Jay Leno @ David Letterman #18, early 1980s

[poopnach]

I'm not sure which is more surprising: that Letterman used to have hair, or that Leno used to have talent. XD

[msdemos]

Both of these men are bright and both are funny, but if I had to judge, I'd say Leno is the funnier of the two, and Dave the smarter.

I saw Jay's stand-up not too many years after this appearance on Letterman (years before he started hosting The Tonight Show), and I have never laughed as long, and as hard as I did that night.

Unfortunately, over the years, the comedy of both of these men has become watered-down for the masses, and though they're still good, they're nothing like they once were.

[2mmbroz]

Good job! Go see Michael Zhang! Search Michael Zhang, 12 years old stand up comedian

[webs87]

i've got a headache *this* big!

[webs87]

@webs87 crap just realized someone already made this joke

[ha38bb1]

BILL HICKS, yes i used CAPS!

[whactya]

Are those mops on their heads? Even Paul has hair. What was in the water then?

[KennethKaniffFromCT]

lol, listen to Jay at 1:11

[VirginiaBeachNative]

Dave has the best fake laugh ever !

[KellyGreen5555]

@VirginiaBeachNative

Fake? Letterman has the greatest laugh...nothing fake about it.

[VirginiaBeachNative]

@KellyGreen5555 Yeah because you know everytime he finds something funny and everytime he laughs just to make the guests not feel uncomfortable.

[cyberneticchaos]

@VirginiaBeachNative, that's bullshit.

[pompom11]

Lennie's On The Turnpike. Does anyone remember seeing Jay Leno there?

.

He lived in Andover MA and appeared at Lennie's on Rt. 1 north.

.

Leave a post reply to me if you went to Lennies at all, thanks.

.

Buddy Rich / B.B. King / Big Mama Thornton / Louis Belson, etc etc.

[tehmaninblack]

@pompom11 No, but I would have killed to see Big Mama while she was still kickin

[GladImNotYou11]

1:07 3-400 a week?? I make 300 a week and i can barely make it in Hollywood.

[Wally773MTG]

@GladImNotYou11 times change, inflation sucks eh?

[10belladonna]

thanks for posting, I am always interested in letterman's past work and nbc show in the 80's.

[GliTCH11]

Man, was this before the NES came out in NA? Shit seemed so simple back then.. I think around this era I was playing Kaboom on my Atari 2600 with a paddle controller, and I was probably 3 years old.

[mozfan2436]

you can tell in Dave's manerisms that he never really thought much of Jay. he seemed annoyed as he strained to chuckle at his jokes.

[vict0r1ous]

LOL

[iwannaplaycs]

those were the days...

[zarthered]

why the hell are they cutting out the name of the hotel??? its was 30 fucking years ago!!! who gives a shit any more!!!

[acarlisl]

DAT CHIN

[farenht456]

lets see... its 1:30 now and the Brady Bunch is on at 2...

[darklordixor]

Such fake laughs...why is everything so fake in hollywood.

[jgrakowski]

leno was never funny. he had charisma but wasnt funny.

[zarthered]

@jgrakowski check he's 75 appearnce on freddy prince's stand up. he was actually funny at one point...a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

[gdwbz]

yay, 80's commercials! =)

[ITHEREONETHATHASNT]

Its funny t think of how much distance has come between them.

[MrFloydianSlip]

Letterman was at his best on NBC at 12:30...Even Schaffer's band was better.

But oh the memories...When Leno was slightly funny.

[bobbytomorow]

jay before he sold out, he used to be a talented comedian

[dancesonpoles]

the hair is crackin me up

[IIIIdepechemodeIIII]

leno is always funny

[jd55192]

What a hypocrite. And how shameful -- this is sharp, quality material, albeit done decades ago, but he's now become a shell of his former self. Ugh!

[Fashiongirl95]

the hair! hahahahhaaaa

[A2Z83]

damn he's such a douche. look at him.

[yaywhewclips242]

Leno was so funny in those days. Whaaa hoppen?? Leno is now lame lame lame!!

[justanothergirl03]

they look waaaaaay younger, LOOOOOOL

[BitterBosh]

@justanothergirl03 Well to be fair, they were waaaaay younger.

[uncreativeranter]

7:30 This was at the time when Plato's retreat the most filthiest swingers party in new York where 250 naked wives roamed around the place before aids was created by the CIA to keep consumerism back in force which was lacking since sex was taking precedence over material items.

[johnsmdm]

@uncreativeranter ....work....you are a slave....

