You’ve probably heard the news that Jay Leno has cancelled all public appearances for the time being as he’s being treated for car fire injuries.
On Sunday, November 13, 2022, Jay Leno was hospitalized as one of his cars caught on fire in his garage in Los Angeles. He sadly suffered facial burns and is now in the hospital getting treated. He insists that he’s doing much better but needs ‘a week or two’ before he can get back to normal.
But how did this car fire start? And what about Jay Leno’s incredible car collection? As we wish him a speedy recovery, let’s go back to learn about his impressive collection. It’s certainly a fascinating story.
Jay Leno Cancels All Appearances As He’s Treated for Car Fire Injuries. FactsVerse investigates…
JAY LENO’S EARLY LIFE AND CAREER
Jay Leno was born on as James Douglas Muir Leno on April 28, 1950, in New Rochelle, New York.
His Scottish-born mother was a homemaker and his Italian-American father was an insurance salesman. As a result, you might not have expected young Jay to become one of the most beloved entertainers in the country – but that’s exactly what happened.
After graduating high school he studied at Emerson College where he received a degree in Speech Therapy. But he had no interest in becoming a speech therapist and instead was interested in pursuing stand up comedy – which was growing in popularity in New York.
Eventually, he worked his way up and landed a stand up gig of The Tonight Show – which he would eventually host.
He appeared on the show on March 2, 1977, and his stand up routine was loved by the audience. He would be invited back and he also began his career as a writer for popular TV shows. One of his most notable highlights of his early career was that he was a writer for the popular sitcom “Good Times.”
He also appeared in one episode of the show called “JJ In Trouble.” He played a patient in a clinic who discussed VD while JJ was nervously waiting his test results.
He continued to write and act throughout the 70s and 80s and appeared in shows and films such as Holmes & Yo-Yo, Fun With Dick and Jane, American Hot Wax, Silver Bears, Polyester, One Day at a Time, Americathon, and Laverne and Shirley.
This was coupled with his stand up career and even regular appearances on Match Game-Hollywood Squares. As his profile was growing, it was clear that he was destined for greater things.
He eventually became a writer for The Tonight Show and became a close friend of Johnny Carson’s. One of his fellow writers from Good Times, David Letterman was also a writer for the show and there was a bit of a rivalry between the two to see who would replace Johnny Carson when he would eventually step away from being the host of the show.
Jay Leno eventually began substituting for Johnny Carson whenever he wasn’t available. He was an instant hit for the audience and it was clear that one day, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson would become The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.
And that’s exactly what happened.
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JAY LENO’S CAREER
The Tonight Show With Jay Leno premiered in 1992 and was a huge hit – but had its controversy. It was actually thought that David Letterman would be the successor of the show and this controversy hung over the show for the first few episodes.
Yet, Jay Leno was eager to prove himself. He wanted to dominate the late night talk show scene. While there were many great talk shows of the 90s and that particular decade had a resurgence of great talk show, Jay Leno still managed to stand out from his competitors.
He had to compete with Dave Letterman, Conan O Brian, Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson, Tom Snyder – who all became legends in their own right.
Yet he still managed to become a huge star and is still remembered as one of the most famous late night talk show hosts of all time.
But he really had to find a way to compete with Dave Letterman. The Tonight Show was a success but still had to compete with the more successful Late Show With Dave Letterman. He had to work tirelessly to take on his competitor. This feud between Leno and Letterman became the basis of the book and film The Late Shift.
The first time Jay Leno managed to overtake Dave Letterman was in 1996 when he interviewed actor Hugh Grant who had recently been embroiled in a controversy involving a sex worker. This controversial episode became a huge hit and we finally saw The Tonight Show rise in rankings miles ahead of the Late Show.
After that, Jay Leno was the king of late night talk shows. While his competitors continued to succeed he always rose above them. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno managed to become a successful and hilarious talk show.
Jay Leno left the show in 2009 but then returned in 2010 when there was a timeslot changed. He hosted the show until 2014 when he finally stepped aside and Jimmy Fallon became the new host.
