Jay Leno’s Interview Reveals The Witty Side Of The Comical Personality

One of America’s favorite comedian and satirical writers and presenters Jay Leno says he is enjoying his retirement as much he enjoyed his long career. The Associated Press managed to get him talking candidly about his life post retirement and the man allowed a rare glimpse behind the curtain of a person that managed to get big laughs night after night for 20 consecutive years on the The Tonight Show.

Jay Leno shared that he felt extremely liberated from the daily grind that he had to endure for the NBC’s hit late–night show. Jay is experiencing a new freedom that he has chosen to travel and invest in his standup routines.

One of his greatest summarizations of his post retirement was, “Write joke. Tell joke. Get check. It’s pretty simple. It’s not a hard plan,” Jay was speaking with The Associated Press in Jerusalem, where he is hosting an award ceremony today honoring former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg for his extensive philanthropic efforts, reported Dallas News. The gig is one of the more prestigious ones for Jay Leno as he will perform in front of Bloomberg, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other dignitaries at the first Genesis Prize ceremony in Jerusalem. Leno however is unperturbed and said both men would be fair game for playful jokes.

Leno had been performing successfully on The Tonight Show when he announced his retirement at the age of 64. Jimmy Fallon, who is quite young and adventurous, replaced Leno. Jay only had kind words for his replacement, “He’s a great friend of mine and I think he is doing a terrific job. At some point you realize it is time to step down… I’m having a good time now,” reported Portland Press Herald.

After so many years of using the political wisdom of Senators, Congressmen and countless other politicians to crack up his audience, Jay surprised all when he said he had no plans to be overly politically active and said he was just “doing what is right.” “That’s the first rule of comedy: You don’t put your cause ahead of the joke. People come to see you to be entertained, to have a laugh,”

Now that Jay has retired, he confessed he has always enjoyed his standup routine much more than the pressures of working for a television show. Unsurprisingly though, Jay Leno is would gladly come and be a guest on the Jimmy Fallon’s show, revealed the man.

[Image Credit | Gary Porter]