Jay Leno Shows His Wisdom Teeth

Cola lovers are divided into two- the Pepsi people and the Coke people. The same way, late night TV lovers are divided into two- the David Letterman people and the Jay Leno people.

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I happened to be a Jay Leno guy.

In the last ten years, I must have spent over 3,000 hours watching Jay Leno. From my vintage position, he is the Johnny Carlson of my generation.

Unlike Letterman and so many others in show business, Leno is deep down, an everyday man. He may own over hundred cars but he has been married to the same woman for over 26 years. You can see glimmers of his humility in his act. Despite years of laughter, a part of me wanted to know what made Jay the kind of man he is.

I recently found bits and pieces of the answer in an Exit Interview he granted GQ magazine as he winds up his 17-year run as the host of Tonight Show on NBC. The wisdom in his observations can be applied to all men in any career.

The first responsibility of comics is to be funny. But rarely do they enunciate the truth.

Here are extracts from the interview:

“Any time you create something bigger than your act, your career is dead.”

“Keep the water warm. Because a rolling boil, that’s great for about twenty minutes, and then the water’s gone.”

“Show business is like a hooker- have fun, but don’t fall in love. I mean, I enjoy it, but I don’t go, Oh, that hooker liked me! You go out, tell your jokes, be grateful.

“I believe in all that I can and would believe it all if I could.”

“If you have any problem in your life, take care of it before you go on stage. Because it will show.”

“The rejection when you’re first starting, it’s awful. I remember being in an agent’s office and seeing my picture in the trash. I said, ‘So you got my picture?’ “Yeah, we got it on the file.” Gut-wrenching.”

Mr. Leno is currently ill. He is hospitalized in LA and has cancelled the rest of this week’s show.

This is wishing him a quick recovery.