ENGLISH LIT 344 / COMEDY & SATIRE Who's Who in American Comedy
A stand-up comedian and television host who (in 1992) succeeded Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, Leno was considered by some as the comic's comic. He spent years on the comedy club circuit before being asked to sub for Johnny and, eventually, taking over the show (despite the general consensus and the preference of Carson for Dave Letterman). Here's Leno prior to his Tonight Show career in a sketch from the short-lived Television Parts TV show produced by Michael Nesmith (of The Monkees).
[For more details on these people, check their listing in Wikipedia, but note--this is one of the rare times I can accept the use of Wikipedia as a source. I have found that most of the information there about these people is reliable.]
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