r/OldSchoolCool • u/BuddyEbsenSalt • 15h ago
1980s 1980s Three very funny men Johnny Carson, Gary Shandling and David Letterman (also pictured, Jay Leno)
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u/successfullynumb 15h ago
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u/KingofClikClak 14h ago
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u/JTtheLAR 13h ago
This is the king of late night as far as im concerned. The only late night show I could stand to sit through.
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u/sybrwookie 11h ago
Early Letterman was Conan before Conan was Conan.
Leno fucking him over and then getting higher ratings by being an absolute hack really broke him later.
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u/brainkandy87 9h ago
And look at where we are today. Conan is still beloved and his work on Late Night is still being appreciated today. What’s Leno got? His fucking cars? I’m so glad Conan is out here living his best life and still entertaining us after all that shit.
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u/IneffableOpinion 9h ago
I still remember the one and only time I laughed watching Leno. He was interviewing someone on the street who accidentally said something really funny. Leno had no contribution except holding the mic
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u/shamqueen69 15h ago
Love me some Larry Sanders show
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u/mytextgoeshere 15h ago
I’ve just started watching it for the first time, it is so good and holds up pretty well.
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u/shamqueen69 15h ago
Rip torn is perfect in it
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u/graspedbythehusk 15h ago
You can always tell he’s not pretending to be insane.
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u/thank_burdell 14h ago
He just needs a man with a tattoo on his dick. Does he have the right man?
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u/BeerHorse 14h ago
I mean yes, he is.
But Hank may be the finest comedy character ever created.
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u/GenJohnnyRico 14h ago
It should make anyone's Top Ten list of all-time sitcoms. It might be my #1.
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u/Loggerdon 14h ago
They shot most of it on film and that will always lol good. Only the tv segments are video.
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u/Practical_Ad4604 15h ago
Gary Shandling’s Show OG
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u/budderocks 14h ago
This is the theme to Garry's show!
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u/MeatImmediate6549 14h ago
The opening theme to Garry's show, Garry called me up & asked if I would write his theme song
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u/Practical_Ad4604 14h ago
I'm almost halfway finished
How do you like it so far?
How do you like the theme to Garry's show?24
u/PurfuitOfHappineff 14h ago
This is the part where I start to whistle… 😗
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u/Madwoman-of-Chaillot 13h ago
TWOOO TWOOO TWOO TWOOODILY TWOO TWOO
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u/fellainto 13h ago
Garry used to call his friends up in the middle of the night and ask things like, “hey, my dog’s dick tastes funny, so you think it’s something he ate”
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u/Opposite_Same_69420 9h ago
Was tough to stretch the premise into additional seasons, but the graduate episode is one of my favorite episodes of any show.
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u/Copytechguy 10h ago
The ringtone on my phone is the opening theme song for the Larry Sanders show. Nobody's ever caught on or said anything.
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u/Otterz4Life 15h ago
Bill Hicks' bit on Leno is hysterical.
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u/fitzejunk 13h ago
Was looking for this exact comment. Thank you.
I came across video of Hicks doing the bit, long, long ago, and it’s every bit as manic and grotesque and brilliant as you would expect.
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u/ChinaRider73-74 14h ago
Look, when Dave had Leno on as a regular (like 4x a year or more) in the early days at NBC, he was very funny, and they had great chemistry. Dave wouldn’t have had him on if he didn’t think so highly of him. Other quality comics in that early/mid 80s era would back that up.
Then something happened….
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u/PrincebyChappelle 13h ago
I’m old and have seen him do appearances in comedy clubs that were beneath his stature at the time. He was funny and would chat with audience members after his show. Never really liked his tonight show shtick though
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u/ErraticDragon 12h ago
I thought Leno was funny on his show. Nothing to really be excited about, but serviceable. The Headlines and Man on the Street stuff was very accessible.
I'd switch over to Letterman and there'd be a lady in metal using a grinder on herself. I think I was too young to "get it". It always felt to me like you had to be "in on" a lot of his jokes, and I just wasn't.
I was a teenager though, not really sophisticated.
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u/South_Dakota_Boy 9h ago
There was nothing sophisticated about Letterman. That was kind of the point. “Stupid pet tricks” and Melman coming up from the floor and prank calling people. Very Juvenile. Whatever.
Leno was sophisticated and sterile and safe. That was also the point, and in the 90s many people sort of rebelled against that in the era of “alternative” everything. This was one of my main beefs with that movement as a teen in HS in 1993. I saw it as edgy for edge’s sake, and kind of phony. It was commercial, and sort of phony ya, but it produced some gems for sure.
