Jay Leno
From Muppet Wiki
Jay Leno (b. 1950) is a stand-up comedian who hosted The Tonight Show on NBC from 1992 to 2009, followed by The Jay Leno Show in 2009. He has interviewed the Muppets several times on the show, and also made appearances on Sesame Street and Muppets Tonight.
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Sesame Street
In 1987, Leno appeared on Sesame Street in sketches with Big Bird. [1] In one sketch, Big Bird is disappointed when he gets a phone call from "Johnny", telling him that he can't come over and play a game. Leno offers to help: "I love sitting in for Johnny!" Leno fills Johnny's chair, and Big Bird plays "One of These Things". Leno gets the correct answer, and Big Bird is pleased: "You know? He really was good at sitting in for Johnny!" (This clip was included in the 1994 TV special Sesame Street All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!) (SSvideo)
In another sketch, Leno describes what he has to do to get ready for a motorcycle ride. Eventually, Big Bird arrives to pull him around on a tricycle. (EKA: Episode 3200) (SSvideo)
The Tonight Show
Leno has interviewed the Muppets many times on The Tonight Show.
Leno interviewed Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog when they appeared on the show in 1989 to promote The Jim Henson Hour.
In June 1996, Miss Piggy appeared to promote In the Kitchen with Miss Piggy, leading to some very flirtatious talk -- at one point, Piggy asked if Leno had "a problem with intimacy", and then offered: "Would you like to touch me? Go ahead! Anywhere you'd like!" When Kermit made an appearance on the show in November, he admitted that he was "a little miffed... I mean, if you choose to have Miss Piggy on the show, and flirt with her outrageously, why should that bother me? I know, if Kevin Eubanks wants to keep calling her and asking her out, why should that bother me, y'know?... Piggy can be that way."
Piggy returned to the show on New Year's Eve 1996, to report live from the roof of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square as the ball dropped to ring in the new year. She spent the evening complaining about the rooftop being cold and the partying crowd being too noisy. When Leno asked her what she would normally be doing on New Year's Eve, Piggy said, "Well, usually, I have a romantic candlelight dinner for two with Kermie. But this year, my agent Bernie decided I should spend New Year's Eve on top of a freezing building with three teamsters named Vinnie!"
Muppets Tonight
In 1996, Leno and Tonight Show bandleader Kevin Eubanks appeared in episode 208 of Muppets Tonight. In the episode, Bobo the Bear has accidentally killed the show's guest star, Arsenio Hall, and is looking around for another celebrity to fill in. Leno volunteers to star, but Bobo doesn't recognize him.
References
- ↑ Hellman, Peter. "Sesame Street Smart: How Big Bird & Co. Do It", New York Magazine. November 23, 1987.
