Jay Leno ended his storied “Tonight Show” run Thursday with his chin held high, lots of laughs and a few heartfelt tears.
Leno, who inherited “Tonight” in May 1992 from late-night legend Johnny Carson, said goodbye to NBC and his loyal audience in a fast-paced, hourlong finale featuring Billy Crystal — Leno’s first “Tonight Show” guest in 1992 — and a typically quip-filled opening monologue that not only featured some of the show’s best political video spoofs but resounded with his topically humorous take on Americana.
“The worst thing about losing this job: I’m no longer covered by NBC — I have to sign up for ObamaCare,” Leno joked.
“Tonight is our last show for real,” he said, alluding to his short-lived divorce from “Tonight” in 2009. “See, I don’t need to get fired three times. I get the hint, I get the hint!”
Leno alluded several times to his 22-year “Tonight Show” run. “You know the saddest part of it all?” he said. “O.J. never found the real killers.”
He even acknowledged late-night frenemy David Letterman, with whom Leno has had a stormy relationship over the years. “We both realize no one wants to turn on late-night TV and see millionaires fighting,” he said. “That’s what Republican primaries are for.”
Several celebs — including Kevin Bacon, Bill Maher, Matt Damon and Miley Cyrus — had some humorous advice for how Leno should spend his retirement years.
President Obama, a favorite target of Leno’s late-night jokes, also weighed in. “Don’t worry. I’m not upset,” he said about all of Leno’s barb. “On a totally unrelated note, I’ve decided to make you my ambassador to Antarctica. Hope you’ve got a warm coat, funnyman.”
Crystal delivered his own Leno-type monologue, recalling that Leno told him on that first show in 1992 that he also wanted Crystal to be his final guest.
“Promise made, promise kept,” Crystal said before sitting next to Leno for a nostalgia-filled chat in which they reminisced about their decades-long friendship, including Crystal’s visits to Leno’s “bomb site” Boston apartment in the early ’70s.
“You had a poster of [comedian] Robert Klein over your bed, which I can’t explain,” Crystal joked.
Crystal then brought out a slew of celebs — including Jack Black, Kim Kardashian, Chris Paul, Oprah Winfrey and Carol Burnett — who spoofed Leno’s late-night swan song with reworked lyrics from “The Sound of Music” song, “So Long, Farewell.”
Leno began crying when signing off at the end of the show.
“This has been the greatest 22 years of my life,” he said, his famous chin quivering. “I am the luckiest guy in the world.”
Leno also thanked his producers and his staff — “all kinds of talented people who made me look smarter than I am . . . the folks here became my family,” he said, his eyes glistening.
“The Tonight Show” now moves back to New York — with a new host, Jimmy Fallon, who begins his run on Feb. 17.