Chris Eliot as Jay Leno on David Letterman

[CusterFlux]

Incredible.

[yomomsboyfriend]

He could switch to Quentin Tarantino and not change clothes...

[anythinggoesjoe]

These to guys have been in battle for years wonder who would die 1st ?

[MrHaircut1]

Now here's something...

[dannyd1572]

Letterman got his start following Leno around on the comedy circuit. He even wrote material for Leno.

[TheWhyRemember]

no reason arrest . newsvine . com

[drfuzzy23]

Chris Elliot rocks!

[zigzagbigbag]

Chris Elliott mimics Jack Hanna as he brings out a "Rastafarian Snow Leopard" actually, a rabbit in swimming trunks. Anyone have this? Please upload very funny bit.

[robotpanda77]

Good stuff but it kind of feels like letterman completely broke the flow of the skit and just killed it.

[chickenringNYC]

@robotpanda77 That was the whole point, and also what was so great about Letterman and Elliot.. Letterman was constantly undermining Chris' efforts at the same time as he played along. Chris always broke character and tried to insult Letterman.. check out more of Chris' characters and you'll see what I mean!

[zrhinier]

OH MY GOD THIS IS SO FUNNY

[gspendlove]

Is he doing Leno or Rocky Dennis?

[livebigly]

@vandamme370 Your face is a loser.

[rleary1]

My God that chin just slays me. LOL!

[wodiya]

David Letterman sucks. He is a no-talent, unfunny asshole.

[swlabr21]

@wodiya He was good in the 80's however.

[fayeroe1009]

His father was one of the famous "Bob and Ray" comedic duo. I cannot remember which is his dad.

[Bellcity]

@fayeroe1009 Bob is his dad.

[qbat77]

his chin.....

[zarkbot88]

Jay Leno's chin is like a pinata...break it open and acidic puss spews out!

[jaarmen3]

excellent

[supercooled]

You can't even tell it's him (Chris Elliot). He looks really incognito.

[caching60098]

Great clip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!

[bobszvetics1]

JAY NEVER LOOKED BETTER

[themooddisorders]

Rocky Dennis!

[swlabr21]

I remember watching this when it first aired. I was in college at the time. I believe It aired around 87/88. Eliot is the BEST!

[hellocarnatic]

What does CE do these days?

He is so talented.

[AccordionManiac]

awesome impersonation!

pretty on the spot too.... Chris' jokes were better than Jay's

[JeanneRousseau]

Chris is always a blast to watch!

[simonjeste]

omg I remember seeing this LIVE... Chris Eliot always suprised, always delivered. His Marv Albert was awesome too.

[hgates101]

MY what an impersonation!! Leno sued to do and say the exact same things back then

[yaywhewclips242]

I love Chris. I so miss "Get a Life". I learned it was played on FX several years a go.

[WARSORE666]

The fucking boss.

[swlabr21]

No one make me laugh like Chris Elliot!

[2ndAsstJizzMopper]

gold.

[reptomicus]

Oh my God, that's almost as creepy and disturbing as the real Jay Leno!

[2700Laguna]

What year is this?

[dougd1015]

1980 something.

[HollandProjects]

It is 2010. Are you feeling alright?

Did you ride some time ship?

[JPMcFly1985]

An impression of the '80s Jay Leno, awesome - you don't see much of those.

[Stablemable2]

I think Im going to have nightmares....a Chris-Jay hybrid.

[foxpawz]

hahaha... i almost feel bad for jay. almost.

[knickknack07]

Why would you feel bad for him ? It was a joke. Jay Leno was David Lettermans favorite comedian guest on Late Night. He said it many times. This does not make him look bad at all.

[Yobachi2007]

@knickknack07 Exactly, this wouldn't bother Jay. He takes a joke well.

[MiraiLegend]

Wow, I totally forgot who Chris Eliot was. His impersonation and get up is spot on!

[tna4me]

i can't believe kimmel is on tv but team coco is gone

[BruiserDrop]

@tna4me I don't know how Kimmel stays on. I think Letterman and Fergusson are the only watchable people in late night. I havent watched Connan since 2001 but I kow NBC screwed him over. NBC was stupid to put Jay on with that horrible show as Connans lead in. Then instead of firing Jay, having a solid 10-11 pm lineup of shows and giving Connan time to grow his audience...they keep Jay and screw Connan? NBC still doesn't know what they are doing. & now Jay has even more people that dislike him lol

[suckanorange]

My cat makes funnier jokes than Leno...oh and my cat is also a better person.

