Jay Leno, the former host of The Tonight Show, is recovering [1] after a 60-foot fall down a steep hillside near Pittsburgh left him with a broken wrist and facial injuries.
Jay Leno, who is worth half a billion dollars, “stayed at a Hampton Inn” and “fell down a hill.”
Something just ain’t adding up. pic.twitter.com/oAlXrEGHzn [2]
— HustleBitch (@HustleBitch_) November 20, 2024 [3]
The 74-year-old comedian shared details of the incident during an interview with Inside Edition, explaining how the fall occurred on Saturday night while he was taking a break from his comedy tour.
“I broke my [right] wrist and lost the nail on my [middle] finger,” Leno recounted. The accident happened as he attempted to take a shortcut down a hill instead of walking along the road to reach a dinner reservation. “The hill doesn’t look that steep, let me take a — ah!” he said, describing the moment he lost his footing.
The comedian hit several rocks during the fall but continued with his scheduled performance just three hours later.
He didn’t take any time off and by Monday was back on stage in Beverly Hills for another show.
Despite his injuries, Leno appeared upbeat, laughing as he recalled the incident and saying, “It was 60 feet.”
This is the latest in a string of challenges for Leno in recent years. In November 2022, he suffered severe burns while attempting to extinguish a fire inside his garage.
The injuries required extensive treatment at the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles, including skin grafts and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. “I got a new face,” Leno joked, adding that doctors also gave him a “brand new ear.”
Jay Leno was staying at a Hampton Inn? https://t.co/CGfIf24lKb [4]
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 20, 2024 [5]
Listen to his explanation (malarkey)!
Jay Leno looks pretty beat up😳 https://t.co/uqSz8LaPQU [6]— Santa Surfing (@SantaSurfing) November 20, 2024 [7]
In addition to his personal injuries, Leno has faced difficulties in his family life.
In April, a Los Angeles Superior Court granted him conservatorship over his wife, Mavis Leno, 77, who was diagnosed with advanced dementia earlier this year.
The conservatorship allows Leno to manage his wife’s care and their assets.
Speaking about the arrangement at the time, Leno said it was important to establish “managed assets” that could eventually form the basis of a foundation.
“Everything you’re doing is right,” the presiding judge told Leno during the court proceedings. “I totally understand this is a difficult period.”
Leno has continued to perform despite these setbacks.
His next scheduled stop is in Hermosa Beach, California, where he will headline the “Comedy for a Cause” event to raise funds for the burn foundation that treated him after his garage accident.
When asked if he was concerned about the visible bruising and swelling on his face, particularly his left eye, Leno dismissed it, saying, “It’ll be fine, I’m not worried about it.”
Leno hosted The Tonight Show for 22 years on NBC and has remained a fixture in the comedy world since leaving the program.