Jay Leno's First Appearance | Carson Tonight Show

Original Airdate: 03/02/1977
#johnnycarson #jayleno #thetonightshow

[@MrMccAndrew]

"We're going to have him back." That's an understatement.

[@samiam619]

Little did he know…

[@johnbettmann1404]

Oh the irony.

[@jv-ep2tc]

Life is crazy

[@Natemire]

🤣

[@eugenelee3553]

Good hearted Johnny Carson using his influence to boost a young entertainer's career. Johnny wisely helped many young talents. God bless you Johnny and all your children and their off springs from Seoul, Korea!

[@gspendlove]

Jay said in his biography _Leading with My Chin_ that Robin Williams was in the audience on this night. He said if you listen closely, you can hear Robin's laugh.

[@dakotaboy80]

5:31

[@Soylntgrnisppl]

Getting Johnny's signature A-Ok sign is one thing but having him ask you to come back out and take a bow, is the stuff of dreams for a young Comedian.

[@bernardhayes4459]

I remember this monologue airing in the 70s. Jay was always memorable. Honestly I feel the death of Fredie Prince left room for a lot of other comedians

[@desertwind306]

Who would have known Jay would someday take over for Johnny. He was a good replacement since no one could replace Johnny. I am so glad he is okay after getting burned working on his Steam Car. I have to tell a story... A little over 10 years ago I belonged to a game site where people would often talk in chat while playing games. One lady told a great story. She said her brother in law had been given a few months to live, shocking the entire family. She wondered what she could do to make his life a little happier before the end came. Well, there was a car that had been his life long dream car, I wish I could remember what the car was, sorry but I can't. What ever it was, she heard Jay Leno owned one in his collection. She got in touch with his people asking if she could bring him to see the car, and if possible, could he sit in the car. Not only did Jay Leno say yes, he also allowed her brother in law to drive it! Jay brought him, his wife and small children to LA for a fun weekend sending them to Disneyland along with getting to experience his dream car. She said her brother in law died just a few short weeks later without getting the smile off of his face from the whole experience. She wanted everyone to know what a kind man Mr. Leno is. I have thought highly of Jay ever since. He gave a man great joy before having to leave this world. Hats off to you Mr. Leno!

[@roloduarte3100]

Awesome story.

[@billhawkins7640]

Johnny never held a grudge against Jay. To prove that point, Johnny left his first car, a 39 Plymouth, to Jay in his will

[@wolfchrt]

Which is odd because Johnny was known to hold a grudge

[@billhawkins7640]

@@wolfchrt we have been told that by people who probably didn’t really know Johnny. His final action, his will, says otherwise. I guess Johnny got the last word in on that.

[@cjpatz]

Yeah, I believe it was more with the people in the suits behind the scenes.

[@vika0194]

Chrysler

[@pn2543]

We really need someone with Johnny's style back on late night TV, there is no one with his wit, and dignity, and intelligence, and respect for others

[@vinnycerbo1490]

Johnny Carson one of the greatest comedians knew talent when he saw it. Good for Jay Leno, he is one of the greats now as well.

[@josephclark4186]

The single best joke of his set was "Have you ever seen David Jansen's commercial for Excedrin? The man looks like a headache!" I remember those commercials and it was a spot on observation.

[@KeithGreenshields]

you look young for your age

[@samiam619]

It’s the only one to make me chuckle. The rest were okay, but that one…

[@bbmtge]

@@samiam619 You don't understand comedy. It is a developed skill. You can see the future in Jay Leno from this set. Of course, YOU can't.

[@GG-xs8vt]

I was never really a big fan of Leno…but I’m impressed with his car knowledge.

[@DinaBeeNYC]

This has to be the greatest moment of Jay's life.

[@GuidoGrasso]

at 0:55 Jay gets heckled goes into an improvised Kojak joke and the single "HA!" you hear faintly amongst the audience laughter after the joke is Robin Williams backstage supporting Jay.

[@Rnyargd]

Careful Johnny! Don’t turn your back on him!

[@twistoffate4791]

Conan didn't dare turn HIS back on Leno, either...

[@juanalmos1959]

never found jay funny

[@murrynathan]

Lookout Johnny, he’s after your job!

[@rhyancoleman6462]

This is why he loved Dave

[@bobcosmic]

@@rhyancoleman6462 yeah Dave was the man !

[@vickdevito]

And boy the NBC was right to hire Jay Leno. Held number one ratings over letterman every single year.

