Brixy
04-29-2009, 01:56 AM
Jay Leno bounced back from an illness, returning to the Tonight Show with jokes about swine flu, the 39.5 deg fever that sent him to the hospital and the armed guard he said kept him company.
NBC posted security outside his hospital room after a man apparently pretending to be a Jesuit priest tried to enter, Leno said during the taping of Monday's show.
"So now I'm like in The Godfather, Leno told the audience, referring to the scene in which a wounded mob boss is shielded from his attackers. "It's so stupid. But anyway, we're back and we're not gonna be cancelling any more shows or appearances."
Leno is a valuable asset for NBC, which will be showcasing him in a daily prime-time show later this year after he leaves the Tonight Show.
The network aired reruns in place of two Tonight shows last week, the first time it had to cover for an ailing Leno since he took over as host in 1992.
According to an NBC transcript of Monday's show, Leno said he drove to the Tonight studio in Burbank last Thursday in a Model T, one of his vintage cars, on a cold morning and without a jacket.
"I was freezing and I got chills, and here at NBC we have an 'ODN', overly dramatic nurse," Leno said, who took his temperature and insisted he needed an ambulance ride to a hospital.
Instead, he walked over to nearby Providence Saint Joseph Medical Centre. In less than half an hour, he said, blogs were reporting "Leno Dead!" and "NBC afraid to release story!" - which Leno called "hilarious".
Leno's spokesman said at the time that doctors found no evidence of a serious ailment. The comedian didn't specify his illness on Monday.
He did milk it for punchlines, including one that played off the swine flu outbreak dominating headlines.
"What happened was - and I think was a mistake - I ate a raw pig a friend brought back from Mexico ... It was delicious," he joked.
Conan O'Brien, who will become the new Tonight host in June when Leno leaves, came in for some ribbing.
At the hospital, Leno said, "I had a horrible dream that I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was suffocating ... then I woke up and realised Conan was holding a pillow over my face."
He also turned serious, thanking well-wishers for cards, phone calls and "being so kind". His "comedy stimulus tour" will continue, he said, with a free Mother's Day concert next month in Wilmington, Ohio.
Wilmington, a city of 12,000 residents, has drawn national attention as a vivid example of the economic struggles of small US communities during the recession
ninemsn.com.au
NBC posted security outside his hospital room after a man apparently pretending to be a Jesuit priest tried to enter, Leno said during the taping of Monday's show.
"So now I'm like in The Godfather, Leno told the audience, referring to the scene in which a wounded mob boss is shielded from his attackers. "It's so stupid. But anyway, we're back and we're not gonna be cancelling any more shows or appearances."
Leno is a valuable asset for NBC, which will be showcasing him in a daily prime-time show later this year after he leaves the Tonight Show.
The network aired reruns in place of two Tonight shows last week, the first time it had to cover for an ailing Leno since he took over as host in 1992.
According to an NBC transcript of Monday's show, Leno said he drove to the Tonight studio in Burbank last Thursday in a Model T, one of his vintage cars, on a cold morning and without a jacket.
"I was freezing and I got chills, and here at NBC we have an 'ODN', overly dramatic nurse," Leno said, who took his temperature and insisted he needed an ambulance ride to a hospital.
Instead, he walked over to nearby Providence Saint Joseph Medical Centre. In less than half an hour, he said, blogs were reporting "Leno Dead!" and "NBC afraid to release story!" - which Leno called "hilarious".
Leno's spokesman said at the time that doctors found no evidence of a serious ailment. The comedian didn't specify his illness on Monday.
He did milk it for punchlines, including one that played off the swine flu outbreak dominating headlines.
"What happened was - and I think was a mistake - I ate a raw pig a friend brought back from Mexico ... It was delicious," he joked.
Conan O'Brien, who will become the new Tonight host in June when Leno leaves, came in for some ribbing.
At the hospital, Leno said, "I had a horrible dream that I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was suffocating ... then I woke up and realised Conan was holding a pillow over my face."
He also turned serious, thanking well-wishers for cards, phone calls and "being so kind". His "comedy stimulus tour" will continue, he said, with a free Mother's Day concert next month in Wilmington, Ohio.
Wilmington, a city of 12,000 residents, has drawn national attention as a vivid example of the economic struggles of small US communities during the recession
ninemsn.com.au