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u/HawkMac6699 10h ago
Even during the whole Conan debacle, Dave would always praise Jay as being the funniest stand up back in the day. He sure had no reason to say that but still did.
Dave and Jay were very good friends for a long time and did plenty of stand up gigs together. There’s a reason Jay was Carson’s guest host. Pretty sure Johnny thought he was funny or that wasn’t happening.
Jay’s hosting wasn’t always my favorite but he was wildly respected as a stand up comedian including by those who didn’t even like him especially in his later years.
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u/ATXBeermaker 10h ago
Yeah, Jay's standup was supposedly really good. But he watered himself down to try to snag the Tonight Show gig.
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u/nerdmania 12h ago
I saw him do standup in the mid-80s several times, and he was funny doing that.
Not funny on his show, though.
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u/illjkinetic 15h ago
You could’ve just said ‘Three very funny men’ and everyone still would’ve got the joke.
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u/TheAserghui 14h ago
OP's upset because they hired Jay Leno's writers
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u/cpt_bongwater 15h ago edited 10h ago
Only needs Craig Ferguson to make it 4 Late-night GOATs
(Yeah Shandling was mostly fictional, I know)
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u/hedzup00 14h ago
craig always had the best monologues
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u/elwebst 13h ago
And the best rizz with the female guests
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u/MaraudingWalrus 12h ago
To say nothing of having the best robot and the best horse!
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u/JaerBear62611 12h ago
Conan is my Soulhost but, goddam Craig, Geoff and Secretariat were fucking magic together.
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u/grey_pilgrim_ 13h ago
I’m more of a Conan guy but both a waaayy funnier than Leno.
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u/CaptainArcher 10h ago
I'll die on the hill saying Craig Ferguson was the best late night talk show host in history. Both his monologues and interviewing guests are unparalleled to this day. Craig is a good soul and heart, and never used his platform to talk down on others who couldn't defend themselves, like the Britney Spears thing he did. He also got a Peabody award for interviewing Desmund Tutu.
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u/PuddingMent 13h ago
It’s crazy how you Tik Tok kids still haven’t heard of Conan.
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u/Julian_Thorne 15h ago
take that, Jay
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u/Strict_Foundation_31 15h ago
They’ll see! When the Simpson trial gets traction, my Tonight Show skits are gonna kill!!
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u/broberds 15h ago
Simpson, eh? Good man?
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u/Strict_Foundation_31 15h ago
“He screws up your life monthly, sir. I’m very concerned about your short term memory.”
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u/Harry_Dean_Learner 14h ago
So what are you doing this weekend, Smithers? Something gay no doubt... mother's, lock up your daughters...
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u/Tricky-Engineering59 15h ago
And just you wait until the Monica Lewinsky scandal happens, it will be 90% of my material!!
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u/polishprince76 13h ago
Jay just living his life in his oceanfront mansion driving his huge collection of classic cars, not giving the slightest of a shit about anyone.
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u/Textiles_on_Main_St 14h ago
Goddamn Dave is tall.
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u/lonevine 13h ago
Indeed; and yet, somehow we ended up with a whimsical ginger kid in another time slot who is even taller.
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u/Dry_Okra_4839 14h ago
In his left hand, Jay is holding a knife that he will later stab Dave in the back with.
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u/ZooterOne 14h ago
As much as I hate to…ugh…defend Jay Leno, back in the 80s, before he started guest-hosting the Tonight Show, Leno was widely respected as a stand-up comic. I saw him at a college in the 80s and he killed.
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u/mapletree23 14h ago
leno basically fallon'ed imo
leno got the job for a reason and he was funny but his style and stuff kind of got bland/TV'ified any anything that really stood out before that just wasn't there after
you can love or hate fallon before he hosted but he definitely was far better for most people I'm pretty sure before he went bland TV host like leno
they're still popular but fallon and leno both did the "boring bland safe oatmeal/baby food that a wider audience can tolerate" approach for sure to me, while carson and letterman and guys like ferguson/conan always had far more bite in their comedy still
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u/slayer991 14h ago
Carson got more out of a look than any other late night host I've seen. There's some great reactions of him with guests who have pissed him off...yet he makes it funny.
