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Click HERE for full Burbank Leader story<\/p>\n
Over the years, numerous entertainers have been indelibly associated with Burbank: From Ron Howard who grew up here and attended John Burroughs High School, and Gary Owens, the announcer on the 1960s comedy show \u201cRowan and Martin\u2019s Laugh-In,\u201d who coined the phrase \u201cBeautiful Downtown Burbank,\u201d to Johnny Carson who, when he brought \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d to Burbank in 1972, gave the phrase even further notoriety.<\/p>\n
While those performers have been a part of the Burbank story, there is, perhaps, no one in entertainment more associated with Burbank than Jay Leno.<\/p>\n
With the city serving as the home for both his iteration of \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d and elaborate car collection, Leno developed a penchant for driving his classic autos around town and frequenting local merchants and restaurants. For that reason, rare is the Burbanker who hasn\u2019t had at least one (and usually numerous) Leno sightings and encounters.<\/p>\n
This past Wednesday marked a milestone in Leno\u2019s life. It was 30 years ago, on May 25, 1992, after Carson\u2019s departure, that Leno took over the reins of NBC\u2019s venerable late-night talk show.<\/p>\n
Serving as both the fourth and sixth host of \u201cThe Tonight Show,\u201d Leno hosted the Burbank chat-fest until Feb. 6, 2014, when he turned the desk over to Jimmy Fallon, who brought the show back to New York.<\/p>\n
While \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d may be gone from Burbank, Leno remains a regular presence. Continuing to do his stand-up routine in clubs all over the country, he has also been making regular appearances at Flappers Comedy Club and Restaurant in downtown Burbank.<\/p>\n
\u201cJay has been doing shows at Flappers to help us get audiences back after the pandemic,\u201d said the club\u2019s owner, Barbara Holliday. \u201cHe isn\u2019t accepting any compensation, and we are very grateful to him for doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holliday\u2019s partner, David Reinitz, added that not only are Leno\u2019s appearances bringing back audiences, they are also making it possible for them to donate a portion of the proceeds from his shows to Chef Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s\u2019 World Central Kitchen, which is helping to feed people in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
This past Saturday evening, while having a pre-show steak dinner in the green room prepared by the club\u2019s new chef, Leno shrugged when he was lauded for what he is doing for Flappers.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, I love to perform and make people laugh, and I\u2019ve found they tend to laugh harder if they know the money is going towards a good cause,\u201d Leno said. \u201cTo me, helping out Flappers and World Central Kitchen just seems like the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Holliday and Reinitz have praised Leno for what he is doing, Leno also has great respect for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cBarbara and David have really done a nice job with Flappers, and I think their secret is that they keep it, at best, R-rated,\u201d Leno reasoned. \u201cToo many clubs today present comedians who are just too filthy. So, yes, people come out for a show, but they don\u2019t come back, and in today\u2019s world you can\u2019t make it with half an audience. For a comedy club to make it, you need everybody \u2014 mom, dad, the kids, the in-laws. I don\u2019t think people mind material that is a little risqu\u00e9, but Flappers attracts a crowd of regular people who pretty much know what they are going to get and will let you know when you come close to crossing the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked why after hitting the pinnacle of comedy by hosting \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d he still does club performances, Leno was pragmatic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m primarily a nightclub performer, who was just lucky to get a great TV job that lasted 22 years,\u201d he said. \u201cBut even when I was doing \u2018The Tonight Show\u2019 I still did clubs on the weekends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opining that too many comedians become isolated from their audiences once they become successful, Leno said they run the risk of no longer finding themselves in situations in which they deal with real people, which serves as fodder for new material.<\/p>\n
As an example, Leno explained that he travels a lot and funny things are always happening to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t travel with an entourage. It\u2019s just me,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, I was recently doing a show at a casino hotel in Milwaukee. The casino was open, but the hotel wasn\u2019t finished yet. So, they put me up in a hotel downtown. After my show, I came off stage, was taken back to the hotel and went to bed. The next day I got up and decided to walk around and, about a half an hour later, I realized I had no idea where I was or what hotel I was staying in. So, I take out my key card to get the name of the hotel and the only thing on it is a picture of a woman in a spa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noticing two young cops sitting in their patrol car, Leno felt they could assist him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI go over and start telling them I\u2019m trying to find my hotel, but I don\u2019t know which one it is or what direction it was in, and the next thing I hear is one of the cops saying over the radio: \u2018We have a 51-50 here, a confused elderly gentlemen who doesn\u2019t know where he is or where he is staying.\u2019 So, I\u2019m trying to better explain my story and I tell them I\u2019m Jay Leno and I\u2019m in town doing a show, and they don\u2019t care, so I just start laughing. That\u2019s the kind of thing that always happens to me because I\u2019m still out on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for concerns some stand-up comedians have following the recent on-stage attacks of Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, Leno says he isn\u2019t worried in the least.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy audience is around my age. So, by the time they could even get out of their chair to come after me I can be halfway to Cleveland,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cBesides, I\u2019ve dealt with my share of difficult crowds. When I started out, I worked this place in Orlando where you had to do your act from behind chicken wire because people were known to throw bottles at the comedians.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he finished his steak and prepared to take the stage at Flappers, Leno said another reason he is never worried on stage is because he is only there for one reason: \u201cTo make people laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was friends with Rodney Dangerfield for 45 years and I had no idea whom he ever voted for or what his politics were. All he cared about was being funny,\u201d Leno said. \u201cIt was just about the jokes. That\u2019s the same for me. All I care about is if what I am doing is funny and are people laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n
People will be laughing at Flappers tonight, May 28, as Leno will be performing again. Tickets for this evening\u2019s show and his future appearances may be purchased at\u00a0flapperscomedy.com<\/strong>.<\/p>\n DAVID LAURELL may be reached by email at dlaurell@aol.com or (818) 563- 1007.<\/em><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n Related Content<\/span><\/p>\n Leno Gives Back to Flappers Comedy Club<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n