Jay Leno

Owns over 30 classic cars and over 40 motorcycles. His very first automobile was a 1934 Ford V-8 truck, which he restored himself at the age of 14.

In May 2003, he hosted NBC's morning talk show "Today" (1952). In a May sweeps promotion, "Today" show host Katie Couric, in turn, hosted "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992).

Claims that after having seen his idol Elvis Presley perform "Teddy Bear" in the movie Loving You (1957), made him determined, at the tender age of seven, to pursue a career in show business.

"The Mike Douglas Show" (1961) was the first talk show appearance for Jay Leno, which aired on October 19, 1977. Danny Thomas and Teddy Pendergrass were also guests.

His wife, Mavis, is active in the Feminist Majority Foundation which helps raise funds to combat the strict Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime that requires women to wear head-to-toe shrouds. Her first appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962) was March 2, 1977.

A 1972 graduate of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Was a writer on the 1970s comedy series "Good Times" (1974), as was his current late night talk show competitor David Letterman.

He and his wife were contestants on the couples game show "Tattletales" (1982) in the early 80s.

During the Michael Jackson trial in February of 2005, Jay Leno had been subpoenaed to testify at the trial. Judge Rodney S. Melville issued a "gag order" barring anyone involved in the case from discussing it outside court, and the comedian feared that the order would apply to his monologues on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992). He was allowed to write the jokes but not tell them. To get around this order, Leno called on his fellow comedians to tell the jokes he wrote for him. Some of these people included Brad Garrett, Scott 'Carrot Top' Thompson, Roseanne, Dennis Miller, and Drew Carey. They came out and told the jokes while Leno stood beside them on stage. On March 11, 2005, the judge had the gag order lifted. In a statement, he explained, "I am not attempting to prevent anybody from making a living in the normal way that they make their living," adding that Leno may not talk about the specific things to which he is a witness.

He will step down as host of the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) in 2009. His replacement will be current NBC "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993) host Conan O'Brien.

Although Leno's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) predecessor Johnny Carson appeared on rival late night talk show "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) twice (in a walk-on stage appearance soon after Letterman's show debuted, and later in a filmed segment), Carson never once appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) with his successor. Many, including Leno, took this as a sign that "Johnny likes Dave more" and would have preferred David Letterman to have been his "Tonight Show" replacement.

Billy Crystal was his very first guest on Monday May 25, 1992. when Jay took over the late night throne vacated by Johnny Carson on Friday May 22, 1992.

The final guest on his run of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) was successor Conan O'Brien and the musical guest was James Taylor.

On an episode of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992), he claimed that he got in his first auto accident a mere 81 hours after getting his driver's license.

Is portrayed by Daniel Roebuck in The Late Shift (1996) (TV).

Is famous for his collection of motorcycles, two of which were featured in the movie, Batman & Robin (1997).

Driver of Pace Car at 83rd Indianapolis 500; May 30, 1999.

In November 2006, on his show, he ate a vegetable for the first time in 37 years.

In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated his earnings for the year to be $32 million.

The first guest on "The Jay Leno Show" (2009) was Jerry Seinfeld and the musical segment comprised of an ensemble performance by Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West. (West also sat down for a brief unscheduled interview following his controversial 2009 MTV Video Music Awards incident which occurred the day before).

Barack Obama's appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #17.50" (2009) marked the first TV talk show appearance by a sitting President.

Confessed to guest Scarlett Johansson on his show (May 4, 2010) that he is an obsessive hoarder who still has every car magazine purchased since 8th grade. Also revealed that he kept a Soupy Sub Sandwich at the studio sent to him by a lady from Rhose Island in 1993. Johansson was astounded when Leno produced the antique sandwich along with a bottle of 'brown' tomato ketchup.

Received Hasty Pudding's Man of the Year award at Harvard University [February 4, 2011].