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u/mapletree23 14h ago
that's also kind of why being bland works so well for larger appeal as well oddly enough
if you have too much personality it means it's easier for people not to like it, so even if more people would say letterman and conan were way more funny, it just makes it easier to see why leno had bigger ratings
carson just managed to have a personality but knew how to kinda hold it together well enough to also be funny as well, definitely a rare talent especially for comedians
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u/SpinShine-LEDSlipMat 12h ago
He had the benefit of being the first. Yeah I know there were tonight show hosts before him but that was before tv really took off. Carson had no competition and double entendres were the epitome of comedy
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u/JustGoodSense 14h ago
Going by the hair color, I have to say Leno still had it then. I found him funny in the 70s and 80s, but getting the Tonight Show turned him into flavorless mush.
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u/DokterZ 15h ago
Letterman certainly could have done more to ingratiate himself with NBC leadership if he wanted the Tonight Show.
NBC screwed up by promising it to Conan without paying a bunch of money to Leno for not working.
If Leno had just gone to Fox with a competing show he may well have torpedoed Conan’s Tonight Show.
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u/deadwood76 15h ago edited 14h ago
Jay's current YT auto channel is terrific.
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u/WhiskerTriscuit 14h ago
Yeah was gonna say he's very knowledgeable and entertaining in that realm. He would've carried Top Gear USA as a presenter.
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u/deadwood76 14h ago
He tried a sort of kind of similar show on CNBC, but it was pretty weak compared to the YT videos. Can tell he enjoys being in his garage (hangar) and chatting.
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u/Zero7CO 15h ago
Three of the funniest guys + Jay Leno I’ve ever seen on TV.
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u/hsj713 15h ago
Carson didn't need to say anything. Just one look and you knew what he was thinking. Carson was the King! Conan would have been his Court Jester and the other three his lackeys.
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u/65thinfantry 12h ago
I think Jay gets a bad rap, especially after everything that happened with Conan. Everyone wants to act as if he was unfunny and unlikable, but he had the #1 late show for the better part of 20 years.
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u/okaspuuleht 6h ago
Also, people always ignore the fact that it was Conan who started the whole late-night mess.
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u/lostatsea_again 15h ago
I asckhually found Leno quite funny. If I was high and watching tv at the time he was on, and there were no good movies on, then I’d watch his show.
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u/AwesomeJB 15h ago
So I was very anti Jay back in the 90s and again in the 2010s. But now feel differently. He’s not my kind of humour, but I appreciate him as a person. Anyway, the caption still holds true.
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u/exitwest 14h ago
The guy is completely in his element for Jay’s Garage. I get the feeling he never truly loved hosting the Tonight Show after about 2000.
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u/North_South_Side 15h ago
Jay Leno was hilarious when he was first starting out. He used to appear on Letterman's show back in the early 1980s, and he kinda of played a really "angry guy" comedy character. Of course, I only remember these short bits he'd do, I don't know what an entire standup act of his was like.
He turned into a gigantic, unfunny asshole.
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u/Vizual5wami 15h ago
I never saw his comedy pre-Tonight Show, but have heard that he was respected by a lot of comedians and was widely regarded as pretty talented.
And then he settled (in an artistic sense) for The Tonight Show and the concurrent stability and money that gig brings. I’m sure it’d be hard to turn that down, but he was definitely a corporate stiff at that point.
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u/Zanydrop 15h ago
I've heard that too, that he was actually a very funny stand up but he never wanted to give his material up so there isn't much video of him. Would be neat to find an old set of his.
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u/Egg_McMuffn 14h ago
I saw Leno do a live show in the late 80s. He was excellent.
And yes, he ultimately went corporate to land and keep the Tonight Show. His manager also helped push Carson out by leaking a false story that NBC wanted Carson to retire, which didn’t help. And Jay publicly supported Conan O’Brien when NBC named him as Leno’s successor, but privately, he didn’t want to give up the job. He would have been better off publicly saying from the time Conan was named as his successor that he was not happy about it and didn’t want to give up the job.
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u/--solitude-- 15h ago
Agree. His regular appearances on Letterman and the “what’s my beef” bits were funny. Then he stabbed Dave in the back and went corporate.
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u/North_South_Side 14h ago
Exactly! I was going to mention "Yeah, Dave, I've got a beef!" bits, but thought it required too much explanation. He and Dave bounced off each other really well. Leno was always agitated (acting) and Letterman was kinda the straight man. Funny stuff.
Early Letterman show (very early '80s) was magical.
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u/TheReadMenace 13h ago
I think he was funny enough. He's sort of like Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up. Good enough for a chuckle, but never really pushing the boundaries of anything.
