Jay Leno<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s life has been filled with comedy milestones, heated celebrity feuds and one major career U-turn.<\/p>\n The standup comedian disrupted the entire TV landscape when he was hired as Johnny Carson<\/strong>\u2019s Tonight Show<\/em> replacement in 1992 \u2014 setting off a chain of events in late-night TV that would continue into the 2000s. All told, Leno spent the better part of 22 years at the helm of the Tonight Show<\/em>, establishing an undeniably significant yet complicated comedy legacy along the way.<\/p>\n Keep scrolling to look back at Leno\u2019s esteemed career, marriage to wife Mavis Nicholson<\/strong> and his most notorious public feuds:<\/p>\n As luck would have it, Leno had his big career break on The Tonight Show<\/em> 15 years before he started hosting it. He performed standup comedy on a 1977 Tonight Show<\/em> episode and soon became a staple in comedy clubs around the country.<\/p>\n Leno began regularly substituting for Carson as the \u201cpermanent guest host\u201d on The Tonight Show<\/em> in 1986 and was also a regular guest on Late Night with David Letterman<\/em>, which aired directly after The Tonight Show<\/em> on NBC.<\/p>\n Leno met his future wife in 1976 and they tied the knot in 1980. Nicholson has kept a notably lower public profile than her husband, given her work as a human rights activist.<\/p>\n Nicholson was the chairperson for the \u200b\u200bFeminist Majority Foundation<\/a>\u2019s campaign to end gender apartheid in Afghanistan in the 1990s \u2014 for which the group received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recipe for peace is simple and obvious to state, but harder to achieve,\u201d Nicholson said in 2001 about her work in Afghanistan. \u201cIt is the eradication of poverty, abuse, and injustice, which is the breeding ground for rage.\u201d<\/p>\n Leno spoke<\/a> in 2002 about the secret to his then-22-year marriage, revealing that the couple have a rule about his standup comedy tours.<\/p>\n \u201cI always fly home the same night. And if I go somewhere interesting, Mavis goes with me,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n Discussing Nicholson\u2019s activism, Leno joked, \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted a situation where people would go, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s Mr. Mavis.\u2019 That would make me laugh \u2026 I\u2019ve done what I want to do, and now it\u2019s my turn to help her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of priorities, and it makes the marriage better,\u201d he added. \u201cRemember, if you eat the whole pie, you\u2019re going to choke. I love it when she goes to these functions where people think she\u2019s just another empty-headed starlet, and afterward they go, \u2018She knows what she\u2019s talking about.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Long before a writers\u2019 strike knocked his TV show off the air in 2008, Leno was involved in a strike at Hollywood\u2019s famed Comedy Store. At the heart of the dispute was Comedy Store owner Mitzi Shore<\/strong>\u2019s alleged refusal to pay her comics \u2014 instead she offered exposure on her stages that could lead to paid work elsewhere.<\/p>\n Leno and David Letterman<\/strong> were among the comics who picketed outside the Comedy Store in 1979, seeking a standard wage for comics. Speaking to TIME<\/em><\/a> in 2008, Letterman recalled Leno \u201ccouldn\u2019t sit still\u201d as the Comedy Store performers discussed a walkout.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was behaving like a hyperactive child: jumping up and down, being funny and distracting, to the point where everybody sort of thought, \u2018Well, maybe we shouldn\u2019t tell Jay about the nxt meeting,\u2019\u201d Letterman quipped.<\/p>\n Leno paid a physical price for being on the frontlines of the strike when he was struck by an unknown driver trying to disrupt the movement. Comedian Tom Dreesen<\/strong> told Time<\/em> that Leno feigned injury in order to boost the striking comics\u2019 cause and, before long, a settlement was reached to pay comics $25 per set at the Comedy Store. The Comedy Store\u2019s official retelling<\/a> of the strike mentioned that those events \u201cchanged Mitzi forever,\u201d from \u201cthe innocent Artist\u2019s Colony cheerleader\u201d to \u201ca driven businesswoman.\u201d<\/p>\n By all accounts, Letterman was the favorite to become the host of NBC\u2019s Tonight Show<\/em> once Carson retired. NBC had different plans and once Carson did officially confirm he was stepping down from The Tonight Show<\/em>, Leno was picked as his replacement.<\/p>\n NBC\u2019s decision to go with Leno over Letterman kicked off a spiral of events that would cause controversy for The Tonight Show<\/em> into the 2010s. After being passed over for The Tonight Show<\/em>, Letterman announced he would leave NBC to host The Late Show<\/em> on CBS in direct competition with Leno. (Letterman was subsequently succeeded by Conan O\u2019Brien<\/strong> as the new host of Late Night<\/em> on NBC.)