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Jay Leno (born April 28, 1950Jay Leno is an American comedian of Italian and Scottish extraction who is best known as the host of the long-running NBC television variety and talk show in New Rochelle, New York and grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and received his Bachelor's degree in Speech therapy from Emerson College in 1973. Leno has a slight form of dyslexia.

Leno started his career as a stand-up comic performing in nightclubs, bars and any place that would give him even five minutes of stage time. He quickly became known for his work ethic and nice demeanor both on- and offstage, as well as for his striking appearance, in particular his large chin. Though he had made the occasional foray onto television in the form of guest appearances on , then hosted by Johnny Carson, stardom eluded him and he continued to work wherever he was allowed. It has been reported that Leno would sometimes work as many as eight or nine clubs in one evening.

He began making more frequent appearances on television when many of his friends and contemporaries became more influential on late night programs. Leno made a record number of appearances on . His popularity was noted by NBC executives, who decided to make Leno the permanent guest host for after a long period of debate and negotiations with Leno and David Letterman (who had been considered by many to be Carson's heir apparent). Letterman signed a deal with CBS, sparking an ongoing late-night rivalry between the two talk-show hosts. Although Letterman's took over the lead in 1995 and has, on the whole, had higher ratings ever since.

Although known mainly for his wit, he has also shown his sensitive side on air. When came back after the September 11 attacks, he nixed his usual monologue to talk about what had happened. He also spoke about the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. In addition, following the skating controversy surrounding the ice skating pairs event at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Leno invited the Canadian pairs teams onto his show the following day and waved a Canadian flag and played "O Canada" for them.

, from Sturgis, South Dakota, in which Leno teamed with Diamond Dallas Page to wrestle against Hulk Hogan and WCW President Eric Bischoff, following a prelude in which the wrestling stars had appeared on . The match ended with Page and Leno's victory when Eubanks snuck a fast Diamond Cutter on Bischoff.

In 2002, Leno had a group of professionals build him a robot called "Chin Killa" for Battlebots. Although the officials from the show let his robot fight in fun matches, they wouldn't allow it to fight in tournaments because it was built by professionals.

On May 12, 2003, he and Katie Couric switched places, meaning Leno co-hosted the s 50th anniversary episode (September 27, 2004), he announced that he would retire as host in 2009, when his current contract expires, as part of an arrangement that allowed NBC to have

Leno is not widely known as an actor, but he had a number of small roles early in his career in mostly unsuccessful movies; an exception was a bit part in the more popular film, , a comedy about a mismatched crime fighting pair, in which he played a detective opposite the late Pat Morita. Leno also appeared in an episode of the television series Good Times, in which his character promotes getting tested for venereal diseases. His acting debut actually found himself as one of the "pool guys" in the original "Fun with Dick and Jane" (1977).

Since becoming the host of the , Leno has made a number of cameo appearances, usually appearing as a talk show host or making fun of his famous chin. In 1994 he played "Bedrock's Most Wanted Host," along with Cynthia Clemons, in the live-action comedy film which starred Charlie Sheen. Making fun of his own facial features, he played the "Crimson Chin" on the TV cartoon series . In the episode, he attends the protagonist Stan's boss' birthday celebration as the roast master and is swiftly incapacitated by a swift neck-snap after making jokes about Stan's marital problems. In 2005, he lent his voice to a talking fire hydrant in the computer animated movie,

In the 2005 trial of Michael Jackson over allegations of child abuse, Leno appeared as a defense witness (many celebrity defense witnesses had been expected, but Leno was one of the few who actually testified). As a witness in the case, Leno was initially not allowed to continue making jokes about Jackson and the case; however, he and his show's writers could still use a stand-in to tell them. After NBC challenged this gag-order, the judge allowed Leno to make jokes, as long as they were not related to Leno's testimony.

In his testimony, the defense expected him to say he called police to say the accuser was coached by his mother to ask for money; Leno testified he never called the police, no money was asked for, and there was no coaching, but the calls seemed unusual and

In automobile collecting circles, Jay Leno is known as an avid student, collector and restorer of cars and motorcycles. He has a large antique car collection on which he constantly works in his spare time, and he routinely drives cars from his collection (including an original Stanley Steamer) from his home to his studio. He is also a promoter of the mechanical crafts through a column in and his educational activities.

In 2001, Leno auctioned off a Harley-Davidson motorcycle signed by his celebrity guests in an effort to help victims of the September 11 attacks. The bike sold for about $360,000. In 2005, he repeated the gesture twice: early in the year to aid victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake - the bike sold for $810,000; and later to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. That bike sold for $505,100.

Leno's custom "Tank Car" was featured in the 2005 racing game

Leno has been married to Mavis Leno, known for her work with Afghani women under the Taliban, since 1980. They have no children.

In late October 2005, Leno told