‘We’ve Got Two Shows Tonight — Regular and Extra Crispy’: Jay Leno Has Self-Burns As He Returns to Stand-Up Post-Accident
Late night legend Jay Leno is back on stage following a garage fire that left Leno hospitalized with severe burns just two weeks ago. Last night, the 72-year-old comedy icon performed for a sold-out crowd at The Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California, and he had some sizzling one-liners prepared for the gathering of paparazzi who were waiting outside the venue to hear a hot take from the hardworking comic.
Leno told the reporters, “We’ve got two shows tonight – regular and extra crispy,” presumably before opening a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and singing the chorus to Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire.”
“I never thought of myself as a roast comic,” Leno jabbed at himself outside the comedy club where he returned to stand-up following a brief medical leave. Leno spent one week in the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles following an accident on Saturday, November 12, during which a car in Leno's Burbank garage unexpectedly erupted in a gasoline fire. Leno was scheduled to perform at a financial conference in Las Vegas that weekend, but the former Tonight Show host was forced to cancel all appearances for the following two weeks while he recuperated. Leno assured his fans that he would "Just need a week or two to get back on my feet.”
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Right on schedule, Leno is back onstage with more performances planned at the Comedy and Magic Club through December. After an outpouring of concern from his vast fanbase, Leno downplayed the severity of the incident and praised the doctors and nurses who helped him recover.
When asked about the heroism and courage required to step onstage and tell jokes after a short stint in the hospital, Leno cracked, “What gave me the strength? I'm a comedian! ‘What gave me the strength?’ I just tell stupid jokes."
