jay leno

Jay Leno, the lantern-jawed comedian best known as host of NBC’s The Tonight Show (TTS), made the first of many appearances on the show as a stand-up comedian in 1977. Over the years, Leno often filled in as the show’s guest host and took over full-time hosting duties when Johnny Carson retired in 1992.

Leno’s populist humor and “nice-guy” image made him an audience favorite. When he interviewed President Barack Obama on TTS in March 2009, however, several bloggers, (including this one), protested that the interview blurred the lines between news and entertainment.

Leno’s legendary passion for automobiles and fondness for Detroit led him to perform two free concerts for the recession-plagued Motor City’s unemployed workers in April 2009.  Bloggers gave rave reviews to both the "Comedy Stimulus Plan” shows and Leno's test-drive of the Chevy Volt hybrid.

In May 2009, Conan O'Brien will replace Leno as host of TTS (as mentioned in this blog about O’Brien’s move to LA), and Leno will move to prime time in a new show on NBC.

by Nancy Adams Are you a writer, passionate about this or any other topic? Join Blogcritics!

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “jay leno”

• VIDEO: Justin Bell shows off Lexus LFA in Jay Lenos Garage

  
  Autoblog — Authority: 781
  Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Videos , Lexus 2011 Lexus LFA at California Speedway - Click above to view the video after the jump The lease-only 2011 Lexus LFA supercar has been getting a lot of exposure lately. We had a chance to drive it a few weeks ago and just showed you some pics ...
  2 hours ago

• Whats On Tonight: Heroes, Good Eats, Lewis Black, CSI: Miami

  
  TV Squad — Authority: 726
  At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars , followed by Find My Family and a new Castle . CBS has a new How I Met Your Mother , then new episodes of Accidentally on Purpose , Two and a Half Men , The Big Bang Theory , and CSI: Miami . NBC has new episodes of Heroes , Trauma ...
  4 hours ago

• Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview

  
  TV Squad — Authority: 726
  If you never managed to catch Andy Barker, P.I. when it originally aired two years ago, try not to beat yourself up. Though the show had an impressive cast, led by Andy Richter as a CPA-turned-private-investigator, and including Harve Presnell, Tony Hale, Marshall Manesh, and Clea Lewis. It was also created by Conan ...
  5 hours ago

• Is government run health care a good idea? Heres an interesting perspective from Jay Leno.

  
  Minnesota Family Council — Authority: 421
  Will turning over to the government our health care system a good idea? Considering our experience with the government running the postal service Id say definitely not. Heres Jay Lenos take. "The Postal Service announced last week the Post Office lost $3.8 billion last year. ... Ive got a good idea. Lets put the ...
  7 hours ago

• Roundup of Sunday Funnies 23 Nov 2009

  
  The Social Poets — Authority: 541
  From Denny: The biggest target this week for lampooning by late night comedians was, you guessed it, Sarah Palin. She does love to be controversial - even if its negative attention she seems to thrive on it. Not exactly my idea of Presidential material and the kind of "thinker" Id want with her finger on the ...
  8 hours ago

• Lexus LF-A

  
  Dialogue...2008 — Authority: 130
  Your Monday morning "gear head" fix with Jay Leno, Justin Bell, and an LF-A...enjoy!  
  8 hours ago

• Rebecca Meyer From The Biggest Loser Talks Weight Loss & Love

  
  GossipMax — Authority: 160
  The Biggest Loser’s Rebecca Meyer lost a whopping 122 lbs. on the show — and gained a boyfriend….
  12 hours ago

• Friday Ratings: ABC Has Animated Evening

  
  TV Envy — Authority: 438
  Would ABC be smart to air cartoons every Friday night? The weekend’s broadcast of Shrek the Third helped give the network a rare tie in the 18-49s. CBS, though, was still a solo winner with the viewers. 8pm Ghost Whisperer (8.4 million, 2.0/7 in 18-49) raised another 400,000. Law & Order (7.5 ...
  16 hours ago

• Rebecca Meyer From The Biggest Loser Talks Weight Loss & Love

  
  GossipMax — Authority: 160
  The Biggest Loser’s Rebecca Meyer lost a whopping 122 lbs. on the show — and gained a boyfriend….
  1 day ago

