BEHIND THE CURTAIN BEHIND THE CURTAIN BEHIND THE CURTAIN (19 page)

Jay decided to call Johnny Carson, which he rarely did. He really needed his legendary predecessor’s guidance. Johnny advised him to get back to work because the country was ready for some humor. He also had another recommendation: “When the country has just gone to war, you don’t make fun of the king; you make fun of the enemy.” Johnny was giving Jay permission to ease up on his jokes about President Bush and to turn up the heat on the terrorists, for the good of the country. He assured Jay that he would be doing jokes about the president again in a few short months and that he would know when the time was right. Jay took Johnny’s advice.

Shortly after that, White House FEMA director Joe Allbaugh called me with a message from President Bush, urging Jay to help the country get back to normal by putting our show back on the air. Jay got a similar call from New York mayor Rudy Giuliani’s office. We scheduled our first post-9/11 show for September 18, one week after the attacks.

Then we talked about possible guests. Mayor Giuliani was our first choice. As expected, he declined our invitation. Of course he had no time to come to Burbank, but we had to ask. We spent many hours discussing a long list of entertainers and political leaders before offering the spot to Senator John McCain, a long-time friend of the show and a national war hero. Jay himself called Mr. McCain to make the invitation, which he accepted.

The show began with no theme music. Instead, we opened with a somber introduction from announcer Edd Hall as Jay walked out to the monologue mark. But there was nothing funny about his monologue that night. It was still too soon for that. Jay said his prayers were with the families of the victims and those who had died trying to save them. He called the fallen firefighters, police officers, and the Americans who had fought with the terrorists on United Airlines Flight 93 “the greatest people of our generation.”

Then he talked about being a Boy Scout at age twelve, admitting he wasn’t a very good one. Jay’s dyslexia made it difficult for him to do basic tasks like tying knots. His scoutmaster, a wise and compassionate man, designated him as the troop’s “cheer master,” telling Jay it was his job to tell jokes to keep the guys’ spirits up. Jay realized even then that this wasn’t the top job. But it was something he could do to contribute to the welfare of the troop. That’s how he felt about going back on the air, he said. He knew he wasn’t out there shoveling debris at Ground Zero, but at least he could bring a little cheer into the lives of people who needed it.

During his interview, Senator McCain spoke with a soft yet reassuring voice as he called America the greatest nation on earth, a “beacon of hope to everybody throughout the world,” including Muslims. He described the terrorists as educated individuals in their forties, not young and impoverished as many commentators had wrongly led people to believe.

Most viewers were aware Osama bin Laden was the 9/11 mastermind. Beyond that, though, not much was known by the public. McCain explained bin Laden’s background and motives, describing him as a wealthy Saudi Arabian who had fought against the Russians in the Afghan War. He had actually had a falling out with his own country and turned against America after our troops—who he considered infidels—had been stationed on Saudi soil during the Gulf War. McCain showed a firm resolve, assuring viewers that we would get bin Laden. “God may have mercy on terrorists, but we will not,” he stated firmly. And almost ten years later in the dark of night, US Navy Seals would take out bin Laden in a daring raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Chapter Eleven

News People

From the beginning of
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
, we sought journalists—reporters and commentators—as guests. The show’s original executive producer, Helen Kushnick, believed adding them to the guest mix would be one way to make the show different from
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
,
which mostly featured entertainers. Jay himself was a news junkie, and she figured he would like interviewing journalists. They were also consistently good as guests. Most news people know how to tell a story well—better than most entertainers. Though they’re pigeonholed as stuffy and dull, those stereotypes are rarely true. Inside almost every one of them is a comedian dying to get out.

In Jay’s twenty-two-year run as host of
The Tonight Show,
only one person filled in for him as guest host, and it wasn’t a comedian or an actor. It was a journalist: Katie Couric, the long-time popular co-host of NBC’s
Today
show and one of Jay’s best guests. Interestingly, we never asked her to be the guest host; it was Katie’s idea. She pitched it as a fun opportunity for Jay and her to trade places. He would fill in for her on
Today,
and she would take over for him on
Tonight.
Jay, who had insisted that NBC never hire a permanent guest host for him, did not exactly embrace the job swap, but he didn’t openly resist it, either. He told the press: “It’s Katie’s idea. It’s a girl idea. Guys don’t say, ‘Let’s trade places.’”

