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<v Speaker 1>Kalaroga Shark Media.

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<v Speaker 2>Happy Jay Leno Day. I'm Johnny Mack and the Saturday

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<v Speaker 2>Deep Dives are back. Today we'll take a look at

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<v Speaker 2>Jay Leno. It is Jay Leno Day. Jay hosted the

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<v Speaker 2>Tonight Show at NBC Studios in Burbank for more than

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<v Speaker 2>twenty years. The city's home to his famous garage, hosting

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<v Speaker 2>more than one hundred rare cars. He regularly performs at

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<v Speaker 2>Flapper's Comedy Club in Burbank, and he is being honored

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<v Speaker 2>by the city. It is Jay Leno Day now for

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<v Speaker 2>this deep dive. In particular, I'm going to skip the

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<v Speaker 2>Tonight show, so we're not gonna talk Tonight Show and

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<v Speaker 2>we're not gonna talk Conan. The reason is this fall,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm going to do a series about the late night

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<v Speaker 2>hosts and we will cover that in detail, so we're

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<v Speaker 2>not going to bog down on that. Today we will

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<v Speaker 2>talk about the man that I jokingly call the worst

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<v Speaker 2>person who ever lived, because for some reason, people don't

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<v Speaker 2>like this guy I do. Jay Leno has said multiple

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<v Speaker 2>interviews over the years consistently enough that it's cloing not

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<v Speaker 2>a bit. He never spent a dollar of the money

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<v Speaker 2>NBC paid him for the Tonight Show, not one dollar.

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<v Speaker 2>During that time, he was making somewhere between twenty and

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<v Speaker 2>thirty million dollars a year, and yet he was living

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<v Speaker 2>off his income from stand up. The NBC money went

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<v Speaker 2>into the bank. Jay Leno toured on the weekends, kept

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<v Speaker 2>doing clubs in theaters, and kept treating stand up as

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<v Speaker 2>the actual job rather than the thing he used to

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<v Speaker 2>do before TV, and he used that income for his

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<v Speaker 2>operating budget for everything. The Tonight Show money sat there

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<v Speaker 2>and accumulated. His fortune is now estimated at around four

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<v Speaker 2>hundred and fifty million dollars. Jay Leno, underneath all the

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<v Speaker 2>Late night stuff will cover this fall, is fundamentally a

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<v Speaker 2>stand up comedian with an extraordinary work ethic, a strange

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<v Speaker 2>and consuming passion for machines with engines, a husband of

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<v Speaker 2>forty five plus years that is currently one of the

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<v Speaker 2>more quietly moving stories in show business, and a guy

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<v Speaker 2>with a financial philosophy that treats television as a bonus

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<v Speaker 2>rather than his career. Understanding all that tells you more

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<v Speaker 2>about Jay Leno than hosting The Tonight Show ever did.

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<v Speaker 2>Born James Douglas Muir Lean I know April twenty eighth,

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen fifty in New Rochelle, New York. Raised in Andover, Massachusetts,

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<v Speaker 2>the son of an insurance salesman father of Italian descent

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<v Speaker 2>and a Scottish mother who immigrated to the United States

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<v Speaker 2>alone at eleven years old. His mother's response to his

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<v Speaker 2>comedy ambitions was, Jay, we're not show people. His fifth

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<v Speaker 2>grade teacher wrote in his report card that if Jay

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<v Speaker 2>Leno spent as much time studying as he did trying

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<v Speaker 2>to be a comedian, he would be a pig star.

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<v Speaker 2>Jay had dyslexia. The experience of being told repeatedly that

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<v Speaker 2>you're not smart, of having to compensate for how your

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<v Speaker 2>brain processes written language by developing other skills, by talking,

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<v Speaker 2>by performing, by being funny enough that people paid attention

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<v Speaker 2>to you all shaped Jay Leno. He went to Emerson

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<v Speaker 2>College in Boston on a speech therapy degree. That makes

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<v Speaker 2>more sense than it sounds when you think about somebody

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<v Speaker 2>who struggled with written language and decided to master spoken language.