<\/p>\n Carson made his preference known by regularly submitting jokes<\/a> to Letterman\u2019s writing staff for years after his retirement. Leno tried to stay above the fray with a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Carson\u2019s 30-year Tonight Show<\/em> stint on his first official episode as host on May 25, 1992.<\/p>\n Leno walked out on the Tonight Show<\/em> stage to a standing ovation and subsequently joked, \u201cLet\u2019s see how you all feel in 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Letterman spent most of the 1990s regularly zinging Leno \u2014 both on air and off. While the two were friends since the earliest days of their career, they became direct competitors in 1993 when The Late Show with David Letterman<\/em> on CBS aired in the same time slot as The Tonight Show<\/em> on NBC.<\/p>\n In a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a>, Letterman insisted he never personally blamed Leno for taking the Tonight Show<\/em> job.<\/p>\n \u201cI speak to Jay now with the same regularity that I have always spoken to Jay. Which is not much. There\u2019s no ill will personally,\u201d Letterman insisted. \u201cIf I felt I was deprived of something that was rightfully mine, if I had fantasies about being hoodwinked or misled \u2013 then there might be ill will. I\u2019m not the kind of person that wants to see somebody else fail on television. Whatever the future holds, I\u2019m in pretty good shape. So, no, I\u2019m not upset with NBC, I\u2019m not upset with Jay.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the two continued to trade public barbs<\/a> for the rest of their careers. Leno offered an olive branch in 2009 by inviting Letterman to be a guest during his then-final week on The Tonight Show<\/em>, but his rival declined. They did appear together in a 2010 Super Bowl commercial<\/a>.<\/p>\n Letterman told Neal Brennan<\/strong><\/a> in 2022 that the media hype over his past with Leno was \u201cembarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to be the guy who\u2019s pissed off because, \u2018I didn\u2019t get so and so,\u2019\u201d Letterman insisted. \u201cI didn\u2019t truly feel that way \u2026 Nobody ever came to me and said, \u2018We would like you to host The Tonight Show<\/em>.\u2019 So, OK, they didn\u2019t want me to host The Tonight Show<\/em>. I can live with that.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, Leno told \u201cIn Depth with Graham Bensinger\u201d<\/a> in 2025 that he was willing to reconcile with Letterman.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to do that. I think I have no problem with it,\u201d Leno said. \u201cI think Dave might be awkward.\u201d<\/p>\n The Tonight Show<\/em> secured a longstanding ratings dominance over Letterman\u2019s Late Show<\/em> by the mid-1990s, potentially because Leno seized on pop culture events like the O.J Simpson<\/strong> double murder trial as regular fodder for his nightly monologues.<\/p>\n One of the most infamous Tonight Show<\/em> interviews<\/a> in history took place on July 10, 1995. Leno\u2019s guest was Hugh Grant<\/strong>, who had been arrested for suspicion of lewd conduct with a sex worker by an L.A. vice squad one month earlier. (Grant eventually pleaded no contest<\/a>, paid a fine and served summary probation to resolve the case.)<\/p>\n The Tonight Show<\/em> studio audience erupted into cheers when Leno greeted Grant with a blunt first question, \u201cWhat the hell<\/em> were you thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n Grant paused before telling Leno, \u201cI think, you know, in life [there\u2019s] what\u2019s a good thing to do and what\u2019s a bad thing, and I did a bad thing \u2026 and there you have it.\u201d<\/p>\n This interview helped propel The Tonight Show<\/em> to its first nightly ratings win over The Late Show<\/em>. Leno largely kept his ratings edge over Letterman for the next 14 years.<\/p>\n The shock jock was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show<\/em> in the mid-1990s, but that all changed when Leno hired Stern\u2019s radio employee John Melenedez<\/strong> to become his new announcer.<\/p>\n Stern infamously blasted Leno on his morning radio show throughout much of 2004, accusing Leno of stealing from his comedy arsenal to bolster The Tonight Show<\/em>. The DJ later took the beef directly to late-night<\/a> by appearing on Letterman\u2019s show to rip Leno in 2013.<\/p>\n \u201cJay Leno will forever blow my mind,\u201d Stern ranted to Letterman. \u201cHe took The Tonight Show<\/em> from you, you were [so] close to getting it \u2026 You had such a dream and Jay snatched it from you!