Come back soon, Conan!!

[bobolob]

He looks more like that dude from the old Pepsi commercials maybe? Anyone know what I'm talking about? From the 80s? Or the moon man from similar 80s commercials?

[ccgradiopictures]

Max Headroom? He did the ads for New Coke in the '80s. The moon man was Mac Tonight, who advertised McDonalds.

[bobolob]

He looks like both!

[auggdogrules]

great,great,great.i remember this show,thanks for the memories....

[youmeddlingkids]

lol EVERYONE is better than leno

[ProudAnselmo]

This destroys Kimmel's impression.

[Drac39]

Leno's a tool

[MediaWatchDawg]

Correction, Leno HAD a turkey of a show.*

*Soon to be a post-Olympic warmed over leftover.

[e39dreamBITCH]

the comic genius of chris elliot will no doubt be the end of man as we know it.

[gluecement]

Chris did a great job doing all the different "shades" of Leno. I've never seen anyone else do that "quiet voice" that Chris did at the end when he listed his upcoming shows.

Thanks 4 uploading!

[samuraiyao]

Whose laughing now Letterman, Leno owns you!!!

[holjesus]

Really, cause last i checked "which was about an hour ago" letterman destroys leno in the ratings. check the facts before you speak

[MalubaySyecado]

He looks like Eric Stoltz in MASK.

[needtashow]

Cabin Boy is the second greatest movie of all time !

[CHIHUAHUAconda]

Even when he's funny, I'm always going to remember him as the schmuck who did "Cabin Boy".

[hgates101]

jay leno was hilarious before he got a tv show....dave fell off 16 years after he got a tv show....

[wmarkj]

correct, the old NBC Dave was hilarious. He has been funny only a couple times since he went to CBS. Too much hooplah and audience clapping for no reason messes up the comedy genes in Dave.

[blistex649]

I remember he carried it over for the first 2-3 years after going to CBS, but the academy award thing screwed him up for sure. And the 11:30 timeslot is just too mainstream, and yup, the audience clapping too much ruins it.

That's why I also predicted Conan would fall into the same situation at 11:30, but with a even more pressure behind him (Tonight Show namesake)

[bobolob]

Conan was never really given a chance to come into his own. Jay was given years.

[Yobachi2007]

@bobolob Yeah, you're right. I mean who could come into their own as a late night talk show host having only been given 15 YEARS of practice by being a late night talk show host; the longest amount of time anyone has ever had in the history of television before getting a show at 11:30.

I mean, it takes about 40 years of lead time to develop an audience. Come on NBC!

[michaelbeckham]

Leno and even Letterman have softened over the years, Leno more so unfortunately. He seems like a decent guy but he has a turkey of a show right now. Shame.

[blinkfan87]

ya ever think they will have an interview together?

[piscean60]

it would start like this:

Dave: "What's buggin' you Jay?"

Jay: What's buggin me?- I'll tell ya what's buggin me!!"

They were great together!

[Telkandore]

Chris was doing a fabulous job, I don't know why Letterman killed his trip

[hgates101]

its an act man letterman didnt kill anything its jus called playing along

[dedbusted]

Thanks

[hgates101]

this is hilarious chris elliot is a funny guy

[cro44magnum]

Chris Elliott IS Jay Leno. Jay Leno is Pat Sajak. And Pat Sajak is the lady next door in the garbage house with all the cats.

[lionofthejungle]

This was freaking hilarious. Up your's Jay!

[BIGGAHITZ]

Chris Elliot is the man.

[grandvizar]

and back then, this was such a random impersonation, before Leno became humongers. CE is definitely one for the offbeat, which is what makes him stand out.

[leroyinc]

@grandvizar Well, not totally random. Jay was pretty well-known among Letterman's audience, right?

[TheRealKappaX]

Thanks for posting this

[grandvizar]

no problem! i thought it'd be good to document the first full blown jay leno impersonation! :)

[iamgerald2000]

which year is this?

[grandvizar]

Probably around 1986. I found out by doing a search on Chicken McNuggets Shanghai! lol

[iamgerald2000]

hahaha YOUR FINDING OF THE CLIP SEEMS MORE INTERESTING THAN THE CLIP ITSELF.

[modeo92]

It would be late 1986 since I remember watching it in my dorm when I was a freshman.

[abdulnafie]

I would be 1 year old then!

[dpcoronado]

@grandvizar

McDonalds also promoted using chopsticks. That's how I learned!