New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Jay Leno has made a career out of making people laugh, and now he brings his clean, observational brand of humor to The Z. The Andover-native rose to stardom when he began “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and built a loyal fan base with his topical humor and hilarious delivery. Tickets for the Jay Leno performance range from $79 to $125 and are available at www.zeiterion.org, 508-994-2900 or at the Zeiterion box office, 684 Purchase Street, New Bedford.
Leno is known as one of the busiest performers in comedy; for years he booked more than 300 appearances annually. He’s also famous for his cartoon-like facial features, which he made reference to in the title of his 1996 autobiography, Leading With My Chin. He displayed comic tendencies as a child, resulting in the fifth-grade report card comment, “if Jay spent as much time studying as he does trying to be a comedian, he’d be a big star,” which turned out to be prophetic.
Tapped to host “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” when Johnny Carson retired in 1992, Leno went on to dominate late night television for more than two decades, winning every consecutive quarter for 19 years. After resuming hosting the program following a brief interruption, he made it once again the consistent ratings leader for late night. His late night run earned him an Emmy for “Outstanding Comedy, Variety or Music Series,” a viewer-elected TV Guide Award for “Favorite Late Night Show,” and induction into the Television Academy’s Broadcast Hall of Fame.
Leno now produces and stars in “Jay Leno’s Garage” for NBC, available on Jaylenosgarage.com, which has gained an international following on the Web and an Emmy Award. Additional accomplishments include induction into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Broadcasting Hall of Fame, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Hasty Pudding Award at Harvard University, an honor also bestowed on Johnny Carson, and an honorary doctorate from his alma mater Emerson College. He has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, asking that it be placed in front of the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum where he was arrested for vagrancy when he first arrived in Hollywood. He also has set several land speed records and became the first person to drive the pace car of all major NASCAR events.
