In 1975, de Leon became a co-host of GMA Network's late afternoon variety show Discorama hosted by Bobby Ledesma.

Originally, the trio's appearance was supposed to be a one-off invitation as Discorama was set to be axed but after getting good feedback from the viewers and high ratings, the show was given a new lease on life by GMA management.

The trio was later invited to become part of the noontime show Student Canteen as they released 12 albums based on their Discorama Tough Hits segment.

Although de Leon continued to do movies alongside his showbiz teammates Tito and Vic, he started doing solo performances for other TV shows.

He is also the resident judge of the annual reality-based star search StarStruck and writes the entertainment column "De Leon's Den" once a week in the Philippine broadsheet Manila Bulletin.

's segment "Taktak Mo o Tatakbo" that replaced "Laban o Bawi", and is also one of the official dances of the 4th batch of the reality talent search StarStruck.

After "Itaktak Mo" became one of the most requested dance tunes of 2007, de Leon followed it up with "Kagat Labi Song", which was launched on Eat Bulaga!

On February 24, 2008, de Leon released a song titled "Walang Daya" ("No Cheating") with lyrics comparing his love to his rival host Willie Revillame's misfortunes (Wilyonaryo, Ferrari and Ultra stampede).

[4] 15-year old actress Pepsi Paloma accused de Leon and fellow comedians Vic Sotto and Richie D'Horsie of gang raping and taking photos of her on June 21, 1982, in a room at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City.

On July 31, Paloma's manager Rey dela Cruz lodged a formal complaint with Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile.

[5] The crime of rape at the time, carried the death penalty in the Philippines, and to prevent his brother and his cohorts from being sent to the electric chair, Tito Sotto quickly went to see Paloma while she was still securing the services of Atty.

[7] On October 5, 2017, de Leon elicited controversy from Filipino netizens and high-profile figures advocating for mental health awareness, following a remark he made about depression during GMA's Eat Bulaga!

[8][9] On September 23, 2023, de Leon sparked another controversy in TV5's E. A. T. segment "Gimme 5", where he suggested that a rope is one of the most common objects placed on a person's neck, which was widely interpreted by audiences as a reference to suicide by hanging.

[10] De Leon's remark was harshly criticised on social media as insensitive, resulting in calls for MTRCB chairperson Lala Sotto – daughter of fellow E.A.T.