\u201d<\/p>\n Leno largely refrained from commenting on Stern over the years, but did reveal on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen<\/em><\/a> in 2019 that he wasn\u2019t willing to feud publicly with the former America\u2019s Got Talent<\/em> judge.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t get into the feud, because you\u2019re not going to win a feud with Howard. Howard is good. If you start that feud, boom, you\u2019re down,\u201d Leno said. \u201cSo if you just let it roll, it\u2019s fine \u2026 I don\u2019t hold any grudges. I listen to him now, he\u2019s funny, he\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n NBC wanted to avoid more trouble with its Tonight Show<\/em> line of succession at all costs, so in 2004, it signed Late Night<\/em> host O\u2019Brien to a new five-year contract that stipulated he would take over for Leno in 2009.<\/p>\n However, NBC wasn\u2019t willing to let go of Leno either so the network hired him to host a new primetime variety show airing five nights a week at 10p.m. ET.<\/p>\n When it came time for Leno to sign off from The Tonight Show<\/em> on May 29, 2009, he introduced his wife, Nicholson, to a standing ovation from the studio audience. Leno told viewers he \u201ccouldn\u2019t be prouder of\u201d his successor O\u2019Brien, calling him a \u201cterrific guy and a good friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Leno launched his primetime variety series, The Jay Leno Show<\/em>, on September 14, 2009. The series partially resembled Leno\u2019s Tonight Show<\/em> format with a standard comedy monologue and celebrity interviews, along with retaining his popular \u201cHeadlines\u201d and \u201cJaywalking\u201d comedy segments.<\/p>\n NBC tried to differentiate The Jay Leno Show<\/em> from the new Tonight Show with Conan O\u2019Brien<\/em> with segments like the \u201cGreen Car Challenge,\u201d where celebrities competitively raced electric Ford Focus cars around a track. The \u201cTen at Ten\u201d segment involved Leno asking ten rapid fire questions to a different celebrity guest each night.<\/p>\n The Jay Leno Show<\/em> started off with solid ratings but quickly fell off. By January 2010, NBC announced it would shift The Jay Leno Show<\/em> to 11.35 p.m. ET for a 30-minute slot, thus bumping O\u2019Brien\u2019s Tonight Show<\/em> to 12.05 a.m. ET.<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien announced on January 12, 2010 that he would not \u201cparticipate\u201d in what he called the \u201cdestruction\u201d of The Tonight Show<\/em> by moving it back to 12:05 a.m. ET.<\/p>\n \u201cFor 60 years the Tonight Show<\/em> has aired immediately following the late local news,\u201d he noted in a press release. \u201cI sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show<\/em> into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show<\/em> at 12:05 simply isn\u2019t the Tonight Show<\/em> \u2026 So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it.\u201d<\/p>\n NBC and O\u2019Brien reached a settlement that allowed the comedian to leave The Tonight Show<\/em>. The network then cancelled The Jay Leno Show<\/em> entirely so Leno could simply return as host of The Tonight Show<\/em>.<\/p>\n During his final Tonight Show<\/em> episode host on January 22, 2010, O\u2019Brien landed a parting shot at NBC.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show<\/em>, and \u2014 for seven months\u2014 I got to do it,\u201d he told viewers. \u201cAnd, I did it my way, with people I love. I do not regret one second of anything that we\u2019ve done here.\u201d<\/p>\n Leno returned as host of The Tonight Show<\/em> on March 1, 2010.<\/p>\n The Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em> host took repeated on-air potshots at Leno throughout the upheaval at The Tonight Show<\/em> in 2010, including dressing up as Leno<\/a> (complete with a prosthetic chin) for one of his monologues on ABC.<\/p>\n The two came face-to-face<\/a> via satellite in one of the last Jay Leno Show<\/em> episodes in January 2010. Kimmel took part in Leno\u2019s \u201c10 at 10\u201d segment where he had to answer rapid-fire questions \u2014 only to turn most of his answers into jabs at Leno for taking the Tonight Show<\/em> back from O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n Asked by Leno about \u201cthe best prank\u201d he\u2019d ever pulled, Kimmel quipped, \u201cI think the best prank I ever pulled was I told a guy that, \u2018Five years from now, I\u2019m going to give you my show.\u2019 And then when the five years came, I gave it to him and took it back almost instantly.\u201d<\/p>\n Leno admitted in a 2025 interview on \u201cIn Depth With Graham Bensinger\u201d that his dispute with Kimmel was one of the biggest \u201cmistakes\u201d of his career.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Kimmel came on my show and humiliated me on my own show, I let it happen,\u201d Leno said. \u201cI didn\u2019t edit it. It was my mistake, I trusted somebody. I went, \u2018Ah, I made a mistake. OK, I should pay the price.