Jay Leno Biography (1950-)

Full name, James Douglas Muir Leno; born April 28, 1950, in New Rochelle, NY(some sources cite Short Hills, NJ); son of Angelo (in insurance business) and Cathryn (a homemaker) Leno; married Mavis Nicholson (a writer), 1980. Addresses: Office: c/o NBC Enterprises, 3500 Olive Dr., 15th Floor, Burbank, CA 91510-7885.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Comedian, television host, actor
Birth Details: April 28, 1950; New Rochelle, New York, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Television Appearances
Series
The Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. Show, CBS, 1977
"Permanent" guest host, The Tonight Show (also known as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson), NBC, 1987-92
Host, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 1992-, broadcast monthly on the Internet as Virtual Jay, 1999-
Pilots
JAG, CBS, 1995
Veronica's Closet, NBC, 1997
Miniseries
The Talk Show Story, 2000
Episodic
Joey Mitchell, "Feminine Mistake," Laverne and Shirley, ABC, 1979
Patient, "J. J. in Trouble," Good Times, CBS, 1981
Bones, "The Wild One," Alice, CBS, 1981
Bobby Bitts, "Do the Carmine," Laverne and Shirley, ABC, 1983
Saturday Night Live, NBC, 1986
Himself, "Performance Artist," The Larry Sanders Show, HBO, 1993
The Sinbad Show, Fox, 1993
Voice of Don, "Oops," Frasier, NBC, 1993
Himself, "Will's up a Dirt Road," The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,NBC, 1994
Dennis Miller Live, 1994
Himself, "The One with Mrs. Bing," Friends, NBC, 1995
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, NBC, 1995
Voice, "The Frog Prince," Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child, HBO, 1995
Jay, "Brother, Can You Spare a Hot Rod&quest;," Home Improvement,ABC, 1995
Himself, "Just My Dog," Mad about You, NBC, 1995
Himself, "Sniper: Part 1," Homicide: Life on the Street, NBC, 1996
The Rodman World Tour, MTV, 1996
Himself, "The Team Player," Wings, NBC, 1996
Himself, "The Shower Head," Seinfeld, NBC, 1996
Himself, "Go Girlz," Ellen, ABC, 1996
Himself, "The Taxman Cometh," The Nanny, CBS, 1996
Himself, "Dick Jokes," 3rd Rock from the Sun, 1996
Himself, "Talk Show," Baywatch, syndicated, 1997
Himself, "Secretary's Day," Just Shoot Me, NBC, 1997
Himself, "Caroline and the Bad Trip," Caroline in the City, NBC, 1997
Himself, "The Cameo Show," Muppets Tonight!, 1997
Himself, "The Best of Muppets Tonight!," Muppets Tonight!, 1997
Home Improvement, ABC, 1998
The Entertainment Business, Bravo, 1998
Voice, "The Last Temptation of Krusty," The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 1998
Voice of Kitty, "Cliffhanger," South Park (animated), Comedy Central, 1998
Voice, "City on the Edge of Forever," South Park (animated), Comedy Central, 1998
"Diamonds Are a Val's Best Friend," V.I.P., syndicated, 1998
Voice of Lucky, "Blind Faith," Providence, NBC, 1999
"Valma and Louise," V.I.P., syndicated, 1999
Himself, "20 Hours in L.A.," The West Wing, NBC, 2000
"Ep. 332," Passions, ABC, 2000
"Drew Live II," The Drew Carey Show, ABC, 2000
Appeared in "1998," an episode of WCW Monday Nitro; also appearedin episodes of Friday Night Videos, NBC; Late Night with David Letterman, NBC; The Merv Griffin Show, syndicated; The Mike DouglasShow, syndicated; Television Parts, NBC; and TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes, NBC.
Specials
Private Braverman, Snafu, 1976
Playboy's Playmate Party, 1977
Danny, Almost Heaven, 1978
The Real Trivial Pursuit, 1985
Disneyland's Summer Vacation Party, 1986
Jay Leno and the American Dream, Showtime, 1986
The Jay Leno Show, NBC, 1986
Our Planet Tonight, NBC, 1987
Host, Jay Leno's Family Comedy Hour, NBC, 1987
The Television Academy Hall of Fame, 1987
Late Night with David Letterman Fifth Anniversary Show, NBC, 1987
Happy Birthday Bob--50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC, NBC, 1988
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 26th Anniversary Special,NBC, 1988
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 27th Anniversary Special,NBC, 1989
The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, 1989
Comic Relief V, HBO, 1992
Donahue: The 25th Anniversary, NBC, 1992

