10 - The Michigan Daily - WUe/dtt , . - Thursday, March 28, 1996 'Nice guy'Jay Leno is finally finishing firs By Jon Pettnski Daily Film Editor The kooky smile ... the loud, animated voice ... the friendly eyes ... and, oh, that chin. It almost just makes you want to give Jay Leno a huge bear-hug, doesn't it? Just turn on NBC any weekday night at 11:35 p.m. and you'll know what I'm talking about. No doubt about it -"The Tonight Show"host Leno's got that "Mr. Nice Guy thing" goin' on.' As Jay Leno makes his way into the spotlight, however, people aren't quite sure what to think of his too-good-to-be- true image. Since taking over for the legendary Johnny Carson in May 1992, the comedian has certainly faced his share of bad press and nasty rumors - con- cerning how he got Carson'sjob, how his domineering ex-manager Helen Kushnick played apart in it andhow hisrelationship with competitor Dave Letterman has evolved alongside their battle for late- night television audiences around the nation. Most recently, Jay Leno has been sur- prising audiences all over. In September of last year, "The Tonight Show" won the Emmy for "Outstanding Variety, Com- edy, or Music Series" over "Late Night with David Letterman"; by the end of 1995, Leno was celebrating a victory streak in a long ratings competition with Letterman. Some of us remember back a few years when Leno's story didn't have such a happy ending. For the comedian, it's certainly been a difficult climb. Lately, people have just loved to talk about the late-night scene. In 1994, Bill Carter's novel "The Late Shift" described play-by-play every detail of it; and a few weeks ago, the book became an HBO movie. Lo and behold, there was Leno (played by Daniel Roebuck), front and center, with his prosthetic chin and all. Forthe first time, audiences got the chance to see how Leno got his chance. But just watch the movie ... or read about 20 pages into the book. By the beginning of both, the Mr. Nice Guy image fades fast from our minds; instead we see a story of competition and manipulation among the contenders in the late-night world. But as always, there's more truth in talking to the man himself. A recent tele- phone interview with Leno answered many of my questions about him: Nice Guy or manipulative Competitor? The cartoon-like, ridiculous-chinned charac- ter on "The Late Shift" or the lovable I- gave-away-my-lunch-money-to-anyone- who-wanted-it-in-high-school guy we see on "The Tonight Show?" Who knew? After 25 minutes on the phone with Leno, I did. He's just a hardworking guy, finally getting what he his teen-age years. "I always liked come- dians in high school. There really wasn't stand-up comedy where I grew up in New England. There were these funny guys on the radios ... I thought I'd do something like that. "A buddy of mine liked comedy and we started to do a two man thing my first year of college. You know,just humiliat- ingyourselfwithawful shows." For Leno, things just grew from there. Early on, h worked for a Rolls Royce/Mercede dealership in Boston; when Jay woul have to deliver cars to New York, h would book himself in any comedy clu he could get into while he wa there. How's that for perseverance? "I always thought, I'll keep doing until I have to get a regular job," h admitted. "And then I never had to get regular job so it worked out OK." It sure did. Now Leno spends fro 8:30 a.m. until 2 a.m. at work - writin his jokes and monologues, performin and interviewing. What drives him? Ob viously, his love for the work. As Leno talked in greater detail abou his show, he mentioned some of his memorable interviews. "I like politi he said. "So Colin Powell ... he was goo ... or even Jimmy Carter was a grea guest. I mean, as someone who sort o flunked eighth grade history, being abl to talk to the president ofthe United State was pretty cool." Dare I ask about his embarrassin moments? Yeah - I can practically se his grin through the phone. So why not After a few minutes, I had my answer. " usually visit the guests before the sh knocked on Julia Roberts' door - . a hotel thing were you knock twice, the you go in - and of course, she wa completely naked. It was humiliating fo me. But," he added, "I'm sure wors Jay Leno looks just dapper In this nifty outfit. Where do you get your clothes, Jay? deserves - success. So what does Leno think of "The Late Sho ... " His laughter echoed through the phone before I could even finish my finely crafted question. "I read the book, but no ... I didn't see the movie," he said. "No- body talked to me; nobody met with me. And I thought, gee, don't you even want to know what I'm like? "It's like reporting on the first seven minutes of the Superbowl and then leav- ing," Leno continued. "I think ifourshow had continued to go downhill and it was just a huge embarrassment and we got canceled and were off the air, then I think the movie would have had some sort of relevance. Neither Dave or I ... it's not like we're having sex with strange people in the dressing room and we're doing coke and we're out of control. Both of us just go home, try to write jokes and do the best shows we can." Leno went on to detail his relationship with rival David Letterman. And, in fact, the way he described it tome, they weren't rivals at all. "I like David. I think he does a terrific show. People have this odd mentality in America now that you're supposed to trash talk the competition. But to me, I don't know why two quarter- backs (if I could just butt in for a sec ... what's up with all the football imagery?) or two prize-fighters - or pick whatever metaphor you want - can't be friends." Sounds like something good 'ol mom would say, doesn't it? Leno downplayed his recent jump ahead of Letterman in the Nielsen rat- ings, never once forgetting the time when he still had a long climb ahead of him."When Dave first went on we were getting tromped ... but then we figured out how to do it and now we're ahead," he said. "That'll last for a while and then I'm sure David will be ahead. That's just the way it goes." Obviously, Jay Leno is negating the "Dave vs. Jay" picture we've all had in our heads lately. Who's winning at the moment isn't necessarily important to him (there has never been more than eight-tenths of a rating point between the shows). What matters? After hours upon hours of writing jokes for his entire life, Leno's arrived. His love for comedy stems back into f i i l y things have happened." Is anyone els picturing this scenario? It is certainly by no accident that Len has all these experiences to speak of. He' worked hard to get to the top. But does th comedian want to stay? "I'd like to don't want to move into modem'ititerpre tive dance." Really? None of this success has fallen int Leno's lap; he's had some tough shoes t fill and a very specific audienceto please The ratings, the awards and the fan mai all tell us he's succeeding. "It takes awhile to make a show you own," Leno said. "Taking over somethin like 'The Tonight Show' ... it's like tryin to make a left turn with the Titanic: Yo1 slowly, slowly bring it around." Clearly, Jay Leno is steering in th right direction, andhis shipcertainly won' be sinking anytime soon. 4 LLJ Pi PSIPOflS. GeT FROO* Pepsi STUFF HAVO Fu THIS SUMMOR W ITH POPSI STUFF ' Jf l/ ". l . r f; r t ff F f :1 rf/ } 'I 1t 1f -E-I Active wear. Beach gear. Fila mountain bikes. 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