Jay Leno Goes Gentle Into the Last ‘Tonight’ [VIDEO]

After 22 years Jay Leno again bids farewell to “The Tonight Show”. After an unsuccessful farewell in 2010, not for him but for NBC which brought him back, Leno again leaves the show that he has hosted since taking over from Johnny Carson in 1992.

It was time for Jay to move on for a couple of reasons. One being the network had an heir to the late night throne in Jimmy Fallon, who was too good to see possibly go to another network. The other being at 63, Leno doesn’t feel the need to keep current.

Don’t worry about Jay. He claims not to have spent a dime from his “Tonight Show” money but continues to live off his standup comedy which he has performed on weekends throughout his run. It was standup that made Jay Leno and his understanding of the art of comedy, that made him the huge success that he was at the “Tonight Show.” He leaves the show with the same number one ratings it had when he got it. Jay’s opening monologues had something for every comic fans taste. Jay knew how to speak to all of America, not only the hip or pseudo-hip, but to middle America and the south as well.

Jay not only made his mark in comedy but with other comedians as well. There is a long list of those who he tried to help as they were coming up. Several have come on in his last shows to tell their stories and thank him for their help.

What’s different about Jay Leno leaving the Tonight Show is that unlike Johnny Carson who basically went into seclusion and was rarely heard from, Jay will continue to work at the thing that brought him to the big dance, comedy. When it’s all over, there will be Jay, in a sold out crowded comedy club, behind a microphone, doing what he does best. And that’s the way it should be.

Who are the comedians you’d like to hear from again?