Even though 72-year-old Jay Leno has been to the top of the comedy world, the legendary funnyman always has given the impression all he ever needed to be happy in life was a microphone and a stage.
That’s exactly where the former “Tonight Show” host currently finds himself — thanks to a busy touring schedule that includes a Northeast Ohio return on Feb. 2 at Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre in Cleveland.
We recently caught up with Leno — who can be seen on the Emmy Award-winning CNBC show “Jay Leno’s Garage” and the rebooted Fox game show “You Bet Your Life” — to discuss his recent scary garage accident that left him with second-degree burns on his face and upper body, the old Front Row theater in Highland Heights and how to avoid becoming an old “creepy” comic.
Q Hello, Jay, how are you feeling? Your fans were worried about your recent fire incident.
A Oh, I’m fine. It was an accident. Real people who have real jobs have accidents like that every day. I’m certainly grateful for all of the cards and letters and nice things people sent me, but I’m fine. I’ve got a brand-new face. I’m doing OK.
Q We’re guessing that experience gave you some new material on stage.
A You get a little bit, but then you’re just talking about yourself and it gets a bit … I think we live in an era of such victimhood now that I don’t want to be a whiny celebrity. When rich people catch on fire, you don’t get a lot of sympathy.
Q Considering your stand-up comedy career started roughly 50 years ago, what early memories do you have of coming through Northeast Ohio?
A I really enjoyed being on the road in those days. I didn’t skip the comedy club scene, but I got started in the mid-’70s so the comedy clubs hadn’t come along. I kind of came up through The Front Row theater. I played there with Perry Como, Tom Jones, Sha Na Na, Johnny Mathis. That was a wonderful venue — I really enjoyed it.
Q The notion of a comic opening for a musical act seems so foreign now. What was that experience like?
A The best audiences were playing jazz clubs. I used to open for Buddy Rich, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Stan Getz. The thing about jazz, people came to listen. So if they’d listen to jazz, they’d listen to comedy. They were really good audiences. I opened for (rock band) Rare Earth, and that was the biggest nightmare you could imagine. I’m on stage and there are people standing, which is always bad during a comedy show. I noticed my cord from my microphone goes down from the stage and past the audience. Just then, the cord gets yanked out of my hand and I hear some guy yelling obscenities. So now I come off the stage, I’m in the crowd, I’m trying to trace the mic. I got charged $75 for losing the mic.
Q Congratulations on “You Bet Your Life.” Were you a fan of the original show hosted by Groucho Marx?
A I always liked it. That’s basically what “JayWalking” was on “The Tonight Show” — just going out on the street and talking to people. “You Bet Your Life” is just a comedy show with a game element attached. You just talk to people and try to find out something funny about them, tease them and have a little bit of fun. Then they have a chance to win some money.
Q What’s your take on the current landscape of late-night television?
A I think all of the hosts are good — (Jimmy) Kimmel, (Stephen) Colbert, (Jimmy) Fallon. They all have solid jokes. The trouble is the commercial interruptions. I think it’s hurt the genre. You watch the monologue, that’s six or seven minutes, and then there’s five minutes of commercials — “Have you been to Camp Lejeune between 1953 and 1958?” It makes it tough to watch.
Q Finally, do you see retirement anywhere in your future?
A Comedy is like golf: You can do it well into your 80s if you sort of pace yourself and play it right. The idea is to always sort of play your age. Nothing is less funny to me than when I see guys in their 60s and 70s say, “So, I’m hitting on this chick at a bar.” It’s like, “OK, let me know how that works out.” That always makes me laugh when you see age-inappropriate material. It’s kind of the reason I don’t really work dirty. When you’re an old man it’s like, “Ooh, who is that creepy guy?”
Jay Leno
When: 8 p.m. Feb. 2.
Where: Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre, 1519 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.
Tickets: $40 to $100.
Info: 216-241-6000 or PlayhouseSquare.org.
