Jay Leno may have retired from his “Late Night Show” chair in 2014, but the stand-up icon and car enthusiast continues to entertain the masses with success on and off the stage and TV screen.

Nothing stops the working man. Even in the midst of recovering from a severe facial burn he suffered a mere six weeks ago while working on one of his many cars, Leno continues to keep his audiences laughing. 

In early January 2023, he will kick off a stand-up tour, with a stop at Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts for two shows on Jan. 7. 

Beyond late night, Leno has proven to be a continued success with his hit Youtube-turned-TV show “Jay Leno’s Garage.” The best-selling author-speaker and a recipient of a People’s Choice Award, Leno was recently inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. 

Leno chatted with Backstage about his secret to success, the power of karma, playing the long game, and more. 

I’ve been going down this rabbit hole of your life and you truly have done it all, Jay. And you continue with a successful TV show, game show, stand-up shows, books, and so on. Where does this work ethic come from?

You know, I don’t know. I think when you have parents that were born during the Depression, or that grew up during the Depression. I’ve always thought my mother could never figure out where California was three hours ahead or three hours behind (laughs).

Sometimes she’d call me at eight o’clock in the morning, thinking it was 11 o’clock when it was five o’clock in the morning, you know? So she called me and she’d go, “Did I wake you?” And I’d always go, “No, no. I’m up. I’m up. I’m doing stuff. I’m working.” You know, I could never bring myself to tell my mother I was sleeping.

Plus, I think the fact that I’m dyslexic. When I was a kid, my mother would always say, you have to work twice as hard as the other kids to get the same thing. And I thought, all right. That seems like a fair trade off. I don’t mind doing that. And that’s kind of worked out okay for me, you know? 

I’m a huge believer in low self-esteem. I think it’s the key to success. I meet so many people in this business that just think they’re the greatest thing. I’m not doing this for that.

Like when I got “The Tonight Show,” I just hired the best people I could and let ’em do their job. I know nothing about lighting. I know nothing about direction. I mean, I can tell jokes. Okay, so I’ll do what I do and let the people do what they do, and it works out great. They tell you when you suck, they tell you when you’re good. And it works out okay.

It seems pretty simple to me. You know, the things that ruin people in show business often have nothing to do with their talent. It’s always greed or envy. There’s something that’s getting in the way. I mean, when you look at all the people that have fallen, it’s really not for lack of talent. It’s because they did some stupid thing. 

I have to say, low self-esteem being the key to success is an interesting concept.

It’s interesting because if you assume you don’t know things, you’re more likely to listen. I mean, the number of people who would come into NBC and be like, “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do.” And then they would give us notes on the show that made no sense.

I remember once we had a president at NBC say it’s summer, let’s do a beach show with everybody in bathing suits,. I said first of all, no guests are gonna want to sit and talk in a bathing suit. Okay. It’s just not gonna happen. I’m used to having these ridiculous conversations. It’s late at night. It’s a talk show. People are in bed, they just want to hear a conversation.

We’d have to explain what the show was because people just assumed they knew everything, you know? Like I say, if you assume you don’t know more than everybody else, you’re more likely to listen. And when you listen, you’re probably more likely to learn something. I mean, it’s not always the case. And when I say low self-esteem, I’m being somewhat exaggerated, but I think there is something to it. 

I mean, the number of times I would have agents send me a comedian and they would audition, and I’d say it didn’t go that well. And they would say, “Well, your audience was really stupid that night.” No, they weren’t. They are just the regular audience. It just wasn’t that funny.

“Well, it worked in Denver last year.” Oh, okay. The fact that it worked once, I mean, just take it as face value. If they’re not laughing, it’s not funny. Don’t always look for the reasons, like some other reason why. It’s just not funny enough. It’s okay. It’s not terrible. It’s just not exemplary, you know? If somebody had a 10 minute act, and maybe four minutes of it were funny. I would say, just do the four minutes.

It seems to me like what drives you and probably what has made you so successful is you follow common sense. Would you say that’s true?

I think that’s true. You know, it’s basic Dale Carnegie stuff, you know. My dad was a salesman. You look people in the eye, you shake their hands and you try to tell the truth as much as possible. Yeah it does seem like common sense.

