Comedian Jay Leno said an emotional goodbye to the Tonight Show on Thursday with a star-studded farewell led by actor Billy Crystal, after hosting the NBC late night programme for more than 20 years.
Leno, 63, who took over one of US broadcast television’s marquee programmes in 1992 from Johnny Carson, came out to a standing ovation from the audience of friends and family, shaking hands with many as he did in each show. The show will now be hosted by Jimmy Fallon.
“I don’t like goodbyes; NBC does,” Leno quipped when opening his monologue, poking fun at the network that orchestrated his departure from the show in 2009 only to reinstall him back as host less than a year later.
His final monologue was peppered with then-and-now reflections on the changes since his tenure at Tonight began.
“When I started hosting, Justin Bieber wasn’t even born yet. That’s why we call those the good ol’ days,” Leno said, poking fun at the troubled Canadian teen pop star.
The silver-haired host ended the show on an emotional note, saying, “This has been the greatest 22 years of my life,” as he rested his hand on his chin with tears welling in his eyes.
“It really is time for me to go and hand it off to the next guy,” the comedian added.
Leno’s departure and Fallon’s hire marks NBC’s second attempt to transition the Tonight Show into a programme appealing to the 18-34 year old demographic coveted by advertisers while still maintaining its top spot in the ratings.
Fallon, 39, will be taking the Tonight Show back to its New York roots for the first time since 1972, when NBC moved the show with Carson to Burbank, California. Fallon will begin his new hosting duties on February 17 on the network owned by Comcast.
STAR-STUDDED FAREWELL
Leno ended his long-running late night tenure with one of the guests from his first Tonight Show on May 25, 1992, actor-comedian Crystal, who praised Leno for giving a comic’s levity to current events and “making us sleep better at night”.
Crystal led a comic rendition of So Long, Farewell from The Sound of Music that included guest appearances from Oprah Winfrey, Jack Black, Carol Burnett, Sheryl Crow, Jim Parsons, NBA basketball player Chris Paul and Kim Kardashian. Country music star Garth Brooks was the musical guest, performing two songs including his hit, Friends in Low Places.
Leno also received pre-recorded farewells from celebrities such as actors Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Charlie Sheen, sports broadcaster Bob Costas and his successor Jimmy Fallon. Even President Barack Obama, who in 2009 became the first sitting president to appear on a late night talk show when he joined Leno on Tonight, delivered a pre-recorded goodbye.
In his penultimate show, a tearful Sandra Bullock seemed to speak for everyone as she teared up and thanked him for his kindness and generosity.
“You were always so welcoming and every single person on your crew was that way consistently, and I just felt special even when I felt very insecure,” Bullock told Leno.
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“And everyone, I think, in this room and in this country, has felt that every day that you’ve been in their homes.”
In cultural terms, the moment is enormous. In American television history true “talk show” titans can be counted on one hand: Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Johnny Carson, David Letterman and, of course, Jay Leno.
Jack Paar’s departure from the
