Jay Leno

1 Pages 372 Words

Jay Leno, known by many as the king of late night television. But little do they know of the ridiculous steps and missteps that took him to the top. In Jay Leno’s autobiography, Leading With My Chin, Jay analyzes his journey to fame and fortune. He begins with his childhood and the situations that sparked his love for comedy.
After reading his book I found myself a bit disappointed. The book was very funny, but it did not contain that “cut and dry” sense of humor he is known for. It consists mainly of short, humorous episodes about how he works his way up through the ranks as a stand-up comedian. He spends a lot of time conversing about childhood and college mishaps. This bothered me, seeing that mostly adults were reading his book, I don’t think the readers would be interested in his childhood problems or college pranks. Furthermore, he does not convey many personal feelings, does not gossip or put anyone down like Howard Stern. Also, he does not elaborate on his sexual exploits (a few of which he mentions). These are just some of the things I would like to know more about.
But he has paid his dues, and deserves to be where he is today. It was a twenty-year struggle to the top, a struggle most people would have given up. Although Jay Leno is probably hands-down one of the funniest comedians in showbiz, I did not think as highly about his book. Yes, there were some parts worth reading about, but there is so much more he could have told us. There is so much more that people wanted to know about. Such as the controversial falling-out with his agent/producer, or his feelings concerning Johnny Carson. If you ask me, this book was not worth the thirteen dollars I paid for it. But the odd thing is that after reading his book, I do not feel any different about him, or his work, and I will continue to watch his show. I guess the visual portion of entertainment had a stronger influence than the text did....