Hats Off to Minnie Pearl: America Honors Minnie Pearl, The Nashville Network, 1992
Bob Hope: The First Ninety Years, NBC, 1993
Count on Me, PBS, 1993
A Gala for the President at Ford's Theatre, ABC, 1993
Harley-Davidson's 90th Birthday Blast, Showtime, 1993
What Is This Thing Called Love&quest;, ABC, 1993
It's Just a Ride, Comedy Central, 1994
A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman, NBC, 1995
Kelsey Grammer Salutes Jack Benny, NBC, 1995
NBC's New Year's Eve with "Friday Night," NBC, 1995
The Show Formerly Known as The Martin Short Show, NBC, 1995
Very Personal with Naomi Judd, The Family Channel, 1996
Rodney Dangerfield's 75th Birthday Toast, HBO, 1997
Steve Allen's 75th Birthday Celebration, PBS, 1997
Who Makes You Laugh&quest; 2, ABC, 1997
Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh&quest;, Comedy Central, 1998
Harley Mania, E! Entertainment Television, 1998
Tony Bennett: An All-Star Tribute--Live by Request, Arts and Entertainment, 1998
Ed McMahon: America's Sidekick, Arts and Entertainment, 2000
25 Years of No. 1 Hits: Arista Records' Anniversary Celebration, 2000
Awards Presentations
The 38th Annual Emmy Awards, 1986
The 39th Annual Emmy Awards, 1987
The Television Academy Hall of Fame, 1987
Host, The 42nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Presentation, 1990
The 11th Annual ACE Awards, 1990
The Television Academy Hall of Fame, 1990
Presenter, The Walt Disney Company Presents the American Teacher Awards, 1992
Presenter, The 45th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 1993
Presenter, The 20th Annual People's Choice Awards, 1994
The 29th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, 1994
Presenter, The 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 1994
Presenter, The 47th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 1995
Presenter, The 30th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, 1995
The 22nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, 1995
Presenter, The 1996 Emmy Awards, 1996
Presenter, The 31st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, 1996
The 1996 NCLR Bravo Awards, 1996
Presenter, The 28th NAACP Image Awards, 1997
Presenter, The 49th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 1997
Presenter, The 32nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, 1997
Presenter, The 29th NAACP Image Awards, 1998
Presenter, The 50th Emmy Awards, 1998
The 25th Daytime Emmy Awards, 1998
Presenter, The 30th NAACP Image Awards, 1999
Presenter, The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 1999
The 5th Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, 1999
Presenter, The 31st NAACP Image Awards, 2000
2000 MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 2000
Presenter, The 2nd Annual TV Guide Awards, 2000
The Stars Come Out: The GLAAD Awards, 2000
Television Producer
Specials
Jay Leno and the American Dream, Showtime, 1986
Film Appearances
Narrator, The Hideous Sun Demon (also known as Blood on His Lips and The Sun Demon), 1959, released, 1983
Fun with Dick and Jane, Columbia, 1977
Albert Fiore, Silver Bears, Columbia, 1977
Michael ("Mookie"), American Hot Wax, Paramount, 1978
Larry Miller, Americathon, United Artists, 1979
Narrator, What's Up, Hideous Sun Demon, 1983
Doctor Duck's Super Secret All-Purpose Sauce, 1985
Detective Tony Costas, Collision Course, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/Interscope Communications, 1988
Himself, Dave, Warner Bros., 1993
Himself, Wayne's World 2, Paramount, 1993
Voice of Vorb, We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story, Amblin Entertainment, 1993
Himself, Major League II, Warner Bros., 1994
Bedrock's most wanted host, The Flintstones, Universal, 1994
Himself, The Birdcage (also known as Birds of a Feather), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1996
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's, 1996
Himself, Meet Wally Sparks, Trimark, 1997
Himself, Contact, Warner Bros., 1997
Himself, In and Out, Paramount, 1997
Himself, Mad City, Warner Bros., 1997
Himself, Wag the Dog, New Line Cinema, 1997
Himself, Edtv (also known as Ed TV), Universal, 1999
Himself, The House of COC, 1999
Himself, Space Cowboys, Warner Bros., 2000
RECORDINGS
Videos
South Park Gift Pack 4 (Volumes 10-12), 1998
(In archival footage) Christina Aguilera: Genie Gets Her Wish, 2000
WRITINGS
Television Series
Head writer, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, 1992-, broadcastmonthly on the Internet as Virtual Jay, 1999-
Television Specials
(With Kevin Rooney) Jay Leno and the American Dream, Showtime, 1986
The Jay Leno Show, NBC, 1986
Jay Leno's Family Comedy Hour, NBC, 1987
Television Episodes
"J. J. in Trouble," Good Times, CBS, 1974
The Tonight Show (also known as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson), NBC, between 1987-1992
Other Writings
(Editor) Headlines: Real but Ridiculous Samplings from America's Newspapers, Warner Books (New York City), 1989
(Editor) More Headlines: Real but Ridiculous Samplings from America's Newspapers, Warner Books, 1991
(Editor) Headlines III: Not the Movie, Still the Book; Real but Ridiculous Samplings from America's Newspapers, Warner Books, 1991
(Editor) Headlines IV: The Next Generation; More Out-of-This World Headlines from the Bestselling Series, Warner Books, 1992
(Editor) Jay Leno's Headlines: Books I, II, III, Wings (New York City), 1992
(Editor) Jay Leno's Police Blotter: Real-Life Crime Headlines from"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," Andrews & McMeel (Kansas City, MO), 1994
(With Bill Zehme) Leading with My Chin (autobiography), HarperCollins (New York City), 1996
Author of "Jay Leno's Garage," a column in Popular Mechanics,1999.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Newsmakers 1987, December 20, 1999, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1988.

Periodicals:

Electronic Media, p. 12.
Los Angeles Times, May 11, 2000, p. F1.
Parade, July 12, 1998, p. 18.

Other:

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, http://nbctv.nbci.com/tonightshow.
Virtual Jay, http://nbctv.nbci.com/tonightshow/virtualjay/special.html.

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