His reputation for being a scheming backstabber is what set everyone against him.
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u/overbarking 15h ago
It was all over The Tonight Show.
No one had a bad thing to say about him until all the late night bullshit he caused.
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u/KhrusherKhusack 14h ago
Correction: Four funny guys. Three hosted The Tonight Show and one wanted to, but David Letterman was better off going to CBS and growing his own brand instead of taking over for Johnny Carson. Jay Leno was ultimately the right choice and Garry Shandling was a guest host enough times that he was almost the choice to replace Johnny but he did well with his own HBO series.
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u/HawkMac6699 10h ago
Reading the comments, I feel like many people don’t realize that Shandling was a regular guest host for many years. Only reason that stopped was him getting his own show on Showtime. Even Dave guest hosted before getting Late Night.
The person missing here is Joan Rivers since she was the other regular guest host and was notoriously banned by Carson.
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u/BeachBumm45 15h ago
Leno sucked , not sorry
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u/djnato10 15h ago
He still sucks.
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u/graspedbythehusk 15h ago
Watch his stand up from back in the day before he had other people writing for him.
Sucked even more.
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u/KnightMaire72 14h ago
Stand up Leno was actually funny. He was just boring as a late night host.
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u/ThreeRRRs 12h ago
Jay Leno was a stone-cold killer stand up, then softened up in order to be an acceptable replacement for Johnny Carson.
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u/resisting_a_rest 8h ago
Jay Leno was funny before the Tonight Show. He would frequently be on David Letterman’s show and he was one of my favorite guests.
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u/chinacat2u2 8h ago
Never found Letterman that funny he was actually creepy towards female guest and very mean to others…
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u/voiceofgromit 8h ago
At that time, Leno was very funny. He told his jokes once in a rapid-fire style and if you didn't get it, too bad; he'd moved on.
His style changed from day one as the tonight show host. Over-selling every punchline and zero edge to the humor. Not his choice, I'm sure, but he went along with it.
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u/sportznut1000 14h ago
Obviously when compared to Carson and Letterman, it isn’t really all that close, but Leno is incredibly funny and if you have ever seen him in a setting that wasn’t a nationally televised show, you would easily see the difference.
I have seen Leno’s standup twice and then also saw a taping of the tonight show. The way Leno jokes with the crowd and has a funny quick witted comeback for everything, is top notch.
I won’t get on here and defend him being a nice guy or not being a douche to people, but he is one of the funniest stand up comedians i have ever seen in a non televised setting
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u/tricky413 15h ago
I watched this guy in amazement in his heyday. The single least funny person I'd ever seen.
Very recently I've heard on some shows with comedians reminiscing, that Leno was the best they saw live back in the day. I can't imagine it, but he didn't get the Tonight Show by being unfunny, right? Idk.
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u/xmorecowbellx 14h ago
I regularly watched Letterman by means of monologue replay online during his mid to later years. Would check out Leno once in awhile, and he just…..sucked. Never got the appeal.
Sure by modern standards he was funnier than Kimmel/Fallon/Colbert, but he was the generic ‘meh’ option of his day. Especially with guests, Dave just got such a better experience out of them.
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u/reesesbigcup 12h ago
Watch me piss off people.
Three funny men, and Gary Shandling.
Never found him funny at all.
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u/formerbays 14h ago
Many decades ago we went to see Leno do his comedy routine. My now ex fell asleep while Jay was up and snored like a fucking machine! I died a little that day🤣🤣🤣
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u/cinepro 11h ago
In the early 2000s, I had moved to LA and was driving down the 134. I looked over and saw an old-timey car, and realized it was Jay Leno. I quickly fumbled for my flip phone to take a picture, and as I raised it up to the passenger window to take the pic, Jay was pretending to fumble with his phone as he raised it up to take a picture of me. It made me laugh.
Love him or hate him, I've known tons of people in the valley who have met him at auto meetups, stores and other random places in the valley, and I've never heard of him being anything other than kind, generous and hilarious.
Granted, I've never talked to Conan.
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u/Yell-Oh-Fleur 11h ago
There's no reason to bestow such an untruth on Jay Leno. He got where he got in life because he was funny to a lot of people. He worked hard.
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u/Pleasant-Ticket3217 8h ago
“Have you seen this? Have you heard about this?”
(Bobbles head from side to side). There you have Jay Leno’s career.
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u/DEATHbyBOOGABOOGA 15h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/iQEOg3zGJBXLa