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    Going Gently Into That Tonight Jay Leno Says Goodbye: Again
    Going Gently Into That Tonight Jay Leno Says Goodbye: Again
    Going Gently Into That Tonight Jay Leno Says Goodbye: Again
    Ebook56 pages53 minutes

    Going Gently Into That Tonight Jay Leno Says Goodbye: Again

    By Hardy McDonald

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    About this ebook

    71 pages.

    What a ride it's been. And I've had a front row seat for the whole thing.

    Well, maybe 10th row, stage left. Or on lucky nights, row 2, seat 1. As not just an avid viewer of The Tonight Show, I've had the chance to attend many a Burbank taping over the years. Mr. Leno is a wealth of 101 stories, all of them interesting -- even the ones he'd repeat to us.

    As he departs -- yet again -- I wanted to chronicle the whole wild ride, from Jay's childhood, to the friendship with Letterman, to the Conan debacle, but try and pepper it with stories maybe you *didn't* know.

    Enjoy this more rapid-fire, truncated version, from Jay's Boston days, to landing at that Burbank desk and into a chain of events that shook the late-night world that continue to be re-shaped everyday.

    So, from my various nights in the crowd, and culled from tons of other sources, comes the Tonight Show/Leno book you hopefully haven't seen before. Sure, I touch on Dave and Johnny, et al, but try and leave out the redundancy. A little.

    Rated PG, for mild language.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHardy McDonald
    Release dateFeb 6, 2014
    ISBN9781311348470
    Going Gently Into That Tonight Jay Leno Says Goodbye: Again

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    • 5/5
      Very interesting read. Well done. Jay is king still awesome

    Book preview

    Going Gently Into That Tonight Jay Leno Says Goodbye - Hardy McDonald

    Going Gently Into That Tonight

    Jay Leno Says Goodbye – Again

    ۞

    Hardy McDonald

    Townsend – Frederick

    Publishing

    Hollywood

    Going Gently Into That Tonight – Jay Leno Says Goodbye - Again

    By Hardy McDonald

    Smashwords Edition

    Copyright 2014 by Hardy McDonald

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    PREFACE

    During the last 20 years, I've had the opportunity to watch The Tonight Show go through its many fazes of life – in person. Attending many a taping during my dateless years of the 1990s and with my future ex-wife in the 2000s, it's been one of a hell of crazy ride to take in as a private citizen. And for Jay Leno. I'm a sucker for great stories from the road – especially great showbiz ones – and Leno had a million of them just during the pre-shows alone.

    In all honesty, I'm not so much a giant fan of Leno's, but of the Tonight Show itself and its legacy. From Allen to Paar to Carson to Leno, it's had one of the most storied histories of any television program, to say the least. And Leno's association with David Letterman has always been a personal fascination for me as well. I've always found something to like about all the late-night guys, from Jay and Dave, to even the Fallons and Conans and Fergusons. But having had a chance to live the whole Tonight experience in person and from my living room during the Leno Administration, has been a trip. Hollywood calamities like this inspired me to be a media writer ten years ago, and I just had to chronicle this one. Hopefully avoiding redundancy.

    So the following is a collection of stories that Jay shared with either us in the studio audience, comedy clubs I frequented, guests on his show, or various other programs and publications that he's spoken to. I wanted to put everything together into one handy applicator! but in a shortened version. All media pubs or television entities are given proper acknowledgment when necessary.

    ONE

    James...Jamie...or Jay?

    I once had a tv executive tell me I had a face that would frighten children.

    Famous first words from Jay Leno, after one of the many meetings he took after relocating to Los Angeles in 1975. Sure, the tact of Hollywood producers has never been known to be anything less than brutally honest, but one would have to wonder if this person had never heard of the more tactful, Ya know, you got a face for radio. And though the ABC exec's assessment may have been a bit exaggerated, one would have to agree that Leno had at least a face for comedy, if not radio.

    James. That's his given name. James Douglas Leno, born in the city of New Rochelle, New York, a half hour stone's throw from the mecca that is Manhattan, on April 28, 1950. His moniker went through a plethora of variations, including Jimmy, Jamie, and, finally, Jay (around his parents' house, even as an adult, he was Jamie). He decided on Jay as his preferred label, and Jay Leno, performer was born. But this wasn't until the early '70s. A kid-dom of development was to commence before show business was even a twinkle in his chin.

    Leno was 4 when the family relocated to Andover, Mass., where his father had taken a job with Prudential Insurance. Angelo was the breadwinner; mother, Catherine, the homemaker. Diametrically opposed backgrounds would be an understatement in regard to his heritage. Mom was a shrinking violet from Scotland; Dad a blustery Italian from New York. 'Tell 'em your Angelo's boy!' my dad would say; my mom would tell me not to attract attention, he often told his audience. And he wasn't the only Leno child in the house; his little known brother, Patrick, was already ten years old when baby Jay came along. I wasn't terribly close with my brother due to the age difference and that he was more of an introvert than I was, he had remarked over the years.

    Cars. The love started early, when Jay would hear of his father talking about the cars he used to drive.

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