Jay Leno To Leave Nbc's 'tonight Show' After 22 Years

[News_Editor]

<p>LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) -- Veteran U.S. late-night television host Jay Leno announced Wednesday that he will step down next year as the host of the "Tonight Show" after more than two decades, clearing the way for "Late Night" talk show host Jimmy Fallon to take over.

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<p>The network said Fallon, when he takes over as host in spring 2014, will take the popular show back to its original home at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Emmy Award-winner Lorne Michaels, of "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock", will serve as the show's executive producer.

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<p>"Congratulations Jimmy. I hope you're as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you're the old guy. If you need me, I'll be at the garage," Leno, 62, said in a press release from NBC Entertainment. Fallon said he is excited to host a show that "starts today instead of tomorrow," referring to his current show that airs after midnight ET.

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<p>Leno has hosted "The Tonight Show" since he took over the reins from television icon Johnny Carson in 1992, and made the show television's highest-rated late-night show. But having recently made fun of his bosses and the network's poor ratings, relations between Leno and the network had become strained.

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<p>"Jay Leno is an entertainment icon, making millions of people laugh every weeknight for more than 20 years," said Steve Burke, CEO of NBC Universal. "His long reign as the highest-rated late-night host is a testament to his work ethic and dedication to his viewers and to NBC."

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<p>Burke said the network was making the change "purposefully" at a time when Leno is number one among late-night hosts.

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<p>"Jimmy Fallon is a unique talent and this is his time. I'm thrilled he will become the sixth host of 'The Tonight Show' at exactly the right moment, in conjunction with our coverage of next year's Winter Olympic Games from Sochi, Russia," Burke said. He also thanked the current 'Tonight Show' team for producing the show for the past two decades.

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<p>NBC said programming plans for its 12:35 a.m. ET time period, which is currently reserved for Fallon, are still in development.

</p> <p> (Copyright 2013 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].) </p>

[Boon Mee]

There hasn't been an equal to Johnny Carson yet...

[dudeinthailand]

The article mentioned nothing about him being forced out before. Then asking him to come back after Conan failed. I think Jimmy will do very well.

[keemapoot]

There hasn't been an equal to Johnny Carson yet...

Nobody even remotely close. Johnny was the end of the legendary era of late night.

*though it's common knowledge that Johnny wanted Letterman to replace him, never wanted Leno, and used to sometimes fax Letterman jokes to use on his own show after Johnny retired.

Edited April 4, 2013 by keemapoot

[thinkingofhow]

Nobody even close to matching Johnny Carson. He set a standard no one has been able to match.

Just look at some of his shows on CD, great comedian and he could get away with the most increadable statments..like asking Dolly Parton if he could look under her shirt and so many other great comic statments!

[yourauntbob]

Jay is ok, I liked O'Brien, Fallen is going to suck. nuf said

[ZhouZhou]

never heard of him.

[Steely Dan]

I hear his chin will be starring as the jawbone of an ass in a remake of Samson and Delilah

[geriatrickid]

Letterman appealed to people with an IQ greater than 90.

Leno was bland, boring, predictable and a nasty piece of work.

Fallon will fail in the time slot. He just doesn't have it.

[keemapoot]

Letterman appealed to people with an IQ greater than 90.

Leno was bland, boring, predictable and a nasty piece of work.

Fallon will fail in the time slot. He just doesn't have it.

Yeah, Letterman was way cooler than Leno, but has become annoyingly political and his routines are old and tired. He will likely retire next year too after Leno to have the last word.

- Leno always beat Letterman in the ratings because he dumbed it down, and appealed to the masses. Interestingly, Letterman has become much richer than Leno and is a better and smarter TV exec. (Leno is the nastiest snake in the business)

- Fallon will probably fail in that time slot, as he is the most talented of any of the bunch, but won't appeal to the oldies. (NBC thinks oldies are not worth crap anyway advert-wise, so maybe not)

- Kimmel is the smartest choice as he appeals to both mainstream and has a bit of an edge. ABC has played a master stroke with his move to the time slot.

There is nobody to replace Letterman on the horizon, and that is a problem for CBS.

[IsaanUSA]

Good riddance. After he screwed over Conan, I never watched him ever again.

On the other hand, www.jaylenosgarage.com/ is very cool.

[Publicus]

My god, has it been 22 years already?!? I'd been only recently getting to adjust to Leno 'cause I remember Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon so well it seems like they retired from the program last year.

Yeah, Carson would naturally like Letterman. Carson was from Nebraska or Iowa while Letterman is from Indiana - Leno is from Massachusetts. A boring Midwestern former colleague said to me one day that you know a Midwesterner is laughing because you can detect some movement of his chest. Leno just plain left us laughing. No matter though, all three had good politics even though they slammed all politicians.

Surely the most precious moment on late night TV was when Suzane Pleshette in her luscious prime showed up on Carson's show one night with a cat which she placed on her lap .Stroking the cat Pleshette asked, "Would you like to pet my pussy?" Carson remained silent, simply gazing at the pussy, letting his quiet reaction carry the unforgettable moment.

[maidu]

There hasn't been an equal to Johnny Carson yet...

Of course Carson was good. But Letterman was as good in his own way, and that's who Carson wanted as his replacement.

The article mentioned nothing about him being forced out before. Then asking him to come back after Conan failed. I think Jimmy will do very well.

NBC didn't ask Leno to come back after Conan got started. They allowed Leno to return, but Leno was the one who instigated it by 'changing his mind' about leaving. It's was a low blow to Conan. I think Conan is head and shoulders above Leno, and not just in height. Granted, Conan got a very big severance pay from NBC, but it was a shat-upon experience for him.

[chooka]

Jay who??????

Never heard of the lady.