So long, Jay Leno; we’ll miss the jokes
Jay Leno may be the most unflappable star in show business. For more than an hour last week, he deftly handled one question after another from reporters across the country, nudging the conversation back to his favorite topics: his work ethic, the monologue, his respect for “The Tonight Show” legacy. When my turn on the phone arrived, I thought I lobbed him a softball: What are your memories of your first night as permanent host?
Leno bobbled it.
“Boy, you caught me off guard,” said Leno, who pulled out a chestnut about a guest on another night, John Glenn.
You might think Leno would be fully prepared at this moment for a sentimental journey. On Friday, he’ll end 17 years as a late-night host _ most of them at the top _ though he’s not going away (he moves to prime time in September).
But Leno is not a sentimental fella, at least not compared with his competition. The highlight of most Letterman shows is when the host shares personal stories and personal gripes from behind his desk. Craig Ferguson opens each show with a self-deprecating confessional. Jimmy Kimmel spotlights family members and staffers more than celebrities.
Leno pours most of his energy into the nightly monologue, a 13-minute marathon stuffed with nearly three dozen jokes, punctuated with rim shots that resonate all the way from the Catskills, and delivered by a machine _ a well-oiled, industrial-age, fully reliable one, but a machine just the same.
He’s not the heir to Johnny Carson; he’s the heir to Bob Hope.
For those of you who endured the prime-time specials in which Hope seemed to be playing only to the cue-card boy, the comparison may sound harsh, but it’s Leno himself who brought up the name.
“For the past 100 years, Bob Hope was the mainstay,” said Leno, responding to a question about whether the host felt underappreciated by Emmy voters and critics. “Did he win a lot of awards? I don’t know. This is popular culture. This is good food at sensible prices. Maybe something offbeat should win the Emmys. That’s fine. It’d be nice to win all the awards. It’s nice to make a lot of money and be No. 1 in the ratings, but you rarely get all three.”
The Leno-Hope connection merits a footnote: Hope, in his early days, was side-splittingly hilarious, churning out nimble, quick-witted, cowardly characters in classic film comedies. But somewhere along the line, Hope decided he’d rather be popular than groundbreaking.
Seems to me Leno made the same decision. The Leno we first came to love _ the one who was Letterman’s best guest on the old “Late Night” series, who chomped on roast-beef sandwiches during his segments and perfected mock anger as he leafed through the latest edition of TV Guide _ is hard to find these days.
He is now the embodiment of the mainstream, the establishment, the middle-of-the-roader.
“The real trick to show business is try to not get too excited and try not to get too depressed,” Leno said. “You don’t fall in love with a hooker. I still have the same friends, I’m still married to the same woman, I’m still driving the same car, although I do have a few more. I don’t let it absorb me.”
I suspect that Leno’s strategy will lead to moderate success when he moves to the 9 p.m. hour. That’s all the network is looking for. There probably will be less music, less desk chatter, and more and more jokes. It’s the safe route and it will keep Leno in clover. But the best comedy is never safe. It’s off-course, bumpy and sometimes you crash.
That’s the approach Conan O’Brien has always taken. Let’s hope that when O’Brien inherits “The Tonight Show” June 1, he doesn’t follow Leno down the road most taken. If he does, he may retain the No. 1 rating, but he’ll abandon something even more precious: greatness.
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A JAY-WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE
Its host may not be the sentimental sort, but we can’t resist offering a few highlights from 17 years of “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno”:
May 25, 1992: Billy Crystal delivers as Leno’s first guest.
July 13-16, 1992: Paula Poundstone reports from the Democratic National Convention in New York, becoming the first of several celebrity correspondents during political seasons.
May 20, 1993: On the night of the final “Cheers” episode, a drunken cast yuk it up from a Boston bar.
March 2, 1994: In the midst of the O.J. Simpson trial, Leno welcomes the Dancing Itos.
May 16-20, 1994: Jack Paar does a walk-on when the show does a week from New York.
Sept. 27, 1994: Another former “Tonight” host, Steve Allen, appears to help christen a more intimate set.
Jan. 30, 1995: Kevin Eubanks replaces Branford Marsalis as the band’s conductor.
July 10, 1995: Hugh Grant makes a confession about his dalliance with a hooker; the show moves to No. 1.
Nov. 4, 1998: John Glenn helps Leno interview astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
March 13, 2000: New York Giant Jason Sehorn proposes on the air to girlfriend Angie Harmon.
Oct. 17, 2001: To raise money for the Twin Towers Fund, Leno auctions off a motorcycle signed by celebrities, including Nicole Kidman and Denzel Washington.
May 12, 2003: Leno and Katie Couric switch places, giving the future CBS anchor a chance to interview Simon Cowell.
Aug. 6, 2003: Arnold Schwarzenegger announces that he’ll run for governor of California.
Jan. 24, 2005: Bob Newhart and Don Rickles reminisce about Johnny Carson, who had passed away four days earlier.
March 19, 2009: Barack Obama appears, becoming the first sitting president to be a guest on a late-night comedy show.
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(c) 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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