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<v Speaker 2>He started a comedy club on campus. He was doing

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<v Speaker 2>stand up in Boston clubs while still a student. After

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<v Speaker 2>graduating in nineteen seventy three, Jay Leno moved to Los

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<v Speaker 2>Angeles and spent the early years building an act in

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<v Speaker 2>whatever rooms would have him. The comedy store, the improv,

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<v Speaker 2>the small clubs. It was that short time post Richard

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<v Speaker 2>pryor pre cable TV, jay Leno did three hundred nights

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<v Speaker 2>a year. Do the math. That's roughly five shows a

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<v Speaker 2>week every week of the calendar year. Fifty two times

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<v Speaker 2>five gets you to two sixties. He got to double

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<v Speaker 2>up some nights, and it was at the comedy store

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<v Speaker 2>in those years where jay Leno met David Letterman. Letterman

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<v Speaker 2>drove a red pickup from Indiana to la in nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>seventy five, looking for his shot. Jay Leno had been

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<v Speaker 2>out there three years and had established himself as one

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<v Speaker 2>of the more comfortable and confident performers in the room.

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<v Speaker 2>Jay Leno has described that encounter saying Letterman had genuinely

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<v Speaker 2>funny material, really clever wordplay, the kind of writing that

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<v Speaker 2>was immediately recognizable as something different. But he was awkward

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<v Speaker 2>performing it, visibly uncomfortable on stage in a way that

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<v Speaker 2>jay Leno wasn't. Letterman's version of that story describes jay

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<v Speaker 2>Leno's stage confidence as something Dave genuinely envied and tried

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<v Speaker 2>to understand, adding get up there and just be comfortable.

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<v Speaker 2>Leto's answer, more or less was that stand up had

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<v Speaker 2>always felt like a natural place to him, the room

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<v Speaker 2>where he met, which is not a skill you can

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<v Speaker 2>teach someone who doesn't have it.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm originally from the United States, and the United States

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<v Speaker 3>people hit a night. That's great, It's Freddy mentioned I

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<v Speaker 3>have a slight call.

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<v Speaker 4>I have to apologize for that.

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<v Speaker 3>When I can't, I have. I've had it about two weeks.

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<v Speaker 3>I went to the hospital over here, one of the

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<v Speaker 3>large hospitals in California. I don't want to say the name.

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<v Speaker 3>Just shows you what healthcare is in this date. This

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<v Speaker 3>is absolutely true. I went in, man charged me forty dollars,

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<v Speaker 3>gave me some pills to take, and on the way

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<v Speaker 3>out as a doc, my throat is still really sort.

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<v Speaker 3>Do you think I should have my tonsils out? And

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<v Speaker 3>this man is a specialist, and I'm showing the best

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<v Speaker 3>hospitals in California?

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<v Speaker 4>Says to me, well, what do you think.

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<v Speaker 3>It's? Watching the local news before I came in and

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<v Speaker 3>I got to kick out a local newsman. You haven't

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<v Speaker 3>noticed how all newsmen use the same metaphors.

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<v Speaker 4>Another senseless killing early today in mid Manhattan.

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<v Speaker 3>Senseless as opposed to what sensible? Killing? A man was

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<v Speaker 3>beaten an oob of twelve cents on the west side?

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<v Speaker 3>A senseless killing?

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<v Speaker 4>Where's the east side? One thousand dollars killing?

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<v Speaker 3>Very sensible?

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<v Speaker 2>All came out of that friendship was something both described

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<v Speaker 2>as mutually instructive. Jay Leno was a better performer than

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<v Speaker 2>he was a writer. Letterman was a better wordsmith than

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<v Speaker 2>he was a performer. Each one watching the other work

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<v Speaker 2>understood something about the craft more clearly for having seen

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<v Speaker 2>the opposite approach done well. Letterman eventually said, I was

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<v Speaker 2>a broadcaster who worked as a comedian. Jay was a

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<v Speaker 2>comedian who worked as a broadcaster. By the time Letterman

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<v Speaker 2>launched Late Night with David Letterman on NBC in nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>eighty two, the two were kind of the elder statesman

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<v Speaker 2>of the comedy store generation, not old, but experience enough

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<v Speaker 2>to be the ones the younger comedians were watching as

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<v Speaker 2>an example of how to do it. And then Letterman

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<v Speaker 2>gave Jay Leno a platform that introduced him to a

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<v Speaker 2>completely different audience than one had been billion clubs.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a good show. Jay Leno is a very

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<v Speaker 1>very funny young man, and he will be out here

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<v Speaker 1>in just a second as soon as I introduce him.

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<v Speaker 1>He is my first guest. He is a good friend

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<v Speaker 1>of President Reagan. Also a very talented comedian. He will

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<v Speaker 1>be appearing this weekend at the Carlton Backstage in Minneapolis.

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<v Speaker 1>Please welcome Jay Leno. There. We have your magazine or

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<v Speaker 1>do you do You want to take a minute to

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<v Speaker 1>clarify this good friend of President Reagan.