• Tyra Banks on The Jay Leno Show

  
  Top Model Gossip — Authority: 431
  Tyra Banks was a guest on The Jay Leno Show earlier this week. Jay does this segment called 10@10, where he asks celebrities 10 questions at 10pm. Jay asks Tyra about her favorite television show ( Curb Your Enthusiasm ), being 5′10″ (it’s the standard height for models), Twitter, and more. Tyra is so ...
  2 days ago

• [Video] Kellan Lutz (Twilight) Sits With Jay Leno, Talks Cougar Moms Wanting To Handcuff Him

  
  Morninpaper — Authority: 448
  Im posting this one up because I know that there are a ton of young ladies who need, really need to see him talk. But moms? Okay, Cougars, theyre a little different. Share on Facebook
  2 days ago

• [Video] Jay Leno Caught By CNN Camera’s Waiting In Line For “New Moon”

  
  Morninpaper — Authority: 448
  Jay has really been into the whole Twilight thing as of late, but dang, I would have never thought it would go this far. Pretty funny! Share on Facebook
  2 days ago

• Kellan Lutz On The Jay Leno Show

  
  TEN Gossip — Authority: 569
  I have to thank Kellan Lutz for making me watch the Jay Leno show finally. I haven’t had a chance to watch it so of course when Kellan is on the show I have to watch it. Kellan talks about TwiMoms (which he has to know are the best!), the premiere and some cute stories of when he was in high school. The ...
  2 days ago

• Thursday Ratings: CBS Takes Over ABC

  
  TV Envy — Authority: 438
  Looks like somebody just wasn’t in the mood to share this week. Although Thursdays are typically known for win-win situations (CBS wins the viewers; ABC wins the demos), that was not the case last night. This time around the Eye network surprisingly took both categories. 8pm Survivor: Samoa (12.3 million, ...
  2 days ago

• Even outside of her show Tina Fey digs at NBC

  
  TV Squad — Authority: 726
  Every week we can be guaranteed that Tina Fey and the people at 30 Rock will make fun of NBC in some way, whether its product placement or The Jay Leno Show or last nights line about the green NBC peacock in the corner of the screen. Fey also isnt shy about dumping on NBC when shes away from the show either. ...
  3 days ago

• Smoke Gets in Dakota Fannings Eyes on Jay Leno (VIDEO)

  
  Inside Movies — Authority: 155
  (Cough!) (Cough!) Were surprised nobody alerted the fire department during last nights The Jay Leno Show when New Moon star Dakota Fanning guested, because it looked like the show was about to become part of a four-alarm blaze. Watch the ... Read more Filed under: Video , The Twilight Saga Permalink  |  ...
  3 days ago

• The Geezer Bandit

  
  Laugh Lines — Authority: 484
  Monologue | Aired Thursday night on "The Jay Leno Show": One week til Thanksgiving. Very excited about that. Back in Washington, our congressional leaders all preparing for the big Thanksgiving meal. I read today Nancy Pelosi already taking her turkey in to have its neck tightened up.
  3 days ago

• Whats On Tonight: Law and Order, Smallville, Ghost Adventures, Numb3rs

  
  TV Squad — Authority: 726
  At 8, CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer , followed by new episodes of Medium and Numb3rs . NBC has a new Law and Order at 8, then new episodes of Dateline and The Jay Leno Show . The CW has a new Smallville at 8. PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, followed by new episodes of ...
  3 days ago

• Dakota Fanning Does Jay Leno

  
  Hollywire.com — Authority: 626
  Dakota Fannings all grown up!
  3 days ago

• Oprahs Show To End; Her Influence...?

  
  Idol Chatter — Authority: 433
  CNN and other outlets are reporting today that "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will be ending after 25 seasons. The last show will be coming up soon: on September 9, 2011. Okay, so its not so soon! Mrs. Winfrey has followed the path of evening talk show host Jay Leno, the host of "The Tonight Show" from 1992-2009. To ...
  3 days ago

Comments about jay leno