Schlottke

By Marcus Errico Mon Jul 21, 7:43 AM PDT Whether he likes it or not, Jay Leno's got a date for his final Tonight: May 29, 2009.
NBC today set the calendar for the funnyman's mandatory retirement as part of a timetable for the network's rejiggered night-owl plans.

Heir apparent Conan O'Brien will be installed as Tonight Show overlord on June 1. O'Brien will abdicate his Late Night desk in the spring, most likely March or April, and move from New York to Los Angeles to prepare for his new duties.

Jimmy Fallon in turn will take over Late Night sometime in the spring, after a practice run online.

NBC will air O'Brien-fronted Late Night reruns until Fallon is deemed up to speed.

Facing questions about the much-publicized possibility of the supposedly disgruntled Leno taking his late-night antics—and possibly his sizable audience—with him to ABC, NBC Entertainment cochairs Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff stuck to their guns.

"We really believe in the decisions we've made with our partners, including Jay," Silverman told reporters at the Television Critics Assn. gathering.
In a subsequent statement, NBC tried to give props to the departing Leno, as well as the new hosts.

"The Tonight Show has a remarkable history rich in tradition. We're proud of each and every show Jay has shared with America as we look forward to Conan carrying on that outstanding tradition next year," said Rick Ludwin, NBC's chief late-night programmer.

"We also can't wait for Jimmy to showcase his winning style following Conan. Jay has left his personal stamp on The Tonight Show for what will be 17 years. He is enormously creative, generous and professional."

Leno didn't immediately comment on the network-imposed timeframe.

We're guessing he's too generous and professional to let us know how he really feels.

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RYou

Geez, how's gonna afford restoring those Dusenbergs and running Leno's Gagrage?

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ideamark

I hope Leno goes gracefully, and that we don't have a replay of the way NBC bungled the situation when Johnny Carson retired in 1992. (For those who don't remember, read Bill Carter's "The Late Shift" or watch the movie version. Or ask David Letterman.)

Mark

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r.payton@att.net

That job should have been DAVE's-I remember ''Freeze Dried movies with Dave ''' back in the 70's -truly funny in his ascerbic sort of way -DAVE is a hero in INDY -he gives so much-writes checks to the Blind School -Riley's children's hospital -etc.-just a C student from Ball State -or as we call it -Kindergarden college because it used to be a teaching school for pre adolescents .

Schlottke

I doubt there will be really any issues unless they are made up in the press. If he wants to keep working another network will pick him up. I really think the combination of Conan and then Jimmy Falon could royally backfire on them if ABC picks up Leno and has Kimmel running late night.

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RYou

Fallon was just another bum in a long oine of SNL bums. He'll bomb. It's obvious they are targeting a younger audience moving Leno out for OBrien. It may work, but all they'l get is some of the collegiate crowd.

Leno will cut a deal with ABC. He's too addicted to his hobby and needs the cash to keep it fueled.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/cars/index.shtml

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ISU2008

I don't want Conan to turn it down for the 10:30 show. What he does makes him funny. I have a bad feeling this won't work because Conan is like the anti-Jay, if you like Jay, odds are you won't like Conan, or at least how he is now.

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Zapp Brannigan

How Conan is now is roughly equivalent to how Dave was when he was following the man, Johnny Carson. And people forget that Dave kicked Leno's ass for several years after he went to CBS. Conan can do this.

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buckeye125

What about Arsenio Hall getting a second shot?
Actually, I'm kind of excited about Conan getting the job. I always liked him better than Jay Leno anyway.

therick

I've never been a Leno fan, so I won't miss him. I used to watch Dave and then switch over to watch Conan. Now, I just DVR Conan and watch it at a decent hour the next day. He's the funniest of them all, IMO