When I first started watching The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson sat in the driver’s seat and I always imagined what life would be like when I got on the show. That never happened, of course.
Jay Leno first appeared on the show as a stand-up comic in 1977 (the year I started high school). Here’s the clip from that first appearance.
There was never, ever, a time in my life when Johnny hadn’t hosted the show…until 14 years later, that is.
Jay was preparing to take over for Johnny, who was finally ready to retire after thirty years with The Tonight Show. But not before Johnny had David Letterman on to discuss the change in regime. Raucous hilarity ensues.
Those of us who are still here are a lot grayer, but Leno’s done what relatively few men or women have managed. And I still haven’t been called to the hot seat. What’s up with that? Maybe I’ll have better luck with Jimmy Fallon. You never know.
[An aside – internet outages and college classwork may interfere with getting these posted on schedule. I’m back in the ‘net for now. Hope it stays that way for a while. I’ve got homework to do!]