[@twistoffate4791]

@@vickdevito Leno did better the vast majority of the time, but not 100% of the time. And Letterman was considered an innovator. I respect them both.

[@aarondigby5054]

@@vickdevito Letterman was different than Leno and I thought was better,, more gritty and new yorkie, Jay was so hollywood and cliche.

[@thomascovenant665]

Jay had an inner smile throughout the whole bit.. Kinda like Eddie Izzard has.. Great stuff!!

[@66KIMBLE]

All this behind the scenes Johnny stuff…All I know is Johnny on this show is all class as demonstrated by asking Jay to come out to take a bow after Leno ran off. Carson appreciated how tough it was to perform and have his shot and he waited for him to come back out. That is a classy gesture and he knew how to treat his guests!

[@jameshanold6545]

Funny material. An excellent first time appearance by Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show, Starring Johnny Carson." I had the pleasure of seeing jay perform live at an outdoor pavillion in Concord, California in June, 1991-memorable and enjoyable!

[@petesmitt]

Nervous start with some corny jokes but he went places..

[@geomodelrailroader]

Leno's first monologue and this is how it all began.

[@saenskywalker5441]

Killed it best debut Johnny Carson on all cylinders. Respect him

[@saenskywalker5441]

The fastest way to alienate the good people of America would be to

[@nebur59]

in the late 80’s to early 90’s I used to live within a couple of blocks from the Burbank airport where Jay used to store his car collection in one of the hangars. I’d see him once in a while driving in the area on the way to the NBC studio in a different car every time. Once in a motorcycle with a jet engine! Funny/cool!

[@Rob_Kates]

His CNBC show is taped there. I have heard that at this point, it's 6 or 8 airplane hangars full of cars.

[@RobHoughton]

If Johnny only knew. It's like Caesar saying - "it's always great to see a new consul come around, give it up for Brutus!"

[@rodolfoleyva5157]

😲

[@suepete]

Little did we know at the time..... 😉

[@ChrisPBacon-ok7ir]

He had me at the "Philosophy Shop." 🤣

[@twistoffate4791]

Same, lol.

[@andrewhill4986]

That was a zinger alright

[@maddymud]

That was very near Steve Martin’s old bit on studying philosophy in college

[@thenaturalmidsouth9536]

That was a good one.

[@theresefrantz3846]

I wish Jay still had a Talk Show

[@zionix15432]

he has a car talk show

[@keithkoenig5320]

For %@&# sake, WHY?? He was never funny....

[@an152771]

I can hear Robin Williams laughing off camera

[@frankconti6591]

JayLeno✨🎈🎭 ‘Flawless -Performance’ !!!🎉😂🏆✝️🕶️ #Brilliant

[@lisab7977]

Funny how his “mocking” voice sounds like his normal voice now. 😂

[@maddymud]

Wow - I never thought Jay had a philosophy in college joke! Steve Martin had such good stuff on that

[@Rob-nd1qb]

Man how his career took off from here is an enigma

[@threeballedtomcat9380]

While Jay Leno was a good choice to replace Johnny Carson (imho) , and a good comedian, he was never Johnny. Don't get me wrong, I like Mr.Leno. But no-one could ever be Johnny but Johnny. Great upload, good memories here....

[@andrewhill4986]

No body could be like Parr, either though..

[@Rnyargd]

@@andrewhill4986 Or Steve Allen.

[@maddymud]

Johnny could effortlessly switch gears in a conversation from Midwest earnest - to funny. Jay always seemed to be desperately looking for the joke

[@Dr.ScatKohlenblo-nj2cv]

Jay is fantastic here. Never heard any of those jokes before

[@kellig9805]

Jay looks so young!

[@dyer2cycle]

..he was...

[@teejay3272]

What was super cool was Jay's clenched fist to Johnny after his bow. Entertainer camaraderie. "I nailed it."

[@mattstopa9436]

What a suit... Wow

[@jeffdawson2786]

Jay has an ideal conversational pace here that I didn’t appreciate back then.

[@manofiske3318]

"That's a funny young man." "That's good stuff."

[@lukecangia]

johnny was 51. leno was 26 now he's 72

[@kellig9805]

That makes me feel old!!!

[@twistoffate4791]

That freaks me out. I am 57, and I don't feel like I should be older than Johnny, ever, lol.

[@andrewhill4986]

The answer is 97!

