Collectors & Aficionados
Business F1 Top 20 Petrolheads: Jay Leno, King of Late Night Laughter
From childhood car fascination to late-night TV fame, Jay Leno's passion for comedy and cars shines. With 300+ vehicles, he's the steward of a motoring legacy, hosting "Jay Leno's Garage" after retiring from "The Tonight Show."
In Jay Leno's enormous garage in Burbank, hostin many different types of automobiles, such as steam cars, turbine cars, hypercars, muscle cars, race cars, utility trucks, vintage motorbikes and anything with an engine that he has come across and fallen in love with during his lifetime. Exactly how many automotive gems does he have? We can safely say at least 300, which is a result of a passion that comes from his youth when he had a childhood attraction for cars and an innate talent for making people laugh.
At the age of 20, he realised that his natural comic talent could become his life: Charming empathy, quick wit and a tireless work ethic opened up the road to show business for him. His big success came in 1977, when he appeared on the Tonight Show, then hosted by Johnny Carson. Leno's frequent appearances made it clear that Carson wanted to make him his successor. The big moment came in 1992 and at the age of 42 Leno began an almost uninterrupted 22-year career, taking the helm of NBC's late night talk show and the hefty salary that came with it.