I mean, to me, I had people who would send me jokes and then I had people who would drive from across the country to hand me their jokes. And those are the people I usually hired, because they really worked hard, you know what I mean? They put effort into it. It is common sense.

The story I always tell about “The Tonight Show” is that there was a point when there were about seven or eight rotating guest hosts. And this manager called me and he represented most of them. And he said, you know, I’d like to represent you on this. I said, I’m okay. And he said, well, you know, I’m getting my guest hosts $25,000 a show. And I said well, I’m getting $512 a show, which is a scale. And he goes, well, that’s crazy. I go, well, not really. And he says, well, you know, if you join us, we have all the guest hosts and we can get you $25,000 a show.

I said, no, I’m fine. I’m gonna stay for $512 a show. Well, I knew Johnny Carson owned the show. So about a month or two goes by and suddenly I’m named permanent guest host because I was saving them 400 and something thousand dollars a month. It’s because you play the long game, you know? In show business, the sad truth is the worst act in show business makes more than the best teacher, as unfair as that is. So, if you’re any good at show business, the money will come at some point.

I mean, I always had pay-and-play contracts, which means if you’re gonna pay me, you have to put me on the air. I always meet people that go, you know, “I did it for two weeks, and they let me go but I (still) get paid for the whole year.” And I go, that’s really not that smart, because now they’re mad because they’re paying somebody for doing nothing, and they will never hire you again.

It’s just a way of saying, just get away from us. We never want to see you again. You know, my contracts are always okay. They gotta use you somewhere, and yeah, I think common sense is probably the best way to describe it.

You mentioned that you are always learning. What would you say you’ve recently learned about yourself?

Learned recently about myself (laughs) I don’t know. I’m not that really interested in myself like, “What have I learned?” I would say I’m a big believer in karma. You know? If something seems wrong, it probably is, don’t try to justify it. It’s like finding a wallet on the street with $10,000 in it. You know you gotta give it back.

I remember once I was in traffic, this was years ago, and this lady cut me off and she gave me the finger or something. And I know I said something nasty and yelled at her. The next day I have an interview at ICM and I walk in and she’s the assistant. And I just laughed; I just said, you know something, this is karma. You yelled at me, I yelled at you. It’s so stupid. I apologize.

I remember I was thinking, I wish I could apologize to that woman, but I didn’t know who it was. And then I went to this meeting and she was the assistant. I don’t know, the world doesn’t always work that way, but sometimes it does.

When I was in the hospital with this stupid burn injury, I heard from a lot of celebrities, but I would also hear from people who I helped; like I helped them change a tire eight years ago and people that I did something for that I don’t really remember, and that made me feel good, because you realize you made an impact on someone and it had an effect on them. You know?

So, if the good things have an effect, then obviously the bad things must have an effect too. It’s a small world. It just comes around, you know? Like you said, it just seems like common sense.

In addition to Backstage, I’m an editor at the Business Journal, and I came across a large picture of you and your charitable work with the Salvation Army in this week’s edition. You’re truly everywhere!

Well, you know, those things are easy to do. Like the Salvation Army, when you raise money, you go somewhere and you just tell the same jokes you told the night before.

(Laughs) Do you see what I mean? You say it’s easy. Most people would not consider it easy.

I mean, it goes to a good cause and it just seems like common sense, like you said (laughs). It doesn’t seem that difficult. You know, it’s funny you talk about the Business Journal. There was a hilarious thing in the Wall Street Journal, “Jay Leno’s Secret to Success and Savings” or something like that. I’m going, okay, what’s my secret?

As I said, I’m dyslexic. I’m terrible with numbers. So since I was a kid, I always held two jobs. One job was to put money in the bank and the other job was to pay the bills. When I was a kid, I worked at McDonald’s and I worked at a car dealership, and I would spend the McDonald’s money and save the car money. And then when I got in to show business, I would spend the show business money and save the car money.

