs, who are clearly - judging on the basis of what they offer - living in some sort of weird fantasy land.

[Lou L]

The best part of Leno's "Tonight" was the "Jaywalking" piece. Unfortunately, all that did was underscore how poor the educational system is in this country. Of course, most of the sessions appeared to be based in California, FWIW.

The rest of the show, including the same old tired celebrities, answering the same old tired questions, was boring.

[mylife]

Leno is 46? I would have guessed 56

[LibLieSlayer]

Good riddance of a lib jerk.

LLS

[TankerKC]

Leno is 46?

And, O'Brien is 13 years his junior...33? Yikes! Maybe staying up late isn't good for you.

[truthandlife]

He is 59 and Conan O Brien is 46. It is a very poorly written article.

[mylife]

Thats kinda what I was thinking.

[mylife]

That sounds closer to the truth.

[mom4melody]

Conan is 46, Leno is 59.

[TankerKC]

I just looked it up...Leno is 59 and O’Brien is 46.

[Past Your Eyes]

Same here. I think it was a good plan and even better today than then.

[mylife]

"I said 46 dammit!"

[TankerKC]

Conan is 46, Leno is 59.

Right. I need to work on my reading comprehension:

At 46, Leno's gangly, ginger-haired successor is 13 years his junior and peddles a spikier humour which NBC hopes will bring in younger viewers.

"At 46" refers to O'Brien.

I need coffee. And a tutor.

[WhoisAlanGreenspan?]

I'm not a Leno fan. I don't watch TV at all except for hockey or an old movie here and there.

I don't keep many newspaper clippings. Actually I only have one and it just happens to be a Jay Leno - circa 2001;

Semantics Lesson
News reports say the alleged terrorist were devout religious fundamentalists. Here's my question. When you kill thousands of people, why are they alleged terrorists and devoutly religious? Shouldn't they be allegedly religious and devout terrorists?

[reaganbooster]

Fallon is one of those guys that is trying desperately to be funny, and it shows. He is not funny at all.

[The Wizard]

The Suits at NBC are about to find out how terribly, terribly bad Gonad is....at 1 am who cares, at the magic 11:30, the awful letterman will look like God.....

[The Wizard]

Steve Allen was the best....

[Clemenza]

Fallon only got where he is because Lorne Michaels thought that on looks and charm alone, he could make Fallon the second coming of Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks combined.

Fallon should be a weatherman in a C-list market.

[The Wizard]

whoich he stole from Sean Hannity

[djf]

IMHO, Conan’s a joke.

Hemorrhoid boy? Masturbating bear? What does he think, only 12 year olds are awake that time of night?
A legend in his own mind...

He and the whole ex-SNL crew oughta get put out to pasture, including Lorne Michaels, who’s like what, about twenty years past his prime?

[reaganbooster]

The wife and I were watching his show a few weeks back and we both remarked how unfunny the entire show was. The skits were moronic, something even an immature high school sophomore would shun because it was so stupid. I almost feel sorry for him because he has to know the ratings are low.

[John W]

Actually about 34 years past his prime.

[Albion Wilde]

My favorite Leno photo. She is cracking him up.

[reagan_fanatic]

I would have hired Don Rickles to replace Leno. At least he’d ask thoughtful questions to his guests! :P

I wish Don Rickles was about 30 years younger and could do it. I would watch any show he hosted. The man is a comic genius and one of my all-time favorites.

[MAD-AS-HELL]

Is Artie Lang the closest to Don Rickles? I’d love to see him as host.

[reagan_fanatic]

The most unfunny guy on late night TV is that a-s clown Jimmy Fallon

Agreed 100%. Another moron who is about as funny as an abcessed molar is Tim Meadows, who was on SNL in the 90's. How anyone could laugh at either one of these twits is beyond me.

[King Moonracer]

I wish Don Rickles was about 30 years younger and could do it. I would watch any show he hosted. The man is a comic genius and one of my all-time favorites.

Agree. I just read "Rickles' Book: A Memoir", what a hoot.

[Antoninus]

Leno sucks. I won’t miss him even for a second—mainly because I found his schtick insufferable and haven’t watched the Tonight Show in years.

[ex91B10]

For your enjoyment.

[TChris]

Craig Ferguson is much, much funnier, IMO.

[edge10]

Your no Johnny, Jay. Nobody cares, now go away.

[OB1kNOb]

It’s been down hill since Johnny Carson left. It’ll just be taking a much steeper angle downward when O’brien takes over Monday.

[longhorn too]

If only he would take David Letterman with him!

[dfwgator]

The best part of Leno's "Tonight" was the "Jaywalking" piece. Unfortunately, all that did was underscore how poor the educational system is in this country. Of course, most of the sessions appeared to be based in California, FWIW.

He ripped that off from Howard Stern.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Jaywalking was great. My favorite was when they talked to a then unknown singer who was just another person on the street. That was Kid Rock.

[N. Theknow]

The question is, when Letterman finally retires over at CBS, who will step up to replace him?

This guy.

A lot better than Letterman.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Ages of current late night talk show hosts for the trivia people out there,

David Letterman - 62
Jay Leno - 59
Craig Ferguson - 47
Conan O'Brien - 46
Jimmy Kimmel -41
Carson Daly - 35