JAY LENO IS DONE…FOR REAL THIS TIME
“I don’t like goodbyes; NBC does,†Jay Leno said in his latest last opening monologue, as he bid farewell to “The Tonight Show†— again — last night.
In the closing moments, Leno choked up a little bit, calling “The Tonight Show†“the greatest 22 years of my life,†talking about losing his parents in the first few years the show was on, and how the staff had become his family. Leno even quoted Carson’s sign-off, while saying he was “excited†for his successor, Jimmy Fallon.
“It really is time to go,†he said.
Billy Crystal honored Jay and referred to him as “America’s night light;†He treated Leno to a surprise rendition of the song from “The Sound of Music,†performed by multiple stars, among them Oprah Winfrey.
The early portion of the show also included a list of taped farewells from other famous figures — including President Obama — but the best line might have belonged to Charlie Sheen, who advised Leno to use his considerable fortune to “Buy NBC, and fire everybody.â€
CONAN O’BRIEN got a shot in, though. He said, quote, “NBC has the Olympics. It’s a big deal. NBC will finally get to show somebody who’s okay with passing the torch.”
And while JIMMY KIMMEL and Jay haven’t exactly been friends recently, Jimmy sent a nice Tweet yesterday. Quote: “Issues aside, 20 years at #1 is a remarkable achievement. Congratulations and best wishes to Jay Leno on an incredible run.”
It kind of made me sad that he’s being forced out. I say forced out, because deep down we all know he wants to stay. I also feel bad for him because it seems like so many people hate him…I know the other talk show hosts do. I understand the whole Conan debate, but I think a good portion of the hate can be attributed to jealousy….he was always sitting in the biggest seat….and they each thought they should be there!
How do you think Jimmy Fallon will do? I don’t think he will bring the numbers like Jay or Johnny did. Although comedians and hosts hated him, those middle and old-aged Americans liked Jay. And it’s those 35-54 year olds that bring in the advertising dollars. I just don’t think Fallon will win over people 35-54, so I’m not sure why NBC pushed so hard for this. I think Fallon has a very very loyal fan base, but it’s not as huge as Jay’s more silent one….just WHAT I THNK!
Who is your favorite LATE NIGHT HOST? My favorite is Craig Ferguson….he is hilarious!! I don’t hear much about Conan since he went to TBS.
Anyway, gimme some thoughts and some predictions on Fallon’s ratings….I wanna know what you think!