And then the show business money got to be so much more than the other job. So I said, okay, I’ll make that the savings job. I’m not a credit card guy. I do have credit cards, but I don’t lease cars. I buy ’em. And somehow in this article, my amazing plan is not amazing. It’s just saving (laughs). I’m just not borrowing money. I even said to the guy in the article, there’s nothing amazing about this.  

People always think it’s funny that I’ve never spent a dime of “The Tonight Show” money, which I haven’t, I live on the money I make as a standup comedian. I’ve always been a standup comedian.

When “The Tonight Show” came along, it was a TV job and TV jobs lasted a certain amount of time. Sometimes they’re 13 weeks, sometimes if you’re lucky. I was there for 22 years. But I always kept my job as a standup comedian. Cause when the TV job ends and they throw you out, where do you go? You know? I have something to fall back on — you just go back on the road and you tell jokes again.

Early on in our conversation, you said you had initially played the long game, and looking at your current career, it seems like you’re still playing that long game.

I remember when I started out, I’d always see these comics go, “They only offered me $3,000” disappointed. And I would say, “What are you doing on a Tuesday that’s worth $3,000? Really?” (laughs).

I mean, why don’t you go out there and get better at your act? The more you do it, the better you are at it. I mean, it’s a repetitive business. I mean, why would you turn that down? You know? So to me, one night you’re in Vegas, where there’s like crazy money. And the next night you’re doing the Salvation Army, or wherever you’re doing a charity thing, for no money, and there’s no difference here. It’s the same. The value of it is whatever people deem it to be.

On top of everything you have going, “Jay’s Garage” has been such a success. I am not a car person, as much as I want to be, it just won’t stick. But, just like your large number of viewers, I’m drawn to your passion and engagement with your guests and cars.

Well, that’s the thing, a lot of times it’s not the car; it’s the story, you know? A lot of times I have celebrities on that are not car people, like Kelly Rowland or somebody like that. But I’ll say, did your dad have a car?

“Oh yeah. When I was five, we would go for ice cream every week in this old Buick.” So we find an old Buick, like the one she said, and we go for ice cream and we just do like a rolling “Tonight Show.” You just interview them and instead of sitting on a couch, you’re sitting in the seat of a car.

This is probably a weird question, but as the ultimate car guy, if you were a car, what car would you say you are?

Well, I actually don’t know what car I would be. Surely nothing sleek and fast. Something fairly dependable, I suppose. Probably something sensible as my mother would say.

I didn’t wanna put too much emphasis on your recent accident, except for that I’m glad that you’re on the mend. You look great, like a baby face.

Yeah, it’s all new skin, it’s amazing. The doctors did this whole thing in eight days. I mean, I had no faith at all. It was totally gone. And boom, they did a great job, you know? It’s amazing. I’m pretty lucky.

(The day it happened) I went to the hospital and I hadn’t told my wife what had happened yet. I said, listen, my wife doesn’t drive anymore. I can’t leave her now. So I drove home and I told the hospital I promise I’ll come back at seven o’clock in the morning. So I stayed at home that night and when I woke up, my face was stuck to the pillow and I had to peel my face off the pillow. Ow, ow, ah! I was like, maybe this wasn’t the best idea. (laughs)

I didn’t take any pain pills or anything because I think pain is there for a reason. It’s to remind you of what you did. There’s this commercial for some antiacid or something where a guy goes to the fair and he eats six hot dogs, and then they cut to their music and the wife’s going, oh no he’s sick.

So she gives them this pill or whatever. And next thing, the guy feels great and the commercial ends, and he’s back at the fair eating six more hot dogs. I go, what are you doing? The point is to stop eating six hotdogs!

That’s so American. Rather than fix the problem, you find a way to get around the problem. It just makes me laugh because you think okay his upset stomach is fine. I bet he won’t eat six hot dogs again. The medicine’s not designed to let you eat six more hot dogs. But he goes right back to it. (laughs)

You have essentially conquered the greatest of everything in the entertainment world — including “The Late Night Show,” what most would consider the mecca of show business.

Well, it used to be, but it’s not so much anymore. The business has changed so much. There’s so many streaming services and the thing that really kills it are commercials. I’m so used to watching Netflix or Amazon or something, and then I switched to commercial TV and I watched for six or seven minutes. Then it’s a five minute commercial break. And then seven minutes, and then another commercial.

