Jay Leno

About Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno (born April 28, 1950) is an Emmy Award-winning American stand-up comedian and television host, who succeeded Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show in 1992. Leno will continue to host The Tonight Show until May 29, 2009. Late Night host Conan O'Brien is his scheduled replacement as host.

Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York. His mother, Catherine (née Muir), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland and came to the United States as an eleven year-old. His father, Angelo Leno, who worked in the insurance business, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and received his bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College in 1973. Leno's siblings include his late brother Patrick, who was a veteran.

As he was growing up he used to say that he would take over Johnny Carson's job, which he eventually did. Early in his career Leno did commercials for Doritos brand tortilla chips. In the late 1970s, he was the warm-up act for Johnny Mathis, Tom Jones and John Denver. He replaced Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show in 1992. He plans to retire from the show in 2009, to be replaced by Conan O'Brien. During an August 1, 2007 interview with CNN journalist Anderson Cooper on The Tonight Show, Jay Leno confirmed that he is dyslexic.