Katie described the swap as “a fun, goofy thing . . . it’s just kind of a lark.” In fact, she had carried out a three-year campaign at NBC to have her idea realized, starting with Jeff
Zucker
, president of entertainment and her former executive producer at the
Today
show, who rejected the idea at first. But Katie
was persistent and eventually prevailed. The job switch was finally approved and scheduled for May 12, 2003. Jay promoted it by attempting to lower viewer expectations: “Katie
has the most difficult job. Her show’s three hours a day instead of an hour. It’s a combination of hard news and entertainment. And ours is just goofy. . . . My job is to make fun of the 11 o’clock news you just saw,” he said. Katie
, on the other hand, insisted Jay’s job was tougher: “Jay has to carry
The Tonight Show
in a very palpable way. So much of the success of the show hangs on Jay’s performance and sensibilities. . . . He has to be incredibly topical and funny. .
. . I tell knock, knock jokes with my kids, but I’m not sure America is going to concur.”

America did concur, and for good reason. “America’s sweetheart” put on a respectable monologue and didn’t try to pretend she was a professional: “Good evening, and welcome to
The Tonight Show,
or as I call it . . . Extreme Fear Factor.” She showed that she could make the transition from news to late night when she drew attention to her “sexy” black cocktail dress. Motioning towards her chest with both hands, she said, “For all you people from LA who’ve never seen these before, these are actually real.” Katie’s interviews with guests Mike Myers and Simon Cowell were also excellent, as one would expect from an experienced
Today
show co-host.

At the
Today
show
,
Jay conducted a satellite interview with Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was in Jerusalem on a peace mission with the Israelis and the Palestinians. Jay’s questions were pointed, relevant, and professional. He asked about concessions the Israelis would be willing to make and whether the new Palestinian prime minister could bring an end to suicide bombings. He also wanted to know if Powell would be golfing any time soon with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a clever reference to the strained relations between the two men.

This was Jay’s third interview with Powell. The first two were on
The Tonight Show.
The two men were actually friends, sharing a common interest in cars. Powell’s hobby was restoring old Volvos; Jay had given the former four-star general some rare Volvo repair manuals and had taken him on a tour of his collection of classic vehicles.

As a ratings stunt, the job swap was a big success.
The Tonight Show’s
numbers climbed 40 percent, and
Today
show viewers increased by 9 percent. The switch is on every media list of the most memorable moments at
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Why, then, did Katie push for the switcheroo
?
I don’t think she was after Jay’s job, although I do think she intended to show television executives she was capable of more than co-hosting
Today.
In 2012, she became the host of her own talk show called
Katie
.
Coincidence? I think not.

Katie Couric wasn’t the only talent we booked from the
Today
show. Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Al Roker, Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, Savannah Guthrie, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Lester Holt, and Willie Geist were also our guests. We were particularly partial to Matt, who started appearing on Leno in 1994. A true professional who would go on to become one of NBC’s biggest news stars, Matt knew what would play well on
The Tonight Show
and was willing to share self-deprecating stories about his well-know fear of germs. One of the most memorable was a tale about his attempt to conquer this fear by working as a garbage collector for a day. It was just one of his many sincere—but failed—efforts to overcome germophobia. He also shared a tip to determine the proper length of time required to wash your hands to make them adequately germ free: just sing “Happy Birthday” twice while scrubbing.

Matt took a hit when his
Today
show co-host Ann Curry was fired in June 2012. Stories surfaced that he disliked her and was behind the decision to get rid of her. In fact, Ann was released because
Today’s
ratings took a hit following the departure of Meredith Vieira as co-host in 2011. I have no idea whether Matt Lauer liked Ann, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t hire her. NBC executives did. According to press accounts, most of them knew she was a bad fit, but they were afraid she would jump ship to another network if she didn’t get the job. So they settled on a co-host less than ideal for their number-one news celebrity and host of the most profitable show at NBC.