It’s almost unwatchable. When I was in the hospital, the TV was on in the hospital room, and it’s just regular TV and it’s just constant commercials. To the point where I was just sitting in the room in silence. I couldn’t take it anymore.

I mean, a half hour show is really 20 minutes, so in a half hour you have 10 minutes of advertisements. A third of the show is just the same commercials over and over again. And especially late at night when you can run more commercials legally in the hour.

I think that’s what’s hurt it. It’s not the fact that people are better or worse than they were at another time. It’s just the fact that you have so many alternatives that don’t have all these commercials every second.

Do you believe in the idea that people have reduced attention spans nowadays?

Oh, attention spans are reduced. You know, if you watch a comedian like Bob Newhart, one of the greats, from 25 years ago, he’ll take a minute to set up a joke. He’ll say, “Okay, here’s Mrs. So-and-so, she’s 62, she’s learning to drive for the first time.” And, people watching now go, “Oh, he’s bombing.”

He’s not bombing. He hasn’t gotten in a choke yet. I mean, give the set up. When I’ve watched shows like “Last Comic Standing,” the comedian comes out and he has two minutes to make the people laugh. Two minutes.

So you can’t establish a character or a point of view or an attitude. It’s just gotta be a pie in the face. So yeah. Attention spans have shrunk tremendously. I mean, I can see it. I see people watch TV and see a comedian come on and if he doesn’t get a laugh in the first 15 seconds, he’s bombing, he’s bombing really bad. No, no, he’s setting up the story. I mean, give it a second. Jesus.

Do you feel that has been a stressor for you as you’re building your own standup show?

It’s not really a stressor. It’s just a matter of learning to adapt. You know, what is inappropriate now was appropriate 20 years ago. You just have to change with the times.

You can’t keep doing the same thing. It’s relevancy. If something is relevant, it’s fine. You adapt or die. It’s like any other business. If you don’t adapt to your circumstances around you, you’re not gonna make it.

I’ve heard you say you’re only as good as your last joke. Can you elaborate on that?

Well, that’s true. I think that’s fair. I’ll give you an example. It’s like this accident I had. When you grew up in a little town like I did, rich people had no problems. You know, if you are a regular person, an extra 50 or 100 thousand a year would change your life and fix every problem you had. Or at least you think it would.

And that’s how most people think. And so consequently, as someone who’s successful and made some money, if I was sitting out there like a whiny celebrity and be like “Woe is me, I have all these cars and I’m rich, and oh, look, I burned myself.” People are going to be like “Good. I hope you burn up.” (laughs)

So for me, you have to go out and make fun of it, and you have a good time with it, and you laugh at yourself. Because in the real world, people get hurt on the job every day, they get burned, they get cut. They work in dangerous circumstances. So the idea that somehow you’re different is ridiculous.

So to me, I found just going on shows and joking about it is what I need to do. People know it’s a horrible accident, and I got burned pretty bad. But they know “he’ll make it funny.” And that’s how it works. People watch you for a reason.

I would hate it when I was a kid and a big time comedian would come on Johnny Carson and just sit down and talk and not have anything funny to say. Like, well that was a big disappointment, because I was waiting for them to do what it is they do.

In the last five years, what would you say you are most proud of?

This sounds ridiculous, but I think it’s the ability to choose a good woman and find the right person. It’s amazing how easy your life is when you’re able to make that sort of decision. I mean, I’ve been with my wife for 43 years and we have a lot of fun. When I was in the hospital, we got another bed and she stayed in the room with me, and we had a good time. 

I remember I had this discussion with Drew Barrymore one time. I remember saying to marry your conscience; marry the person you wish you could be. Marry someone who has qualities that are better than yours, and you’ll always do fine. And that seems to work out for me, you know? I mean, it’s amazing how awful your job is when your personal life is awful. You get that part straightened out and the other stuff just kind of falls into line.

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Jay Leno

Where: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos

When: Jan 7, 2023, 3 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

More info: https://www.cerritoscenter.com/

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