[@slimtimm1]

I'll never forget I saw Jaylin alive right before he took over for Johnny he was still doing tons of standup back then and he was always the best standup in my opinion but we got to meet him real quick he came down and autographed everything and I told him we watch him on TV all the time he said oh that's good keep watching TV stay away from those books That was so clever

[@fmradio42]

Reminds me of a young Robin Williams

[@Danny-nm9sn]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 jay was really killing it

[@BomChickyBowWow]

God you can hear Leno trying to catch his breath because he’s so nervous. Makes me anxious just watching it.

[@jasonbutler1996]

Jay pegged it from day one.

[@kasumiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin]

Just look at all that hair...

[@JohnQPublic345]

I miss ole Johnny. I'd much prefer a host that drinks and smokes and is as down to earth as Johnny was.

[@sammcbride2149]

In 1977 my life was about to change forever. I dropped out of college. Oops.

[@jojopuppyfish]

Can you post more clips from pre 1970?

[@susantunbridge4612]

What a chin!

[@tomnick5787]

Little did we know…..

[@leahcorwin2873]

It’s so ironic that one day this young comedian Jay Leno would be in Johnnys seat. Did you notice Johnny didn’t ask him to sit down for a brief conversation as he usually does with other new comers? It’s so ironic.

[@mexicanspec]

That rarely happened on their first appearance.

[@PApro]

To say "as he usually does" isn't exactly true. I would say its about 50/50 on that... At the end of the day there are a number of reasons to ask or not ask them to come sit down. If it's a slow night and they don't have as much scheduled or another guest didn't make it for example, they may have asked him to come over. Likewise, if they had a big name guest scheduled they may not have wanted to keep that person waiting or perhaps wanted as much time as possible for that person to be on. It's not as simple as "i like this guy let me have him stay" or "hes not that great, he can go"....

[@andrewhill4986]

Anyone know who followed?

[@orangehornet57]

@@andrewhill4986 According to Jay's autobiography, Burt Reynolds and Diana Ross were also on that episode. He said that Robin Williams was one of the fellow comedians who came to support him. Did anyone hear that laugh?

[@erestube]

Johnny only asked over the ones he enjoyed when there was enough clock.But he did ask him to do a curtain call and praised his performance. Not a negative at all.

[@WJG1177]

This probably was around the time he was in that episode of Good Times when J.J. went to the clinic to get tested for V.D.

[@felixthelmocevallosmorales41]

JAY LENO 28 DE ABRIL DE 1950 72 AÑOS

[@milfordcivic6755]

1977 was never known for its great men's fashion. Good lord.

[@georgepom328]

Jay didn't have the money for a suit so he got given this one from the film he did with Michael Caine

[@gagnon39]

Someone needs to do this bit on Kill Tony...

[@marcdavis2745]

Jay Is Awesome

[@mikestevenson576]

At 3:42 he does Dennis Miller. 2 years before Miller started doing stand up.

[@thomasandersen2938]

Do you have any with Wayne newton

[@weejoy]

Robin Williams was in the audience laughing up a storm.

[@focusedmessagemarketing958]

👍👍👍

[@danawilkes8322]

15 years later.....

[@sammcbride2149]

You could make a couch out of that suit.

[@andrewhill4986]

For a cat maybe

[@MarkMcLT]

I laughed at that. Leno's set not so much.

[@bsjeffrey]

this guy has no future on the tonight show.

[@JokersMidnightShow]

Wonder if Jay Leno made it

[@gamefandotnet]

@5:30 took less than a hundred years lol

[@rufust.firefly4890]

I had an uncle named Bob Johnson.

[@justinseegmiller4807]

Jay Leno was a great replacement for Johnny Carson

[@stdew07]

Haha god 70s hair 😂😂😂

[@felixthelmocevallosmorales41]

JOHNNY CARSON 23 DE OCTUBRE DE 1925 23 DE ENERO DE 2005 79 AÑOS ESCORPIO TALK SHOW HOST

[@coolcatdrummer]

Last generations jon tron.

[@krdelux3919]

Didn’t even rate an interview in those days.

[@jamesr141]

1:11 Williams

[@229BlackHat]

Make sure to check your closets guys, if you hear any high-pitched murmuring, call the police immediately.

[@jasonbutler1996]

myself on alcohol....TRAINWRECK! myself on pot...FUNNY AS f#$^!!

[@barbarafritchie2000]

👍🏻

[@brendasuelong-bryant3855]

WOW, Jay Leno was so young. . Nice suit. NOT 😂😂

[@murrynathan]

You sayin’ somethin’ wrong with a grown man in a three piece sea foam suit?

