Jay Leno Sold Out Other ‘Tonight Show’ Guest Hosts Over Pay
Jay Leno set the stage for his Tonight Show takeover years before he eavesdropped on NBC executives from a closet. His ascension to King of Late Night started when he refused to team up with other guest hosts for better pay, he said on the Marc Summers Unwraps podcast, as reported by LateNighter.
No show ever ruled television like Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, minting money as the only network offering in the late-night time slot. The show was so popular, ABC and CBS didn’t bother trying to compete for years. Because The Tonight Show was making so much cash, Carson’s frequent guest hosts wanted in on the action.
Leno remembered a prominent comedy manager (“I think it was Bernie Brillstein”) suggesting that Carson’s reliable stable of fill-in hosts band together to demand a fair wage, considering the show’s considerable profits. Brillstein called Leno on behalf of David Brenner, Garry Shandling and other big-name comics. “We’re going to go in as a team — because each of us was guest hosting — and we’re going to ask $25,000 a night to host.”
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That was a big leap from Leno’s current pay of $512, which represented working for scale. Carson, who owned the show, could certainly afford more, but Leno was hesitant to ask for a raise. And it wasn’t just humble gratitude on his part — it was strategy.
He imagined Carson poring over his books like a modern-day Scrooge. “At the end of the month, what do we spend on guest hosts? $280,000. Leno hosted? $2,500. Why don’t we go with Leno? They’re all getting the same ratings.”
It seemed like common sense to Leno, even though it meant breaking ranks with his comedy peers so that he’d get all the work. In 1988, he was named permanent guest host of The Tonight Show, a job he’d previously shared with Shandling. See you later, Garry, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Leno’s power move is ironic considering his efforts on behalf of other comedians during the Comedy Store strike of 1979. As that club rose to prominence in the 1970s, owner Mitzi Shore refused to pay comedians even as the Comedy Store began raking in big bucks. The only way comics could get compensation — the rank and file were asking $5 for gas money! — was by sticking together. Leno showed up in an actual tank on the first night of picketing, letting Shore know he was ready to go to war on behalf of his fellow comedians.
Less than 10 years later, Leno’s “all for one, one for all” mindset had shifted. Banding together with Shandling and other comics could have meant fair pay for everyone. But by looking out for himself, Leno laid the groundwork for landing the biggest job in comedy.
