After more than 20 years hosting the crown jewel of late-night television, Jay Leno steps off “The Tonight Show” stage in Burbank, Calif., for the final time Thursday night, ending a reign that saw a dramatic change in the television landscape....
Remember when they tried putting him on at ten?
I've been doing this way too long, readers.
Other late-night hosts followed the David Letterman model of risky humor, but Leno’s risk was not being risky at all, and it paid off. Leno kept the show atop the ratings for much of his time by providing a steady stream of broad comedy and a safe haven for celebrity guests to hawk their wares.
Unlike other comedians, 'eh?
“He plays to the mainstream,” said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at the ad-buying firm Horizon Media. “He was the caretaker for the show. He wasn’t going to damage the brand. He worked hard; he rarely took a vacation. He told some jokes and you’re never going to see his name in the tabloids. ”
Leno himself has been the first to admit that he is a straight-up-the-middle guy when it comes to jokes for the show. (His early stand-up act was another matter, say longtime fans.) He would zing politicians — President Bill Clinton alone was on the receiving end of 4,607 barbs, according to a recent study — and celebrities, but never too hard, and his famous man-on-the-street “Jaywalking” segment found him teasing regular folks with the same soft touch.
Now 63, Leno hands the keys to Jimmy Fallon, only the sixth “Tonight” host in 60 years whom Leno has graciously compared to Carson, the longest-tenured host of the show. Like Leno, Fallon, 39, is eager to please and reluctant to offend, but he also brings a wackier sensibility that recalls Letterman, especially in the competing host’s earlier years.
I wonder what is in his wallet, and will he have Mace Windu on?
“This is really the end,” Leno, who briefly left the show about five years ago, said in an e-mail to the Globe. “When I left in 2009, I was probably going to go to another network or something else. So it feels like it really is the end this time.”
Leno spoke to Steve Kroft at “60 Minutes” during a recent exit interview about simply wanting to make people laugh and understanding the demographic mathematics necessary....
After Thursday, Leno will no longer have to play the diplomat, and an era will come to an end, not only for the host and his fans, but for his brand of mass appeal late-night talk show. The television landscape has changed dramatically since Leno first took up residence at “The Tonight Show” in 1992....
(Blog editor turns off television)
--more--"
That's it for tonight, folks.
Sorry, but I get the last laugh here.
Sorry, but I get the last laugh here.
