Jay Leno's last taping of "Tonight" before he hands it off to Jimmy Fallon will feature Billy Crystal, Leno's first guest on the show, and Garth Brooks, bringing the total number of episodes to 4,610, a feat never accomplished by any other "Tonight" host, the Associated Press reported.
When Leno took over "Tonight" from Johnny Carson, it was the No. 1, and now, with Leno leaving to make room for Fallon, the show is still No. 1, bringing in 3.5 million nightly viewers, the AP reported. Since its first episode premiered in 1954, "Tonight" has been hosted first by Steve Allen, Jack Paar and Carson.
Leno, who has left the show once before, said the older generation has to make room for the younger generation because him reading Miley Cyrus' tweets is too "creepy," according to the AP.
"It's been a wonderful job but this is the right time to leave," Leno said, according to the AP. "I'm at that age where I don't really listen to the (current) music anymore. I'm not a big tweet guy. A 63-year-old guy reading Miley Cyrus' tweets is a little creepy. Move on."
Leno previously retired in 2009 when Conan O'Brien was set to take his place, but later returned due to issues with NBC and O'Brien's ratings, the AP reported.
Now, Leno is leaving for good and Fallon, with his parodies and bits perfect for YouTube, is expected to bring in a younger viewing audience and ad sales to aide in the shrinking network revenue , according to the AP.
With his departure and new found freedom Leno plans to spend more time on his comedy club acts as well as a new Web show called "Jay Leno's Garage," where he indulges in his love for automotives, the AP reported.
His schedule is already set and the day after his last filming for "Tonight" Leno will fly off to Florida with his wife for numerous comedy club appearances, according to the AP. As far as a new late night show on the horizon, Leno say's it's not happening and said if it did, it would be something titled "Tonight Light."
"It's hard to re-create this moment. It's like the fighter coming back. You got to be world champion, so it's kind of silly," Leno said, the AP reported. "When this is over, I don't get to my table at (posh restaurant) Morton's and" - here, he feigns dismay as he mimics a maître d' - 'Sorry, Mr. Leno, this is Mr. Fallon's table.'"
