@Sara – Jay has a HORRIBLE rep in the comedy world. He was a top stand-up early in his career, one that many comics (including Letterman) both looked up to and learned from. Dave is even on the record as saying that Leno influenced his style. But the way he shifted his style on The Tonight Show – making it safe, dumb, etc. – jarred much of the comedy community. Even Bill Hicks – whom Jay helped greatly early in his career – publicly turned his back on Jay. So yes, the enmity from the comedy community is about much more than just this nonsense, but about what many feel are years and years of betrayal on Jay’s part.

“Betrayal”? Oh, brother. The Tonight Show was a place where you could see Lenny Bruce or George Carlin for six or seven minutes, and then they would leave. Neither would have been considered potential hosts of the show!

Reading this part of your essay brings to mind an episode of M*A*S*H (“Fallen Idol”) in which Radar O’Reilly’s image of Hawkeye Pierce is shattered when he witnesses Pierce get so nauseous after a night of boozing that he leaves patients on the operating table to heave. When O’Reilly confronts Hawk about it, Pierce blows his stack.

…[T]he hell with you. How dare you! The hell with your Iowa naivete, and the hell with your hero worship and your teddy bear, and while you’re at it, the hell with you! Why don’t you grow up, for crying out loud? I’m not here for you to admire…”

This, of course, is not a perfect parallel. There is no true comparison between having the #1 daily comedy program on television and emergency surgery on soldiers blown to pieces. But the ridiculous notion that Leno was supposed to live up to the expectations of Bill Hicks when he took over the Carson job made me think of it. I’m not in the funny biz, so I don’t understand the sainthood some have bestowed on the likes of Hicks unless it is another symptom of the simmering elitism that has bubbled over on Late Show in recent years (and has always been on open display on Bill Maher’s programs).

Still, I don’t blame Leno for Zucker’s effort to prevent either host from defecting to a rival network ending up in utter disaster. The blame lies squarely there, and how this man remains employed is both a complete mistery and an ongoing case study as to why news producers, by nature, make crappy executives.

But it doesn’t stop me from thinking Leno’s a complete idiot.

If, IF he had stuck with his “classy decision” to “hand the seat to Conan” (no matter how much this 2004 speech was really to save face), his Tonight Show departure could’ve triggered a celebrity sendoff to retirement the likes of which hasn’t happened since Carson. Even those who detest his style of comedy would’ve paused to recognize a man who hosted the show for so long and left at the top. His name would have remained synonymous with class. He would’ve remained a sought-after host for high-profile projects long afterward.

Instead, Jay’s final week on the Tonight Show was fairly half-assed; nobody was going to make a huge tribute when all he was doing was moving to prime time. And now that he bombed in primetime, NBC decides that rather than just end the “52-week experiment”, it’s Conan that gets the shaft just 7 months in. And you insinuate that this is a fair result. Please.

Place the blame where it belongs, with Team Zucker. But spare me the defense of Jay Leno. He doesn’t deserve the treatment he’s getting; he should be getting far worse.

They might have nudged Jay, but “pushed” him, I think that is a bit much.

i still believe he shouldn’t return to tonight show though. it has just gotten too funky.

Team Jay and Conan, now. :O)

@Pat – Yeah, sorry. Didn’t mean to be a dream crusher, but, you know – reality does tend to intervene.

@Sara – Jay has a HORRIBLE rep in the comedy world. He was a top stand-up early in his career, one that many comics (including Letterman) both looked up to and learned from. Dave is even on the record as saying that Leno influenced his style. But the way he shifted his style on The Tonight Show – making it safe, dumb, etc. – jarred much of the comedy community. Even Bill Hicks – whom Jay helped greatly early in his career – publicly turned his back on Jay. So yes, the enmity from the comedy community is about much more than just this nonsense, but about what many feel are years and years of betrayal on Jay’s part. And to your earlier comment, the 10:00 show was a last minute solution that just came up last year – but otherwise, yes, Jay was pushed out of the way for Conan back in 2004, even though he was on top.

Larry

larrygetlen.com
twitter.com/larrygetlen

Are you saying that Conan threw a hissy fit back in 2004, and wanted the Tonight Show, which basically forced Jay out of the way? Or was it all one big deal – move Jay to 10, move Conan to Tonight Show?

No matter how it happened, I think it looks like Jay dabbled in primetime, failed, and now he is slinking off back to late night, and is pushing Conan out of a job. I just don’t know how he can go back there, and ever have it feel the same.

The whole thing just leaves a bad taste.

Team Conan!! ;O)