James Douglas Muir Leno (/ˈlɛnoʊ/ LEN-oh; born April 28, 1950)[1] is an American television host, comedian, and writer.

[7][8] During the 1970s, he had minor roles in several television series and films, first in the 1976 episode "J.J. in Trouble" of Good Times, and the same year in the pilot of Holmes & Yo-Yo.

After an uncredited appearance in the 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane, he played more prominent roles in 1978 in American Hot Wax and Silver Bears.

His other film and television appearances from that period include Almost Heaven (1978), "Going Nowhere" (1979) on One Day at a Time, Americathon (1979), Polyester (1981), "The Wild One" (1981) on Alice, and both "Feminine Mistake" (1979) and "Do the Carmine" (1983) on Laverne & Shirley.

[10] The July 1995 episode of The Tonight Show which featured an interview with Hugh Grant (who had been arrested for receiving oral sex in a public place from a prostitute) saw Leno rate higher than Letterman for the first time.

[13] During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, Leno was accused of violating WGA guidelines by writing his own monologue for The Tonight Show.

In his testimony regarding a phone conversation with the accuser, Leno testified that he was not asked for any money and there did not appear to be any coaching — but the calls seemed unusual and scripted.

[21] As a result, Leno was initially not allowed to tell jokes about Jackson or the case, which had been a fixture of The Tonight Show's opening monologue in particular.

But he and his show's writers used a legal loophole by having Leno briefly step aside while stand-in comedians took the stage and told jokes about the trial.

[22] The gag order was challenged, and the court ruled that Leno could continue telling jokes about the trial as long as he did not discuss his testimony.

It was announced at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that it would feature one or two celebrities, occasional musical guests, and keep the popular "Headlines" segments, which would be near the end of the show.

First guests included Jerry Seinfeld, Oprah Winfrey (via satellite), and a short sit-down with Kanye West discussing his controversy at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, which had occurred the night before.

All NBC late night programming would also be preempted by the 2010 Winter Olympics between February 15 and 26, moving The Tonight Show to 12:05 a.m., the first post-midnight timeslot in its history.

O'Brien's contract stipulated that NBC could move the show ahead to 12:05 a.m. without penalty (a clause included primarily to accommodate sports preemptions).

[32][33] TMZ reported that O'Brien was given no advance notice of this change, and that NBC offered him two choices: an hour-long 12:05 a.m. time slot, or the option to leave the network.

[58] In 2019, Leno was a guest judge on season 14 of America's Got Talent where he pressed the Golden Buzzer for opera singer Emanne Beasha.

[59] In 2023, Leno returned to NBC to appear as a celebrity guest judge on the two-episode season finale of Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge.

[76][77] NBC Sports chairman and former Saturday Night Live producer Dick Ebersol spoke out against all who had criticized Leno, calling them "chicken-hearted and gutless".

"[68] Fellow comedians Paul Reiser, Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Norton (a frequent contributor to The Tonight Show) also voiced support for Leno.

[79][80][81] Responding to the mounting criticism, Leno said NBC had assured him that O'Brien was willing to accept the proposed arrangement and that they would not let either host out of his contract.

[83] Leno's comedic influences include Johnny Carson, Robert Klein, Alan King, David Brenner, Mort Sahl, George Carlin,[84] Don Rickles,[85] Bob Newhart,[86] and Rodney Dangerfield.

[90] Leno's older brother, Patrick, a Vietnam veteran and graduate of Yale Law School, died of cancer in 2002 at the age of 62.

[94] In the book Leading with My Chin, he says he was aware of surgery that could reset his mandible, but that he did not wish to endure a prolonged healing period with his jaws wired shut.

[105] On November 16, 2024, Leno had broken his right wrist, including tearing the fingernail off his right index finger, and sustained several bruises on his left side acquiring a periorbital hematoma after he accidentally tripped while walking to go have dinner at Dino's Sports Lounge outside the Hampton Inn in Greensburg, Pennsylvania causing him to roll straight down a hill landing on the curb.

[109] In August 2012, Leno auctioned his Fiat 500, which was sold for $385,000 with all the proceeds going to a charity that helps wounded war veterans recover by providing them with temporary housing.

[115] He also has a website and a TV program called Jay Leno's Garage, which contains video clips and photos of his car collection in detail, as well as other vehicles of interest to him.

[118] He has a regular column in Popular Mechanics which showcases his car collection and gives advice about various automotive topics, including restoration and unique models, such as his jet-powered motorcycle and solar-powered hybrid.

Leno also writes occasional "Motormouth" articles for The Sunday Times,[119] reviewing high-end sports cars and giving his humorous take on motoring matters.

Leno opened his garage to Team Bondi, the company that developed the 2011 video game L.A. Noire, which is set in Los Angeles in the late-1940s.

[121] In a 2015 interview with The Jerusalem Post, Leno said, "I always considered Israel as not only the only democracy in the Middle East, I think it's the purest, because every Israeli voter seems to have his own political party.