Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno (/ˈlɛnoʊ/; born April 28, 1950) is an American actor, comedian, producer, writer, television host and television presenter.

Jay Leno
Leno in June 2019
Born	James Douglas Muir Leno (1950-04-28) April 28, 1950 (age 75) New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Emerson College
Occupations	Actor comedian producer writer host presenter
Years active	1976–present
Spouse	Mavis Nicholson ​ (m. 1980)​
Comedy career
Medium	Stand-up television film
Genres	Observational comedy black comedy surreal humor sketch comedy insult comedy satire
Subject(s)	American culture American politics everyday life pop culture current events human behavior social awkwardness gender differences
Notable works and roles	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (host, 1992–2009, 2010–2014) The Jay Leno Show (host, 2009–2010) Jay Leno's Garage (host, 2014–Present)
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Early life

Leno was born James Douglas Muir Leno in New Rochelle, New York on April 28, 1950.^[1] His mother Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993) was a homemaker. She was born in Greenock, Scotland and came to the United States at the age of 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), was an insurance salesman, who was born in New York, to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy.^[2] Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and even though his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973. Leno's only sibling was his late older brother Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran^[3] and a lawyer.

Career

The Tonight Show

Leno worked on late night television. He became host of The Tonight Show in 1992 when Johnny Carson retired. In 2007, during the writer's strike, Leno sided with the writers, even though he returned to his show after two months (without the writers besides himself) so that his staff would not be out of work. Despite leading the late-night ratings, he was forced out as host of the Tonight Show in 2009 to make way for Conan O'Brien. On March 1, 2010, became The Tonight Show host once again, because of poor ratings with both himself and Conan O'Brien. Leno hosted his last episode of the Tonight Show on February 6, 2014.

The Jay Leno Show

He was a star of a primetime comedy show, The Jay Leno Show, which ran from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010.

Acting

He guest-starred twice on the Nickelodeon TV series The Fairly OddParents as the Crimson Chin. His character's name uses the fact that Leno has a large and square chin.

Personal life

Leno with President Barack Obama in March 2009

Since 1980, Leno has been married to Mavis Leno; they have no children.^[4] Leno is dyslexic.^[5]