Jay Leno Visits “Late Late Show”; Talks Post-“Tonight Show” Plans
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Kevin Winter/Tonight Show/Getty Images for The Tonight Show(LOS ANGELES) — In an odd switch, Jay Leno, the outgoing host of NBC’s Tonight Show, appeared as a guest on CBS’ The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Tuesday night. While the show is produced by Leno’s late-night rival, David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants company, Ferguson was a gracious host to Jay, who has appeared on the show before.
Ferguson pressed Leno about what his plans were for this spring, after Jimmy Fallon takes over the Tonight Show. Leno wouldn’t get specific, insisting, “I’ll figure that out when I get there!” but explained he’d keep performing stand-up comedy — a world he never really left, thanks to weekend shows in Las Vegas.
“I’ll be back on the road, I like the road,” Leno said, “because when you’re a comic, you know if it’s working. In TV you don’t know it’s working, you get pieces of paper with numbers on it.”
Ferguson respectfully countered with, “You do know if it’s working: if you’ve been doing it for 20 years and you’re the number-one show, that probably means it’s working.”
Leno laughed, saying, “I’ll mention that to my bosses.”
Save that quip, the only tinge of bitterness from Leno about NBC showing him the door came when he referenced long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, saying, “See, you can be 64 and swim 110 miles, you can’t be 64 and host a late-night show.”
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