11:09 AM EDT 06/01/2009
Jay Leno
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Jay Leno to Give Free Show in Detroit
Originally posted 03/10/2009 03:30PM
Jay Leno spent much of last fall making fun of the winless Detroit Lions, but next month, he'll see firsthand how those jokes play in the struggling Motor City.
Leno announced Monday on The Tonight Show that he will perform a free concert on April 7 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. He picked Michigan because the state has the nation's highest unemployment rate, at 11.6 percent.
"I like Detroit. It's one of those old cities," Leno tells PEOPLE. "And when you're an auto guy like me, that city is Jerusalem."
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Jay & Conan Get Silly About Leno's Primetime Plunge
Originally posted 12/09/2008 08:00PM
What's so funny about Jay Leno going to primetime?
Everything, according to the outgoing Tonight Show host and his late-night replacement, Conan O'Brien.
"We're going to be doing a new show in the fall," Leno said in his monologue Tuesday. "We'll start at 10 p.m. right after the last hour of the Today show.
And, he added, "As you may have heard there were rumblings that I was leaving NBC and going to ABC, and let me tell you something, those were nothing but rumors started by a disgruntled employee: ME!"
NBC announced that Leno will stay with the struggling network and host a new primetime comedy/talk show five nights a week starting in the fall of 2009.
"We're going to try it," Leno said later in the show. "If it works, great. If it doesn't, we've had a hell of a ride. For the last 17 years, it's been a privilege to say, 'Please stay tuned for Conan,' and I'm glad I'll be able to do that again."
Permalink | Filed Under: Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno
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Jay Leno Jokes: NBC Pulled Me Back In
Originally posted 12/09/2008 02:45PM
It's official! After he leaves The Tonight Show, Jay Leno will keep America laughing – an hour and half earlier.
On Tuesday, NBC announced that Leno will stay with the network and host a new primetime comedy/talk show five nights a week starting in the fall of 2009. The one-hour show will air at 10 p.m., making it the first program of its kind to be featured on primetime on a broadcast network.
"Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in," Leno jokingly told reporters at a press conference in Los Angeles Tuesday.
Permalink | Filed Under: TV News, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno
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John McCain: 'I've Been Sleeping Like a Baby'
Originally posted 11/11/2008 09:10PM
While he may have lost his bid for the White House, John McCain did not lose his sense of humor.
"I've been sleeping like a baby," the GOP candidate said on The Tonight Show Tuesday. "I sleep two hours, wake up and cry. Sleep two hours, wake up and cry."
The Arizona senator's 14th visit to the show brought a loud and spontaneous ovation from Jay Leno's special Veteran's Day audience of U.S. service men and women.
Noting that Americans "don't like a sore loser," McCain defended his choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate and of Joe the Plumber as his campaign everyman.
Permalink | Filed Under: 2008 Presidential Elections, Jay Leno, John McCain
Michael Phelps: These Are the 'Best Weeks of My Life'
Originally posted 09/09/2008 08:55AM
After a party-filled weekend in Las Vegas and schmoozing with the stars at the Video Music Awards, Michael Phelps appeared mellow and relaxed Monday night on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
He's certainly been keeping busy since his eight-gold-medal performance in Beijing. "I walked down the red carpet with Kid Rock and L'il Wayne was right in front of me," Phelps, 23, said of his MTV experience. "These have probably been the best weeks of my life."
Permalink | Filed Under: Jay Leno, Michael Phelps
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David Letterman Questions NBC's Replacing Leno
Originally posted 09/03/2008 08:10AM
Despite their on-air rivalry for the past 15 years, David Letterman is displaying empathy for Jay Leno – given the way NBC is showing the Tonight Show host the door, to be replaced by Conan O'Brien on June 1, 2009.
"Unless I'm misunderstanding something, I don't know why, after the job Jay has done for them, why they would relinquish that," the CBS Late Show host, 61, tells Rolling Stone in excerpts made available to the Associated Press and The New York Times.
"I guess they thought it was a less messy way to handle what happened to me at NBC. I don't know."
Permalink | Filed Under: TV News, David Letterman, Jay Leno
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Ben Stiller, Jay Leno Pay Tribute to George Carlin
Originally posted 06/23/2008 03:35PM
George Carlin – who once wryly wondered, "Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?" – is being mourned by fellow comedians such as Ben Stiller and Jay Leno, not only for being a groundbreaker in entertainment but an individual of great honor.
"George Carlin was a hugely influential force in stand-up comedy," Stiller, 42, said in a statement. "He had an amazing mind, and his humor was brave, and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining. He was one of the greats and he will be missed."
Carlin, 71, died Sunday of heart failure.
Staff members of Saturday Night Live and David Letterman's Late Show are said to devastated by the loss, a former associate of both programs tells PEOPLE.
Permalink | Filed Under: Ben Stiller, George Carlin, Jay Leno
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Jay Leno & Ryan Phillippe Still 'Friends' After Interview Controversy
Originally posted 04/11/2008 10:00AM
There's no hard feelings between Jay Leno and Ryan Philippe, the TV host insisted Thursday night – after the recent controversy in which Leno asked the actor for his "gayest look."
When asked if there's any tension now between him and Phillippe, he replied, "That's all silly, of course."
"He's terrific," Leno, 57, told reporters at Thursday's One, Two, Many premiere in Hollywood.
Permalink | Filed Under: TV News, Jay Leno, Ryan Phillippe
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Jay Leno Apologizes for Remarks to Ryan Phillippe
Originally posted 04/01/2008 05:20PM
Jay Leno apologized Tuesday for on-air remarks he made during a chat with Ryan Phillippe that were then criticized by gay activists and others.
"In talking about Ryan's first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong," the host of NBC's Tonight Show said in a statement to PEOPLE. "I certainly didn't mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize."
Last week, while talking with Phillippe (whose appearance was keyed to his new movie Stop-Loss), Leno, 57, said to the actor, "Can you give me, like – say that camera is your gay lover ..." (Phillippe's first role was as a gay character on a soap opera).
Permalink | Filed Under: TV News, Jay Leno, Ryan Phillippe
Jay Leno Criticized for Remarks to Ryan Phillippe
Originally posted 04/01/2008 12:15PM
Jay Leno's nice-guy reputation is taking a beating from the gay community and others after NBC's Tonight Show host made some recent on-air remarks deemed highly inappropriate.
Permalink | Filed Under: TV News, Jay Leno, Ryan Phillippe
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