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| Birth Name(s) : Jay Leno |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Actor |
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Full Jay Leno Biography
Jay Leno (born April 28, 1950) is an Emmy-winning American comedian, writer who is best known as the current host of NBC television's long-running variety and talk program The Tonight Show.
Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York. His mother, Catherine (Muir), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland and came to the United States as an eleven year-old. His father, Angelo Leno, who worked in the insurance business, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and received his Bachelor's degree in Speech therapy from Emerson College in 1973. Leno has siblings including a brother who is a veteran.
Leno is not widely known as an actor (legendarily, in auditioning for a role on Mork & Mindy which would go to Jay Thomas, he was told that he had a face that would scare children), but he had a number of small roles early in his career in mostly unsuccessful movies; an exception was a bit part in the more popular film American Hot Wax.
His most prominent role was in the 1989 film Collision Course, a comedy about a mismatched crime fighting pair, in which he played a detective opposite Pat Morita. When Steve Martin appeared on Leno's The Tonight Show in December 2005, a clip from the movie appeared during Martin's game of "Name That Clip". Leno was to differentiate clips from Martin's two new movies Shopgirl and Cheaper by the Dozen 2, or give Martin $20 if he got one wrong. The last clip played was from Collision Course, which Leno immediately said was "a horrible movie." Martin said Leno was right, but he would still lose $20 for making it.
He also made a cameo appearance for Fox NFL Sunday in a fictitious interview with prognosticator Frank Caliendo's impression of Terry Bradshaw. Coincidentally, Caliendo parodied Leno on MadTV. In 2006, he provided the voice of an armadillo named "Fast Tony" in Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, and in the Pixar/Disney film Cars he voiced "Jay Limo". He made a cameo appearance in an episode of TV sitcom Just Shoot Me!, in a fictitious interview with David Spade's character, Dennis Finch. He made at least one appearance on NBC's The West Wing playing himself at a California fundraiser for the president, Jed Bartlet. He has also appeared on Home Improvement as a mechanic in a wealthy car collector's garage (in reality his own collection).
Recently, he has appeared in the hit comedy Scrubs as himself in one of main character J.D.'s daydreams. He appears when J.D. imagines his happy place being on the set of The Tonight Show replacing regular guitarist Kevin Eubanks.
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.
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.
The Blastolene Special is a 21-foot-long aluminum-bodied roadster powered by a V12 engine from an M47 Patton tank Leno bought from Blastolene Brothers. It was featured in the 2005 racing game Gran Turismo 4, and Monster Garage.
Leno's column in the American automotive magazine Popular Mechanics showcases his extensive car collection. Additionally, Leno uses his column as a platform to give advice about various automotive topics, including restoration and unique models, such as his jet powered motorcycle and solar powered hybrid.
Howard Stern has criticized Leno for stealing material from him, and for being such a "safe" interviewer. Most notably, Stern says Leno blatantly stole the idea for the 'Jaywalking' segment, where Leno asks people on the street basic intelligence/current event questions, from his show. Stern was also upset with Leno for poaching announcer "Stuttering" John Melendez from his staff without clearing it with him first.
In April 2007, Leno was criticized by The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) organization over a monologue joke he made during the Don Imus scandal. Leno stated; "They say is still working on raising funds for his favorite charity, the sons of the Confederacy." SCV's Commander in Chief Christopher Sullivan responded to Leno's statement saying, "While it is regrettable that Mr. Imus made his racially charged and derogatory comments about the Rutgers ladies basketball team, it is equally offensive that Mr. Leno would attack Southerners the way he did". |
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