[@krdelux3919]

Hey, I still have a powder blue leisure suit in my closet. With the Mickey Mouse suede blue shoes to match. I was in style for two years or so.

[@240p_is_enough]

Is it just me or is this material very Carlin-esque?

[@presb007]

That was pretty bad. Who would have thought seeing him there where he was headed!

[@Dr.ScatKohlenblo-nj2cv]

What? He was great. Listen to the audience.

[@SIM2014]

During contract negotiations: Jc: A cool 40 million and you can count me back in. Exec: Johnny, we'd like to have you back, but there is another.. Jc: What? Who is it!? Exec: Remember that guy you kept bringing back? kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqfHd4OpfMSHbMk

[@Dons166]

Didn’t get the wave over

[@Three_Random_Words]

Read somewhere they ran out of time, Carson told him to come out and take a bow and he'd be back.

[@Falcon-um7vo]

Wow, lots of miserable, spiteful people in the comment section. Leno's not my favorite comedian, but to say he "sucks" or is not funny at all is just a totally imbalanced perspective. It also appears many here are letting their perception of events that happened many years later cloud their judgment of his comedy. What a shame that people are like that.

[@glenngrinter6818]

😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@KirkLives]

I had a Chrysler with seats from the same material as Jay's suit, back in the days. If I didn't wear the seatbelt, I'd slide right up on the dash when I braked hard. May have happened to Jay, but his chin would stop him at the steering wheel.

[@cbass2755]

🤣🤣

[@JD-jc8gp]

His jokes aren't funny but the delivery is great. Very easy to listen to. No wonder he was a hit on late night tv. I've come to appreciate Leno more since his retirement. Look at the talentless bozos they have on late night these days.

[@kevindorland738]

Likewise.

[@andrewhill4986]

Lol, just a different style though, in very different times…

[@MM-ku2jt]

Man did he really sucked.

[@lookiehere7565]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@lookiehere7565]

Hooolllllllaringgggggggg

[@parkour267]

His chin really shrunk since then

[@Three_Random_Words]

most people head's put on weight as they get older, like the rest of their body.

[@davidbaise5137]

Wow. A long career. And wide lapels back in them days.

[@MichelleUS66]

I laughed a few times (and really enjoyed Jay’s appearances on Late Night in the 80s), but I prefer David Letterman’s first Tonight Show appearance to this. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6fMgpWlg8Snn6s Hearing Johnny laughing loudly in the background makes you realize that Dave’s style of humor was a winner.

[@steveconn]

For all the Conan camp ragging he really is a consistent professional; delivers his jokes, no grudges. You appreciate his doggedness.

[@PApro]

You can't argue with results. The man started out as a small time standup comedian and went on to build a multi million dollar empire and owning thousands of rare classic cars. Like his work or not, you gotta respect what he was able to accomplish. If you don't, than you are just in denial.

[@RiverBarbecue]

Plus he lived in his car when he first moved out to LA.

[@Three_Random_Words]

@@PApro 100's of cars.

[@nb2008nc]

In a parallel universe, Johnny never invited Jay back, and he faded into obscurity. If only...

[@jasonbutler1996]

dont get me wrong. The lip twitches, the licking of the upper lip... they were all on drugs.

[@SPTO]

Jay Leno...That ol' snake in the grass! Seriously though, this was actually a pretty good set. The weather/climate jokes are so funny in retrospect as the big thing around that time was global cooling! Still, Jay was more trouble than he was worth as he gained popularity. David Letterman should've been crowned as Johnny's successor. Oh well, can't cry over spilled milk.

[@BookClubDisaster]

no wonder Johnny didn't want him. he's bombing.

[@mervjb809]

Johnny didn't invite him to sit down however. I personally didn't think he was very funny

[@michaelbabbitt3837]

Me too. I have seen much funnier comedians. Sort of boring.

[@LynxSouth]

Johnny did, though, stand and shake his hand, and then after the commercial, repeat Jay's name and say they'd have him come back. It makes me wonder if they barely squeezed Jay in at the end of the program.

[@davemeckley659]

Nice guy. Terrible comedian

[@Davebee]

This was painful to watch.

[@kdm71291]

You're talking about a "motorhome", Jay....not a "mobile Home".....two very different things....but I'm sure he knows that by now...becoming the car guy that he has.

[@troynov1965]

Meh , he will never amount to anything.

[@johna7965]

Even Temu doesn't have a jacket with lapels like his. Jay must have had that coat custom made so as to hide his chin.

[@melcrose]

I dislike VERY few people in the world. Jay Leno is both of them.