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<v Speaker 3>What happened was the last time I was on the show.

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<v Speaker 3>President Reagan had seen the show and one of his

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<v Speaker 3>staff called me to ask me about a joke. Now,

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<v Speaker 3>if I took time out every time I had a stake,

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<v Speaker 3>called me, good, heavens I wouldn't.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know that he really called. No, he didn't

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<v Speaker 1>call me if he doesn't stay up this late, does.

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<v Speaker 3>He not when you're on, But when I'm a guest,

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<v Speaker 3>occasionally he does that. He says, I don't get a

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<v Speaker 3>chance that often, but when you're on.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, well that's very nice. I have a copy here

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<v Speaker 1>of something called Writer Writer Magazine. This is a motorcycle

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<v Speaker 1>Enthusiasts publication interview. All right, let's see ye here it

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<v Speaker 1>is funny David. Picture of Jay right on the inside. There,

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<v Speaker 1>nice nice drawing, nice story. I guess I happened to

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<v Speaker 1>see you in Playbook magazine.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, it's so funny. You know, it's so funny.

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<v Speaker 3>While we're talking about magazine, you know, the people from

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<v Speaker 3>Playboy called me and they asked me to do an

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<v Speaker 3>interview for Playboy. And rather than do my interviewing Playboy,

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<v Speaker 3>I did mine in Women Are Our Equals magazine.

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<v Speaker 2>Who's who's on the cover there.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, let's see this Geraldine Ferrero. Then there's a story

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<v Speaker 3>in here in Margaret Meade. Here's here's an interview with

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<v Speaker 3>Gloria Steinhem.

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<v Speaker 2>Now let's see who's in your magazine.

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<v Speaker 3>Muffy, Muffy, Muffy doesn't like guys who are turn offs.

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<v Speaker 3>Muffy's favorite movies are Bambi and The L Shaped Room.

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<v Speaker 2>I used to love when Jay Leno would show up

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<v Speaker 2>on Late Night. There was a version of Jay Leno

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<v Speaker 2>in the early to mid eighties that people who saw

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<v Speaker 2>him on Letterman remember very specifically. It's different than the

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<v Speaker 2>who settled into the Tonight Show. The early Letterman appearances

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<v Speaker 2>featured a comedian who was sharper edgier, not a word

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<v Speaker 2>usually here with Jay Leno. More willing to take the

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<v Speaker 2>material somewhere uncomfortable. It was closer to the voice he'd

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<v Speaker 2>been developing in the clubs, where you don't smooth things

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<v Speaker 2>out because the room will tell you immediately if you've

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<v Speaker 2>gone too far. Dave and Jay worked off each other

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<v Speaker 2>in a way that brought something out in both of them.

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<v Speaker 1>Now is this possible? When is the last time you

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<v Speaker 1>were on this television program?

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<v Speaker 3>I was here about a month and a half ago,

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<v Speaker 3>and I haven't been home since that. I haven't I've

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<v Speaker 3>been on the road the whole time.

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<v Speaker 1>Isn't that awful?

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<v Speaker 4>It's not awful, Dave, Not for us comedy foot soldiers

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<v Speaker 4>who are out there in the trenches.

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<v Speaker 3>Now.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm not one of your big time comedy generals with

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<v Speaker 4>some cushy desk job wringing three four hundred a week,

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<v Speaker 4>come out there in the trenches doing the club.

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<v Speaker 2>People who watched those early Letterman appearances and then watch

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<v Speaker 2>Jay on The Tonight Show in the nineties notice the difference.

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<v Speaker 2>People in the comedy community said Lenno was a toned

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<v Speaker 2>down version of the act he used in the clubs

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<v Speaker 2>in order to reach the broader and more traditional Tonight

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<v Speaker 2>Show audience. Which is a calculation completely understandable. I don't

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<v Speaker 2>think that's crazy at all. The version of jay Leno

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<v Speaker 2>that a certain generation I'll raise my hand discovered on

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<v Speaker 2>Letterman younger, less polished, more specifically funny in the way

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<v Speaker 2>the comedy nerds mean when they say specifically funny. That

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<v Speaker 2>version is worth acknowledging as a real thing that existed

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<v Speaker 2>before the TV institution softened some of the edges. The

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<v Speaker 2>Letterman friendship eventually turned into something more complicated. We will

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<v Speaker 2>get to that. If you've listened this far, you probably

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<v Speaker 2>know about Dave and Jay, and then Jay and Conan.

