Jay Leno Takes Final Bow on ‘Tonight Show’
Jay Leno with his final guest, Conan O’Brien, on Friday night.
LOS ANGELES — Jay Leno ended his final “Tonight Show” on Friday not with a surprise guest or a selection of his vintage comedy bits, but with what he called “the greatest thing we’ve ever done.” What followed was an onstage parade of the children — 68 in all — who had been born to people who had met because they worked on the program. And he thanked Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Monica Lewinsky and Michael Jackson for giving him so much material. He also introduced his successor, Conan O’Brien, his final couch guest, saying, “I couldn’t be prouder of him,” and calling him “a terrific guy and a good friend.”
After 17 years as the host of “The Tonight Show,” Mr. Leno’s final show on Friday night, his 3,775th, was much like many of the others, filled with monologue jokes and some of his signature comedy pieces. He presented highlights of many of those pieces during his last week, but saved perhaps the most popular, “Jaywalking,” for the finale. The segment consists of Mr. Leno asking basic questions of people in the street, who come up with mind-boggling answers.
Among those in the final collection:
* a woman asked to identify the French emperor whose name is also a pastry answered, “Crème brûlée?”
* Another woman was asked what the initials D.C. mean after Washington. Her answer: “Da Capital.”
The last night’s audience greeted Mr. Leno with what was most likely the most sustained ovation of his career, and he had to insist they sit before he could begin. He talked about changes he and the show had gone through, noting that when he started his hair was “black and the president was white.” Harking back to one of his favorite targets, Mr. Leno said he had been cleaning out his desk on Friday and found “O. J.’s knife — it was in there the whole time.”
Joking about his future spot on NBC each weeknight at 10, Mr. Leno said, “I’m going to a secluded location where no one can find me: NBC’s prime time.” NBC has yet to announce the starting date for his new show, but Mr. Leno said it would be in September.
Mr. Leno’s final musical guest was an old friend, James Taylor. He sang “Sweet Baby James,” a song that Mr. Leno had requested because he remembered it from being homesick in his first days working as a comedian in Los Angeles after his move from Massachusetts. He ended by asking viewers to “please give Conan as much support as you’ve given me throughout the years.”
N.B. Conan O'Brien served 2 terms as Editor of the Harvard Lampoon during his undergraduate days at Harvard.
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