[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jay_leno.jpg]]

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno (born April 28, 1950, in New Rochelle, New York) is an American comedian, actor, and television host.

After doing standup comedy for years, he became the host of Creator/{{NBC}}'s ''Series/TheTonightShowWithJayLeno'' from 1992 to 2014, except for a time between June 2009 and February 2010 when it was supposed that he would be succeeded by Creator/ConanOBrien while beginning in September 2009 a primetime talk show, titled ''The Jay Leno Show'', which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m., also on NBC; however, a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Tonight_Show_conflict controversy]] led to Leno returning to host ''The Tonight Show''. He hosted his last episode of ''The Tonight Show'' on February 6, 2014.

He also voiced the Crimson Chin and the Nega-Chin in the ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' and played King Yardstick the Ruler in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AskTheStorybots''.
----
!! Film Roles
* Film/{{Polyester}} (1981) as a newscaster
* Film/LoadedWeapon1 (1991) as Everett
* WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory (1993) as Vorb
* Film/TheFlintstones (1994) as Bedrock's Most Wanted Host
* WesternAnimation/IceAgeTheMeltdown (2006) as Fast Tony
* WesternAnimation/ChristmasIsHereAgain (2007) as the Narrator
* WesternAnimation/{{Igor}} (2008) as King Malbert

!! Television Roles

* Series/SaturdayNightLive (1986) as Host
* The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992-2009, 2010-2014) as Host
* WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons (1998; "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E15TheLastTemptationOfKrust The Last Temptation of Krust]]") as himself
* WesternAnimation/SouthPark (1999; “[[Recap/SouthParkS1E13CartmansMomIsADirtySlut Cartman’s Mom Is A Dirty Slut]]”) as Mr. Kitty
* WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents (2001-2011; recurring) as The Crimson Chin and The Nega-Chin
* The Jay Leno Show (2009-2010) as Host
* WesternAnimation/The7D (2014-2016; recurring) as Crystal Ball
* Series/LastManStanding (2015-2021; recurring) as Joe Leonard
* Jay Leno’s Garage (2015-2022) as Host

----
!!Tropes associated with his work:
* AsHimself: His comedy and late-night career have earned him tons of roles as either this or AdamWesting himself.
* CoolCar: Leno ''loves'' cars. He is well-known for his impressive vehicle collection at his Jay Leno's Big Dog Garage, to the point that he hosts a TV series for CNBC titled ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Jay Leno's Garage]]''.
** CoolBike: He also has more than a few motorcycles, too.
* CreatorBacklash:
** Is not fond of the 1989 buddy-cop movie ''Collision Course'', in which he was paired with Creator/PatMorita.
** He would prefer we all forget about the May 20, 1993 episode of ''The Tonight Show'', which was a special live episode from the ''Cheers'' pub with the show's cast to commemorate the series' finale that aired earlier that night. Having been there the whole day celebrating, the cast was completely wasted and unable to properly participate in the show at any capacity, and Leno can be seen growing visibly frustrated with them as the hour drags on. Leno called the show a "mistake" afterwards and ''Cheers'' star Creator/TedDanson subsequently appeared as a guest a week later to apologize for the special being such a mess. It was quickly buried in the archives and never acknowledged by either party again, aside from Leno citing it as the worst episode he ever did and the reason why he never did another live show.
** Similarly, Leno prefers to bury ''The Jay Leno Show'' and the conflict it caused with Creator/ConanOBrien in the dustbin of history, aside from appearing on the cover of ''Entertainment Weekly'' in 2010 to acknowledge them naming it the biggest bomb in TV history.
* DenialOfDigitalDistribution: He believes that comedy is best experienced live and in the moment and refuses to record stand-up specials because he feels that home audiences will not be able to get the proper gist of his jokes because they weren't in the room at the time the jokes were made.
* LanternJawOfJustice: He occasionally pokes fun at his prominent jaw[[note]]due to a prominent underbite that he's elected not to surgically correct[[/note]], even daring Wrestling/HulkHogan and other members of NWO to take a jab at it when he and Kevin Eubanks appeared with Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage.
* MoneyDearBoy: He is well-known for being financially cautious, always working two jobs and only spending the smaller of the two incomes unless he absolutely had to dip into the other. Even when he was making tens of millions of dollars a year as the host of ''The Tonight Show'', he'd do at least 150 stand-up shows a year and only use the income from those live appearances.
* MotorMouth: When performing stand-up, he talks very fast while rambling at length. During he heyday as a stand-up comic, it wasn't unusual for him to keep talking for hours without tiring and have venue operators to leave him the keys so they could go home for the night.
* NewscasterCameo: Most of his later appearances on film and TV are this.
* RealMenEatMeat: He's spoken on air about how he didn't eat vegetables for decades. None other than Michelle Obama came on the ''Tonight Show'' to get Jay to eat healthier. He's since made changes to his lifestyle.
* WhamLine: One of the most memorable moments of his career came in 1995, when he had Creator/HughGrant on his show as a guest right after Grant had gotten busted getting busy with a prostitute in his car. Leno opened the interview by looking Grant straight in the eye and asking him, "What the hell were you thinking?" The moment quickly became meme-worthy (as much as you possibly could in 1995) and is in hindsight seen as the turning point where Leno found his footing and regained the #1 slot from David Letterman.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** [[invoked]] He was offered the job of hosting an American version of ''Series/{{Top Gear|UK}}'' (back when it was supposed to be a co-production between NBC and BBC America) but turned it down, because the commercialized nature of American TV meant that the show wouldn't be able to freely criticize the cars being reviewed.
** According to Creator/JimmyKimmel, ABC came close to poaching Leno to host a ''Tonight Show'' competitor in late 2008 as Creator/ConanOBrien was getting ready to take over. ''The Jay Leno Show'' was the result of NBC's last ditch effort to retain him.
* {{Workaholic}}: Unlike his predecessors, Leno didn't utilize guest hosts except on one occasion and also regularly performed stand-up as well.

----