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<v Speaker 2>We're not going there today, but that early friendship at

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<v Speaker 2>the comedy store, the mutual education, the Letterman years, that's

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<v Speaker 2>a whole different part of the Jay Leno story that

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<v Speaker 2>you don't hear these days. It's hard to talk about

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<v Speaker 2>jay Leno without spending time on the cars. The Big

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<v Speaker 2>Dog Garage and Burbank started as a property jay Leno

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<v Speaker 2>bought in nineteen ninety one seventeen thousand square feet. It

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<v Speaker 2>is now one hundred and twenty two thousand square feet,

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<v Speaker 2>expanded by a factor of seven over thirty years. I

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<v Speaker 2>know currently has more than two hundred cars and over

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred and sixty motorcycles. He has sold exactly one

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<v Speaker 2>car in thirty years, a Tesla model S he auctioned

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<v Speaker 2>on bring a trailer, and he invited the new owners

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<v Speaker 2>to a private garage tour after the sale. That's how

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<v Speaker 2>Jay thinks about the cars. They're not investments, they're the point.

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<v Speaker 2>The collection ranges from a nineteen oh oh four curve

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<v Speaker 2>to dash Oldsmobile to current hypercars. He doesn't keep them

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<v Speaker 2>in climate control rooms. He's a mechanic who happens to

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<v Speaker 2>be famous, who bought a property in Burbank and filled

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<v Speaker 2>it with cars. Jay Leno's Garage started as a web

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<v Speaker 2>series for NBC before moving to CNBC as a proper

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<v Speaker 2>TV show or It ran for seven years before eventually

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<v Speaker 2>moving to YouTube. The format works because Jay actually knows

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<v Speaker 2>what he's talking about. The knowledge is specific and real

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<v Speaker 2>and comes from thirty years of working on the cars.

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<v Speaker 2>One car sent him to the hospital. That's the nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>o seven white steam car November twelfth, twenty twenty two.

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<v Speaker 2>Inside the garage, Jay was working on the car and

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<v Speaker 2>it caught fire. The fire burned Jay's face in his

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<v Speaker 2>hands seriously enough that he was hospitalized and required treatment

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<v Speaker 2>at a center. Then, in January of twenty twenty three,

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<v Speaker 2>he fell off a motorcycle and broke several bones. People

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<v Speaker 2>were wondering what is going on there, But it seems

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<v Speaker 2>like it was just back to back accidents, and we

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<v Speaker 2>need to talk about his wife, Mavis. Jay Leno met

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<v Speaker 2>MAVs at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles in nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>seventy six. He said she laughed at all his jokes

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<v Speaker 2>at the right time, which for a comedian is meaningful.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not just polite laughter, but genuinely timed laughter that

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<v Speaker 2>tells you someone actually understands what you're doing. They got

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<v Speaker 2>married in nineteen eighty. They never had any children, but

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<v Speaker 2>for a Hollywood couple to be together forty five years,

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<v Speaker 2>that is amazing. In January of twenty twenty four, Jay

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<v Speaker 2>Leno filed for a conservatorship over Mavis's estate after she

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<v Speaker 2>was diagnosed with advanced dementia. Jay has been her primary

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<v Speaker 2>caregiver since he limits his travel. When he does go

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<v Speaker 2>somewhere for work, he comes home the same day. He

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't want to stay away overnight anymore. He makes MAVs lunch.

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<v Speaker 2>She's home every evening. Jay has talked about how hard

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<v Speaker 2>this would be if for roughly three years, Mavis would

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<v Speaker 2>wake up and it would be the day her mother died.

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<v Speaker 2>Should learn it fresh every morning, cry through it fresh

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<v Speaker 2>each morning because the memory couldn't hold overnight. Jay says

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<v Speaker 2>he enjoys taking care of her. It gives him purpose.

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<v Speaker 2>When someone asked Jay Leno if he was going to

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<v Speaker 2>get a girlfriend, he described it as the most Hollywood

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<v Speaker 2>thing I'd ever been asked. He said, you take a

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<v Speaker 2>vow when you get married, and people are stunned. They're

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<v Speaker 2>so shocked that you would live up to it. He

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<v Speaker 2>said he would rather be with her than doing something else.

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<v Speaker 2>He said, I'm not just with someone because they're attractive

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<v Speaker 2>and sexy. At some point in my life, I'm going

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<v Speaker 2>to be called upon to defend myself. That's really what

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<v Speaker 2>defines a marriage. That's what love is. That doesn't sound

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<v Speaker 2>like the worst guy in the world to me. Jay Leno, Happy,

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<v Speaker 2>Jay Leno Day back tomorrow with a normal episode.