NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - The Drink with Kate Snow: Jay Leno

Episode Date: June 21, 2020

We all know Jay Leno from his two decades hosting the "Tonight Show." But he says it’s the two decades before that really made him.

Hey everyone, this is Kate Snow. I recently had a virtual chat and drink with Jay Leno. We all know him for two decades hosting The Tonight Show, but in our conversation he talked about how it was really the two decades before The Tonight Show that made him who he is. And those two decades, including moments when he had to sleep in New York City alleys and squat in Los Angeles homes for sale. This interview is part of my series, The Drink with Kate Snow. You'll find other conversations with people at the top of their game at NBCNews.com slash The Drink. If I don't leave right now, I'm going to get stuck here. I left all my stuff in the apartment and I just got on a plane I flew to LA.

Hi Jay! How are ya? Good! We're doing this during coronavirus so we're virtually having a drink. What do you got there? Oh just some Snapple. Okay. I've got some sparkling coconut water. Oh there you go. That sounds I've got some sparkling coconut water. Oh, there you go.

That sounds trendy. Yeah, sparkling coconut water. It's pretty good. This is the drink. So what we do is we talk about how you became who you are, how you got to the top. So Jay Leno, how on earth did you get where you are now? Well, you sound like my mother. Well, how did this happen?

It's ridiculous. You start doing this comedy thing, and it sounds like you're kind of young 20s. You're in college. Yeah, my mother had no idea. I remember my mother was from Scotland, and I heard my mother on the phone talking to her sister, my Aunt Nettie, saying, Aunt Nettie obviously said,

what is Jay doing now? And my mother said, well, he has a little skit that he puts on from town to town. He does these little skits. Like, I go to the town square, and I dance around. You know, my mother just had no idea. How did you end up in L.A.? I mean, did you do that typical thing of, like, if I'm going to make it, I got to go to Los Angeles?

Well, originally I went to New York and I literally lived on the street. I used to sleep in an alley off of 44th and 9th and that was a tough area. And I used to sleep in this alley where prostitutes would bring their customers. And I'd be sleeping. I'd just hear the most horrible noises. And I'd go, really? This is my life now? This is awful.

And I thought, I've got to go someplace where I'm not going to freeze to death. So I literally got on a plane and I went to L.A. And I said, you know, if I don't leave right now, I'm going to get stuck here. Because what happened is I had friends who wanted to be actors or singers or comedians, but they took a job as a waiter or a waitress, and then they wanted a nice car. So they got a car, and then they had to keep the job to make the payments on the car. And then they couldn't go to the audition because they had to go to work because they had to make the payments on the car. And I realized, I'm just going to walk out the door. I left my car in the street. I left all my stuff in the

apartment. And I just got on a plane. I flew to LA. I got off the plane. I didn't know where I was going. And I went to the comedy store. And I went to introduce myself and they did not seem impressed. And I slept on the back stairs of the comedy store for about maybe 12 days, something like that. Come on. No, wait, wait, wait, wait. Seriously, you did this? Oh, yeah. You know what I used to do, which was actually pretty cool?

I used to go to open houses. I'd go get the Sunday paper, and it'd say, open house Sunday from noon to 4. So I would get there at like 3.30. It was a lovely house. All right, see you later. And then I would go in the closet and I'd shut the door. And when the realtor locked up, oh, I would live in the house for a day or two. And I did that a bunch of times. It was always nice in California. So it wasn't like freezing to do that for New York City.

Yeah. Yeah, no, I get it. But some of this is hard to believe, Jay. Why is that? I don't know. It's just people see you in a certain way, right? We see you as two decades of The Tonight Show. We don't think... Well, yeah, yeah. But there were two decades.

There were two decades before The Tonight Show. Those are the defining ones. Can I do just some quick rapid fire questions? Is that cool? Your favorite car? I don't have, I've had, I wouldn't have all these cars without a favorite car. You have cars for sentimental reasons. I mean, I have my 55 Buick. When I landed in, when I came to Hollywood, I had $400 at one point. And I got the penny saver and I bought a 55 Buick. And I met my wife in that car and we dated in that car. I took the car to my first Tonight Show.

I drove it to my last Tonight Show. It's not my favorite in the sense that it's fast or it's fun to drive or sporty. It just has a lot of meaning. Biggest obstacle you ever faced? Oh, gosh. what would be the biggest obstacle? I could guess. What is your guess? Well, there's so much written

about what happened when you left the Tonight Show for a while and then you came back. When they basically told you you were going to retire. I don't know. Oh no, that's all showbiz. My biggest obstacle was probably being somewhat dyslexic and not being able to spell and do math and a bunch of those. So that

would probably be it. Some young aspiring comedian calls you and wants advice. What do you say? Anybody can have a life. Careers are hard to come by. And, you know know the idea is don't give me any excuses there's always going to be somebody there there's always going to be somebody in your way so do what you have to do to get the job done you know never explain never complain just just do the job it seems like cars and and tinkering on cars has been a stream through your whole life, right? I mean, you've been doing that. Well, I'm in a business that's very subjective. Some people think you're funny.

Some people think you suck. And they're both correct. But if you don't make someone laugh, then obviously to them you're not a comedian. Other people go, oh, I think that's so funny. Okay. But when something's broken and you fix it, and you take an that has not run in a hundred years and you get it running, no one can say it's not running. You know, I'm one of those people that the, I guess the heart is healthiest when the head and the hands work together. I mean, I work with my hands during the day and you realize

taking a transmission out of work on a car, this is hard. And then you go on stage and you realize taking a transmission out of work on a car this is hard and then you go on stage and you talk and people give you vast amounts of money you go it makes you appreciate that um jay Leno's Garage it's back again on CNBC I know you've got a big season you must love this I do you could have retired Jay and just kind you know, lived on the beach or something. Yeah, that's what I do. Live on the beach. Yeah, that sounds great. You know, Seinfeld and I have this discussion all the time.

You know, we said, what if we took a vacation and we liked it? Then we'd be screwed. And it's really true. I mean, I think the essence of being a comedian is not actually fitting in anywhere. It's observing, you know, that's what was great about the tonight show. It's the perfect joke for the first job for me, because I could be in show business without really being in it. I didn't have to hang out and do all that. I got to observe it.

This has been fun. Hey, thanks. I wish it were here, but we'll do this. Cheers.