A Tearful Good-bye to Jay Leno
You Will Be Missed
February 7, 2014
Jay Leno, 63, aired his final show late night. I hate to see him go as I like the way he presents the news with a humorist twist. As with his predecessors I would have liked to see him retire rather than be fired. This is truly symbolic of the way the corporate world works today and we are after all in Aquarius - quick and sudden changes and departures. Jay doesn't look like he's ready to retire. He leaves center stage in the number one late-night talks show position.
In the 22 years that Jay Leno hosted the "Tonight Show" -- give or take the spare months Conan O'Brien took the helm -- O.J. Simpson was the celebrity most often used as the butt of Leno's jokes. The TV veteran took aim at politicians and celebrities with equal zeal, landing family friendly barbs about Lindsay Lohan alongside wisecracks about Al Gore. (Interestingly enough, former President Bill Clinton was the biggest Leno target of all.) But tonight, Leno departed "Tonight" with a simple, tearful farewell.
"It's fun to kind of be the old guy and sit back here and see where the next generation takes this great institution, and it really is. It's been a great institution for 60 years. I'm so glad I got to be a part of it, but it really is time to go, hand it off to the next guy. It really is," Leno said. "And in closing, I want to quote Johnny Carson, who was the greatest guy to ever do this job. And he said, 'I bid you all a heartfelt goodbye.'"
Jimmy Kimmel, made a great point with his goodbye tweet to Leno. "Issues aside, 20 years at #1 is a remarkable achievement," Kimmel posted Thursday. "Congratulations and best wishes to @jayleno on an incredible run."
At least Leno can know that after all the drama he's had in his position, he's going out on top.