[uncreativeranter]

@johnsmdm work....you are a slave.. please explain?

[tks989]

jay was very quick and natural w/ the jokes

[snootzie78]

Look at how dark Jay's hair was back then. Now it's like totally white!

[JoshuatheSamurai]

I've got a headache THIS BIG

[Bryan514]

I wanna hear more about the black guy's headache.

[simonjeste]

@Bryan514 don't worry, from what I heard he took Excedrin. And it's GONE!

[outdoorguy999]

This is priceless!

[tsntana]

I actually met a female that looked (and kinda sounded) like Jay Leno.

Probably a foot shorter. But same hair. Same big chin. Same mannerisms.

[Dem192]

@tsntana AHAHAHAHA i believe it.

[angeltosome]

This is like Obi-Wan Kenobi meeting Anakin Skywalker for the first time.

[MrHavok29]

@angeltosome exactly :) ! this is a bit scary/sad too. it's like watching your lame-ass uncle's hip/young past. It shows you just how fast compromise and banality takes over one's life.

[HyphyMastah]

the only thing worse than the hair is the fold-up chairs they brought out for him

[PJxBuchwild]

@HyphyMastah dude his face looks the same cept for the hair, jay lenos chin is magical

[misconduckt]

Wow Jay was a real human being at once, surreal

[leftwingnazi666]

why doe's every one hate him.

[KhorneliusPraxx]

Jay was one of my three favorite guests on Letterman...Pee Wee Hermann and Brother Theodore are the other two. :-)

[simonjeste]

@KhorneliusPraxx Brother Theodore, Harvey Pekar, now THOSE were some unique guests... Man the early-mid 1980s were great for comedy...

[MARDIUNO]

sad for me to say but , jay leno is a major pro , overcomes david letterman by far , dave watches him as hipnotized ...........but , ill never have better time with leno than with dave , of course its just individual counsciousness (sorry bout the mistakes on my english )

anyn comments ?....

[mikeymac04]

wow, you don't see those two together too often. now it's like trying to get sarah palin and a moose together in a room.

[210ROCKSTA]

the hair XD

[nakamichiguy]

Oh wow, they 'bleeped' out the name of the hotel 2:30 mark! Trying not to get sued even in the early 80s! Jay and Dave had great banter back then. It was great. Shame what's happened since. Jay used to be very funny back then but he turned it off for the Tonight Show. Shame.

[cuddleyduddley]

The hair on both of them is just hilarious! The '80's at their best!

[hyzercreek]

@cuddleyduddley Even Paul Sheaffer had hair

[evpsareallaroundus]

Jay Leno's new theme song ~ The o'jays-back stabbers

[jjkhadra]

this is when they were good friends before there war on whos going to take the tonight show after johny carson, who leno took over

[zombielenin]

Man this clip is so surreal. It's not surreal seeing Jay and Letterman talking together merely because they compete on a talk show. It's surreal because Jay Leno is really funny and charming, and likeable, and Letterman... actually really seems to like Jay, like more than a normal guest. It's like Jay changed for whatever reason.

[kallianke]

Interesting though, Leno reveals that Dave is making about $300-400 a week. IN 1980, WOW.

My first job, I made about 400 a week. But that

was 1994 :(

[MackinacIs]

Nice of Big Dave to laugh at those embarrassingly lame jokes.

[trisiti]

Wow, Leno really should have pulled that book out and read it more often.

[nagzul]

HAHAHA "I got a headache THIS BIG.... da da nana"

[murdocfan666]

it's not his fault that conan got cancelled, it's entirely nbc's.

[ChristyMorris2715]

They were entertaining together - and it seemed like they genuinely liked each other at that time.

[rawrdiaper]

what could have been...

[delunahugoren]

hair

[charlieladder]

Leno was so good back in the day and him and Dave on his show were terrific; they were like a great comedy team.

[chapaev36]

I appreciate Letterman. He's not my favorite, but he's loose - he tries things, he improvises. Leno has no discernible skills aside from writing half-decent jokes (which became increasingly lame in the 90s) and then delivering them smugly. And this is Leno at his most experimental, if one could even use that word to describe him.

[kia4now]

damn I cant believe how good leno was

[blissfulmitch]

You can see how much Leno sold out just by how much is demeanor changed. He seems unafraid to be funny (?) here. On his show since 1993, he's become so bland since this. He's also probably mentally stuck in his heyday, wishing he could joke like the world was in the '70s. Leno has NOT evolved with the times, and he's a '70s-'80s relic.

