Comedian Jay Leno said an emotional goodbye to the "Tonight Show" on Thursday with a star-studded farewell led by actor Billy Crystal, after hosting the NBC late night program for more than 20 years and handing the reins over to Jimmy Fallon.
Leno, 63, who took over one of U.S. broadcast television's marquee
programs in 1992 from Johnny Carson, came out to a standing ovation from
the audience of friends and family, shaking hands with many as he did
in each show.
"I don't like
goodbyes; NBC does," Leno quipped when opening his monologue, poking fun
at the network that orchestrated his departure from the show in 2009
only to reinstall him back as host less than a year later.
His final monologue was peppered with then-and-now reflections on the changes since his tenure at "Tonight" began.
Watch Jay Leno's goodbye speech below....
"When I started hosting, Justin Bieber wasn't even born yet. That's why we call those the good ol' days," Leno said, poking fun at the troubled Canadian teen pop star.
The silver-haired host ended the show on an emotional note, saying,
"This has been the greatest 22 years of my life," as he rested his hand
on his chin with tears welling in his eyes.
"It really is time for me to go and hand it off to the next guy," the comedian added.
Leno's departure and Fallon's hire marks NBC's second attempt to
transition the "Tonight Show" into a program appealing to the 18-34 year
old demographic coveted by advertisers while still maintaining its top
spot in the ratings.
Fallon,
39, will be taking the "Tonight Show" back to its New York roots for the
first time since 1972, when NBC moved the show with Carson to Burbank,
California. Fallon will begin his new hosting duties on February 17 on
the network owned by Comcast Corp.
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