Biogs - The Tonight Show
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Jay Leno - Host
Jay was born in New York after his mother moved to America from Scotland when she was 11 years old. He started out in showbusiness as a warmup act for Tom Jones, amongst other people. Leno carried on with his standup comedy - including several appearances as a guest on Late Night With David Letterman. He started as host of The Tonight Show in 1992. David Letterman was the original favourite to take over from Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show in 1992, but Jay got the job. Letterman was favourite for the job, becuse Johnny Carson and Dave were good friends. Jay and Dave haven’t been seen together in public since Leno got The Tonight Show. Jay will retire from The Tonight Show in 2009, and Conan O’Brien (from Late Night) will take over from him as host.
Leno’s TV work includes an appearance (as himself) on The Simpsons, voice work on Family Guy and animated film Ice Age 2 (and Cars), and he’s also played himself in The West Wing and TV show Just Shoot Me. Jay can also been seen in the film Space Cowboys and in an episode of Scrubs.
Jay made headlines during the Michael Jackson trial where they placed a “gagging order” to prevent him from telling jokes about the trial (mainly because he was a witness). To get around this, he got guests on to do Jackson jokes for him - thus avoiding the gagging order.
Jay writes for British newspaper The Sunday Times (mainly about one of his main passions - cars - but also more recently including showbiz incites, etc). It is well known that Jay his hugely passionate about cars and owns a vast collection. He also was the subject of an episode of American Chopper, where they built him his own custom motorbike.
John Melendez - Announcer
John started off his career as an intern on The Howard Stern Show where he would carry out interviews on the street and out-and-about at various locations. Tony joined The Tonight Show as an announcer in 2004 - he also sometimes appears in different roles on the show. He was also a writer on The Howard Stern Show, before starting on The Tonight Show. He’s appeared in a few films and TV shows, including Dude Where’s My Car.
Kevin Eubanks - Band Leader
Kevin has been with The Tonight Show since 1995 and we tend to see him whenever Jay makes a joke - they cut to him laughing. Kevin doesn’t play a huge part in the show when compared to his counterpart on the Late Show With David Letterman (Paul Shaffer). He plays guitar in the band.