[micahw83]

When you point how awful Jay Leno is people often say, "Yeah, but he was brilliant in the 80's"... clearly these old clips prove that is not the case.

[GuyMcWilliams]

Jay Leno is such a tool. He hasn't been funny since the 90's. Then again, neither has Letterman.

I'd still take Letterman or O'Brien over Leno ANY DAY!

[arodaman]

Back when Leno used to be funny. Once he got the Tonight Show he just shut down his humor and looked down on other comedians,

[TheRob5]

Lmao at Leno claiming to be a comedy foot soldier instead of having a cushy desk job. Oh how times change.

[tsntana]

Now it's somebody else's turn to tell him that. lol

[ha38bb1]

@TheRob5 HAHAA BILL HICKS TOLD YALL!

[lazerweb]

amusing that you have cut out the name of the hotel (everytime they mention the hotel, you have silenced it). Why? I'm sure the hotel wouldn't care if they were mentioned on youtube!

[reverendflash]

It's doubtful that the poster censored the video for YouTube. More likely is that NBC didn't want to run the risk of offending the hotel with the jokes Leno was telling, so they removed the name from the broadcast.

[lazerweb]

ahhh...ok. thanks for the reply.

[Steven197981]

I can't believe how young Dave looks.

[HPhenomenal]

Man, I wish I can see these two guys make up now. It sucks they arent friends anymore.

[aitraining]

These guys were very good together. Dave fed him very well with set up questions and had him on dozens of times then. 2 way street though as Dave knew Leno would always be prepared and was funny, This was a very good appearance. Funny!

[amigoman34]

Letterman's too cool. I personally like his political bashing. So thankful you'll never hear the "right wing" racist basing of fat fucks like Rush Limburger or Sarah Paleface on "late night: Go Dave

[TheZeke165]

proof that letterman was once funny, and at one time wasn't king of the douchebags, and thought you actually gave a crap about his degenerate political views.

[funkydrummer14]

I love the old Letterman shows back in the 80's...That is my favourite " Dave" era....The band was much better too.,,,much more raw and funkier than the CBS orchestra

[jonno2019]

comfy desk job lol..if only jay knew wat was ahead...........

[jimtherat8]

When Leno reads from the book of hackneyed comedy bits he cites anything with Chicken McNuggets. Then in the 1986 interview he makes a lame joke about Chicken McNuggets, breaking his own rule. He was funny back then though.

[Bigeddie1009]

jay leno's chin looks like a chandelier

[wilcox24]

those were the days

[wlt777]

Back then til this day, Jay needs to either cut that GIANT hair clump attached to his big head or that collosal chin of his!!

[kiiifute1]

never fails--whenever a man has great hair--people can't help but knock it.... has something to do with seeing a male past the age of 22-23 yrs of age who actually isn't beginning to exhibit the tell-tale signs of pattern baldness people are so unaccustomed to seeing such a thing

to wit the public voted Bush, GW better hair than John Kerry Now, Kerry may be a flip-floppping sack of crap as a senator but he has an unbelievable head of hair

" W" on the other hand --classic mature man's mess

[LGlyde9989]

wow their hair

[mysterywhiteboy45]

Leno sort of looks like Clooney here.

[harlemfatso]

Wow, Jay used to be an almost passable comedian as opposed to just horrible like he is now.

Stupid dago.

[beatlesfan1972]

Yeah but Jay's still got hustle. When's the last time Letterman got a mic and went out on the street? Early-to-mid 90's maybe? Letterman's been phing it in for a while, now. But God bless 'em both, both men contributed to American comedy.

[Caro5070]

Haha, that is cool. Leno and Letterman as young Boy`s. Greatly :-)

[xcameronx21]

I never was a big Leno fan until I read his book "Leading with my Chin". Great stuff, I read it in two days. Most of his book seems to come from jokes on Letterman.

[ffrank345]

i remember the mcnugget joke from seinfeld

[Gutsyndicate]

Letterman was ugly back then!

[cuca43]

Jay is so in command of this interview like hes the one hosting the show

[ffrank345]

a host is there to keep the guest going... to direct them when there is silence.. .and to ask the questions like "when is the movie coming out".... leno came on lettermans show so often because letterman knew he could talk.... this was a "SITDOWN standup" they were obviously freinds... and letterman has the entire show when there isnt a guest to talk... EVERYDAY

[aitraining]

Not by accident. Letterman had Leno and his other favorite comedians basically do their stand up act in conversation on his show. Letterman would feed Leno questiions that allowed Leno to go into a whole routine. Worked well but was VERY scripted.

