The Tonight Show says farewell to Jay Leno!

In the late 1980's I took a trip to Las Vegas. While I was there I had the chance to enjoy the city and take in some shows. One of the highlights for me was attending Jay Leno's performance at Caesar's Palace. He was just a young and upcoming comedian at the time but clearly quite talented. I had a dinner date one evening which we followed up with the show. We walked in dressed nicely - and must have been mistaken for people of importance - because the ushers led us down to the very front row. That's when I learned that you never want to be up front and in view when a comedian is performing. As you can guess, we were the focus of most of his jokes for the night. I must say though, I thought they were in very good taste and were quite amusing. I developed an appreciation for this performer who I previously knew very little about.









Who would have thought that years later I'd be living in the same town as Jay and would see him quite frequently driving down the street in any one of his many classic automobiles.

It's common knowledge that Jay is a car nut. Many weekends he can be seen driving through Burbank or the Hollywood Hills in one of his vintage machines. People wave and he gladly waves back.. Sometimes he has to put his stogie away to wave but he waves all the same. He's also been know to frequent a Friday night gathering at the Bob's Big Boy in Burbank where many other local car aficionados hang out.

Who would have thought that after 17 years, Jay Leno would be moving on. It just seemed like he would continue indefinitely. Johnny Carson cranked out 30 years so I figured Jay had at least another 10 good years to go. But the reality is- Jay Leno has said good night to the Tonight Show.

Here are some Highlights from his monologue:

"Welcome to the exciting season finale of The Tonight Show," said Jay. "I have to thank some people who made the show a success - Michael Jackson, Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton. ... When I started this show, my hair was black and the president was white. ... When we started the show, Jon and Kate were both 8. ... I'm cleaning out my office today and I find O.J's knife. I had it the whole time! ... People say what are you going to do? Relax? I'm going to be in a secluded spot where no one can find me - NBC primetime!"

Jay was know for his "Jaywalking" interviews. It was fitting that they did a recap of a few on his final show.

Please enjoy!




And finally, a few bloopers from the years past!

So long Jay, see you in primetime!