But by the time he quit, Jay Leno was known as a living legend of the late night talk show. As a result, he was leaving The Tonight Show – but he wasn’t going anywhere…
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JAY LENO CANCELS ALL APPEARANCES AS HE’S TREATED FOR CAR INJURIES
Jay Leno continues to write, act, and make cameo appearances in films and TV shows.
But his biggest claim to fame since the end of The Tonight Show has been Jay Leno’s Garage.
Jay Leno has always loved cars and with this show, that’s been running since 2014 he’s had a chance to show off his personal car collection as well as discuss cars and driving. He would give his reviews on a variety of cars ranging from American muscle cars to classic European cars to the McClaren F1.
Jay Leno owns an impressive collection of cars at his garage in Los Angeles. He’s often discussed his car collection in public interviews and even on shows – one of his earliest interviews with Rowan Atkinson had the two gentlemen discuss their love of cars.
In fact, Jay Leno has arguably the most impressive car collection among Hollywood stars – with perhaps Jerry Seinfeld being the only serious competitor.
But these cars also come with their price – literally and metaphorically. A huge collection of cars have to be maintained and if you’re not careful, things can go wrong.
We don’t know the full details but we do know that on Sunday, November 13, 2022, a fire broke out in Jay Leno’s garage in Los Angeles. One of his cars caught fire and Jay Leno has received rather serious facial burns.
He’s currently being treated at the Grossman Burn Center and his family has confirmed that his burns are serious but that he is doing well. He’s issued one public statement stating that he needs 1 or 2 weeks to get back on his feet before he starts making public appearances again.
We wish him a speedy recovery…
JAY LENO’S CAR COLLECTION
While we wish Jay Leno a speedy recovery, we should take a moment to look at some of the cars in his fantastic collection – as a reminder of the well-deserved rewards for being such a talented and generous entertainer over the years.
One of his most unique cars is an antique 1906 Stanley Steemer Vanderbilt Racer. This car is a vintage-powered steam car and isn’t one that he would drive all the time – as its certainly not practical to run a car on steam today. But he does take it out on occasion and its certainly a sight to see!
While many celebrities today like to show off Lamborghini Gallardo’s and Murcielago’s, Jay Leno has one of the early models – a 1986 Lamborghini Countach. It’s estimated to be valued at $215K and its one of the cars that he uses most often.
He also loves his classic American cars and one of the best cars in his collection is the 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car.
Only 55 of these cars were made and most were destroyed. Jay Leno is one of the few people who own the Chrysler Turbine Car – with only 9 remaining in existence. This car is unique as it can run on almost any flammable oil – but alas, it didn’t go anywhere.
Of course, Jay Leno also likes many modern cars. One of the highlights of his car collection is the 2005 Mercedes Benz SLR McClaren.
This is a great car for fast racing and is valued at almost half a million dollars. This is what Jay Leno likes to take out when he wants to cruise around the countryside without having to worry about being stuck in LA’s awful traffic!
Another beautiful classic car of his is the 1939 Lagonda V12. This is a luxury classic British car and is fitting for an iconic gentleman such as Jay Leno. The estimated value is $2.56 million.
There was also the 2006 EcoJet. This car was one that Jay Leno designed himself while consulting with General Motors. The car was so fast that once when he was driving the window blew out as he sped! This is arguably the most unique car in his collection and one wonders if back in the 70s, Jay Leno dreamt of owning such a car while he was performing stand up on The Tonight Show for the first time.
Once again, we wish Jay Leno a speedy recovery and we hope to see even more of his car collection on Jay Leno’s Garage in the near future.
So, now let’s hear from you:
Are you a fan of Jay Leno? Do you remember hearing the news about his car fire injuries?
We certainly wish him a speedy recovery!
And now, here’s what we want to know from you:
Do you think that owning several cars is a hobby that the newer generation of entertainers are interested in?
Or are they interested in different things – such as experiences over things?