[thebrinksf]

Jay was on top of his game then.

[bdzbdz]

they were both sooo ugly when they were young :)))))

[devious69]

what has changed

[bdzbdz]

hahaha

[aurayon]

Loved the Times Square joke, lol

[disneywasafascist]

1:05 - 1:20... can anyone else see the irony here?

[chelcie3]

indeed

[cakins1986]

If they both live long enough, I'm pretty sure they'll bury the hatchet and end up doing something on TV together. Probably after both of them are off the air for good......

[Ecksntrick8]

WAS intimidated, but Johhny had no say..

[ShopReel]

0:51  when he jokes about cushy deskjob..... classic jay

[nesnman]

What a shame they ended up not being friends .

[Roadiepat]

they are friends

[DJRckwl]

Does anyone know what hotel they bleeped out of the conversation?

It looks like it begins with a B.

[trikywu]

It's the Berkshire Hotel. All guest accomodations for Late NIght with Dave were put up there. Nice place.

[mak7227]

great article on this month's GQ magazine, Leno talks about Letterman, great read

[MarkBade]

totally good interview....insightful for sure

[sdeb82]

wow - Jimmy Fallon pulled the same trick on Jay Leno regarding some Kevin Eubanks album!!

[Blowberry]

Priceless

[adriande1]

Wow, Leno's not funny.

[VinnyFairplay]

Wow dude your opinion is retarded. I think I saw your opinion when i walked past a gaybar.

[MOdeVries]

That's not verry fairplay, Vinny

[mara6699]

there is alot of fluffy out of control hair on this clip

[mikenoric]

i was about to make the exact same comment...

[joyfulvulture]

all i have to say is... whoa

[Thellbro]

Yeah, but it turned out that Leno was a P.O.S.

Letterman rocks every night.

[Captmiloman]

You can tell this clip is from either 82 0r 83. Look at Dave's desk. Whatever happened to that thing anyway? Dave's original desk and Johnny's desk should be in the Smithsonian by now.

[Gossage54]

There's no way this is from 86. The set and Leno and Letterman's hair say this is from 82. You can also see this is a raw version of what Leno's appearances would be. Watch some of the others. It became so routine, he'd have his TV Guide, he'd complain about his flight, Dave would ask him what his "beef" was and he'd gripe about something topical. This show doesn't have that rigid structure that their later appearances did.

[jimmbo13]

Yes, this has got to be 82, or maybe early 83. I kind of like the feel of this phase of the show compared to tonight

[limestoneroad]

I remember an episode where Chris elliot pretended to be Leno and he had this ridiculous fake chin.

[mantganimakesmovies]

Early Jay Leno looks kinda like John Kerry.

[dannyd1572]

I'd like to find that movie about these two fighting for Johnny's show but I think its out of print.

[TheLatheofHeaven]

Nope, it's on DVD and it's called 'THE LATE SHIFT' and it's BLOODY EXCELLENT!!! I also just read the book which is even better and more detailed; I couldn't put the damn thing down! :)

[dannyd1572]

Hey thanks alot. I will check them out :)

[merebear87]

My aunt wants to know how you acquired this video.

[RichYan33]

You know the weird part...I virtually remember this word for word. And I went and saw Jay in that Pittsburgh gig he mentions.

[GD29]

@RichYan33 how was he in pittsburgh?

[sexydaddy000]

look at his fukn hair

[Telkandore]

kolst rules at this =P

[BewareOfMyEgo]

It's funny how Jay is making fun of Hackneyed jokes. If only he could see his monologue today

[RichYan33]

BWA-HA-HA!!!

[DJRckwl]

BewareOfMyEgo,

Wow, your observation is right on.

I was just thinking something similar - how cheesey Jay's jokes are today. Then I saw your comment.

PS. Some nights though, Jay gets on a roll with some good ones. Like this past Thursday 4/30/09. He had me rolling.

It's all about the writing and the timing sometimes, I guess.

[4450fight]

I think the show was from 1982-84 judging by the set and the hair styles. Thanks for reposting these videos.

[Jspeterson]

Can anyone narrow it down closer?

[kolst8406]

No topical references. It's May of some year. There's a decent chance it's from 1986, because Leno says it's "a month and a half" after his previous appearance, which matches up, in terms of time, with video #17, from late March of 1986.