\u2019 And it\u2019s fine, it\u2019s fine. I mean, we could\u2019ve edited it out of the show \u2026 It\u2019s real \u2014 it happened. It\u2019s my mistake. That\u2019s how you learn.\u201d<\/p>\n Leno\u2019s second stint on The Tonight Show<\/em> lasted from March 1, 2010 to February 6, 2014. This time around, Leno bowed out for good and handed over the reins of The Tonight Show<\/em> to Jimmy Fallon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n His final Tonight Show<\/em> episode<\/a> featured cameo appearances from then-President Barack Obama<\/strong>, Billy Crystal<\/strong>, Kim Kardashian<\/strong> and Jim Parsons<\/strong>. Crystal \u2014 who was Leno\u2019s first Tonight Show<\/em> guest in 1992 \u2014 led the star-studded guest lineup in singing \u201cSo Long, Farewell\u201d from The Sound of Music<\/em><\/a> to Leno.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to thank you, the audience,\u201d Leno told viewers. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be on the air without you. This has been the greatest 22 years of my life. I am the luckiest guy in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The comedian kept busy after leaving The Tonight Show<\/em> by hosting automotive series Jay Leno\u2019s Garage<\/em> on CNBC and continuing to perform live comedy.<\/p>\n Leno was so dedicated to his standup schedule that he headlined a November 2024 gig in Highland, California after falling down a hill<\/a> hours earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cI went out and the restaurant was [at the bottom of a hill] but to get to it \u2014 I didn\u2019t have a car \u2014 so you had to go about a mile and a half around,\u201d Leno told TMZ<\/em> at the time. \u201cWell, I said, \u2018The hill doesn\u2019t look that steep, maybe 60 to 70 feet. Let me see if I can go down the hill.\u2019 And then I fell down and boom, boom.\u201d<\/p>\n Leno confirmed he\u2019d \u201chit [his] head on a rock\u201d and injured his eye, but refused to call off his comedy show.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that big of a deal,\u201d he said of his injury. \u201cIt\u2019s alright.\u201d<\/p>\n According to NBC News<\/em><\/a>, Leno was granted a conservatorship over his wife\u2019s estate in 2024 after she was diagnosed with dementia. Leno told \u201cIn Depth With Graham Bensinger\u201d in 2025 that he wanted to ensure Nicholson received the best medical care<\/a> since they\u2019d been married for 45 years.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I got married, you sort of take a vow, [like,] \u2018Will I live up to this? Or will I be like a sleazy guy, if something happens to my wife, I\u2019m out banging the cashier at the mini-mart?\u2019 No, I didn\u2019t,\u201d Leno said. \u201cI enjoy the time with my wife. I go home, I cook dinner for her, watch TV and it\u2019s OK. It\u2019s basically what we did before, except now, I have to feed her and do all those things.\u201d<\/p>\nEarly Career<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-1.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>Mavis Nicholson Marriage<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-2.jpg?w=1000&quality=78&strip=all\")
<\/div>Comedy Store Strike<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-3.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>\u2018Tonight Show\u2019 Hiring Controversy<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-4.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>David Letterman Feud<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-5.jpg?w=1000&quality=55&strip=all\")
<\/div>Hugh Grant Interview<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-6.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>Howard Stern Feud<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-7.jpg?w=1000&quality=70&strip=all\")
<\/div>First \u2018Tonight Show\u2019 Exit<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-8.jpg?w=1000&quality=55&strip=all\")
<\/div>Jay Leno Show<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-9.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>\u2018Tonight Show\u2019 Return and Conan O\u2019Brien Feud<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-10.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>Jimmy Kimmel Feud<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-11.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>Tonight Show Exit, Part 2<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-12.jpg?w=1000&quality=78&strip=all\")
<\/div>Falling Down Hill<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-13.jpg?w=1000&quality=78&strip=all\")
<\/div>Caring for Mavis Nicholson<\/h3>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Jay-Lenos-Infamous-Feuds-and-Life-Milestones-Tonight-Show-Controversy-Wifes-Illness-More-14.jpg?w=1000&quality=40&strip=all\")
<\/div>