Jay Leno | Club Random Classics with Bill Maher
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What is the premise of this Club Random Classics episode with Jay Leno?
Well, this week's Club Random Classic is my dear, dear friend Jay Leno. And if you think you know the story of the late night wars, where do you hear it from the guy who was hiding in the closet listening to NBC executives talk about him? We get into Johnny Carson and Conan and Jimmy Kimmel and getting fired while you're number one, Jay's insane work ethic, and somehow having dinner with Gorbachev. It's a history of show business told by a guy who survived all of it and, annoyingly, isn't even bitter. Plus, as always with Jay, about 17 stories I'd forgotten existed. Check out this amazing Club Random classic with Jay Leno. It works. No, it looks good. It looks good. I would tell you within. I said that to my wife.
She said, I like it too. It does, because it looks like... No, I've heard that many times, that people like the glasses. Oh, this is... I just can't... That's just water. I just can't get past the fact that the glasses represent to me a milestone of aging... You know, it's like there are milestones of aging. You were telling me about the pickle jar last time I saw you.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay. It's that kind of thing, you know. Yeah. You can't apparently open pickle jars anymore. Well, it takes a little more strength. But you get to do the Walter Cronkite, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, give me, I'll show you. Give me your glasses. Okay. You do the... Remember how he would do that? President Kennedy died today at 1.25. I was going to do it. I can do it exactly. You're fucking it up. And there it is, the flash from Dallas. President Kennedy died at 1.05 p.m. 145, I think. Whatever it was. But, I mean, there was a guy who you could see on the air with the genuineness of being choked up. Right. But unlike what they would be probably doing today, didn't let himself. You know, he had the self-restraint of the people of that era.
I'm the newsman. I'm here to do a job. Yes, it's devastating news. I may swallow a couple of times, but then I go on and I do it. I don't blubber. Yeah. Right, Jay? Exactly. Where's your camera? Right here? Yeah. Oh, yeah. They're all over. This is like a reality show. Have we started already? I'm lost. Yeah. Oh. Right? Yeah. Oh, I have. Okay. Well, let's go. What are you doing? We're doing it. This is the show. What do you expect me to do? I don't know. I get drinking high with somebody I like. That's it. Okay. There you go. I don't have a series of questions or anything. All right. I mean... Jay, tell me something about your background. I understand you claim to be a comedian. Did I tell you that claim story? Tell that story. I love that story.
No, I was in Dayton, Ohio. I was guest hosting the Tonight Show. I was doing the comedy club. Guest hosting already? No, in 86. I thought this was way before that. The claim, he claims to be a comedian? No, no, I'm not claiming to be a comedian. What it was was, it was about, I had been hosting The Tonight Show for a number of weeks. So I'm doing some clubs in Ohio. So they go, oh, you're on Dayton. You're on at the New News, a female anchor. What's her name? Okay. Sorry, I'm Jay Leno. She said, I'm sorry, I'm not familiar. I said, oh, my name's Jay Leno. I'm a comedian. I'm playing, you know, Chuckles or Giggles, whatever it is. And I guest hosted The Tonight Show. I talked with Jay Leno, Leno who claims to have hosted the Tonight Show.
I go, you know, I can prove it. I said, you have film right here in this. This is an NBC affiliate. I'm sure there's tape, you know. Now, either you told me a different story. No, I told you that story. It's so interesting because I will admit to the fact that the brain over time sometimes does. You know the one you might confuse it with is Buffalo. Buffalo, my mom, do you remember John Eric Hexum? Yes. Remember the kid who sadly killed himself? Sadly. He had a... Well, tell people why. He thought the gun was... Right. No. It was a blank. It was a blank that would shoot a paper wad. But since he had it right against his forehead, instead of just going... The pressure went into his brain and killed him. Well... The lesson, kids, is don't fire even a blank gun into your head.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the premise of this Club Random Classics episode with Jay Leno?
0:00–15:17
2
How did Jay Leno end up hiding in an NBC closet to overhear executives?
15:17–18:14
3
Why did Jay Leno get paid with rolls of a blank‑toilet‑paper product called Freshen?
18:14–46:00
4
What happened with the 10 p.m. show and NBC’s drama over the years?
46:00–59:43
5
How did Rodney Dangerfield’s stroke become a memorable on‑stage story?
59:43–1:02:46
6
Why do Jay and Bill discuss keeping comedy apolitical and the risks of political jokes?
1:02:46–1:05:27
7
What does Jay Leno reveal about his massive car collection and ‘Jay Leno’s Garage’?
1:05:27–1:31:29