Matt’s plight was something Jay and his staff could relate to. After all, NBC had fired Jay in 2009 as host of
Tonight
after notching number-one ratings in late-night for fourteen straight years. When his replacement, Conan O’Brien, failed miserably, Jay was demonized in the press and in social media for taking Conan’s job. So in an act of solidarity,
The Tonight Show
booked Matt Lauer in May 2013. During the segment, Jay asked his friend and NBC colleague this heartfelt question: “You’ve been taking a lot of hits in the press lately. How have you been holding up?” Jay didn’t frame his query in the context of his own experience. He didn’t have to. Matt knew Jay was really saying,
I know what you’re going through, and I support you.
At the end of the interview, Matt responded to Jay’s words of encouragement: “Through good times and bad times you have been a terrific pal to me.”

Brian Williams, known for his legendary sharp wit, was never funnier than in his 1996 appearance on
Tonight
with fellow guests Jane Fonda and Cher. Back then he was not the anchor of
NBC Nightly News,
and the two women didn’t know who he was. Smitten by the handsome young newsman, they were giggling like school girls and speaking in hushed tones so he couldn’t respond to them. He had lost control, a rare moment for Brian.

Finally, Jane spoke up: “Who is he? I think he’s kind of cute.” Cher agreed that he was good-looking, but “in a Republican kind of way.” Without missing a beat, Brian shot back: “I guess I’m going to have to return my copy of
Half Breed
that I just bought.”

Tim Russert, the legendary “blue collar” moderator of
Meet the Press
, was a regular guest for many years and a friend of the show. On June 13, 2008, he died suddenly of a heart attack while working on a
Meet the Press
segment. That night Jay paid tribute to his friend at the end of his monologue: “When you talked to Tim about politics, it was like talking to a guy on the bar stool next to you. He never talked down to you, even though he knew way more than you do.” Jay brought up a historic moment in NBC’s coverage of the 2000 presidential election when Tim held up a white board with the words “Florida, Florida, Florida” written on it. Long before other pundits figured it out, Tim had identified the election’s pivotal state. Jay had done many monologue jokes about the white board, and during the Christmas season one year Tim came on with a gift: a white board with the words “Jay, Jay, Jay.”

Whenever the
NBC News
Washington bureau chief was a guest, he and Jay had lengthy discussions about the latest news and gossip before the show, much to the chagrin of the stage manager who had the daunting task of keeping Jay on schedule. Tim’s special relationship with Jay and the show was not only professional but also personal. Years ago, his beloved dad, “Big Russ,” a salt-of-the-earth garbage truck driver, told Tim he’d know he made it when he got on
Johnny Carson
.
And when we first booked Tim (September 8, 1992), he brought his dad to the show. Afterward, they went to dinner at the trendy Los Angeles restaurant Spago at the invitation of Maria Shriver, then an NBC news correspondent. Both men ordered pizza and beer, which baffled Maria. “I could have taken you guys to Shakey’s,” she said

In 2004, Tim wrote a best-selling book about Big Russ. He told Jay that working on the book made him closer with his own son, Luke, which led to a story about a tattoo Luke had secretly gotten on his side against his father’s advice. Later, Luke accidentally disclosed the body art to his shocked parents. Tim angrily demanded that his son lift his arm and show him the full tattoo. When Luke reluctantly complied, Tim saw the letters TJR—Tim’s initials, and also Big Russ’s. Luke said he was inspired to order the tattoo after reading his dad’s book. “I wanted you and Grandpa to always be on my side,” Luke said. Tim said his son’s story left him speechless, moving him to tears and laughter at the same time. Luke would decide to follow in his dad’s footsteps, and today he is a reporter for
NBC News
.

Tim loved telling Jay fun anecdotes, such as his foray into booking music acts while in law school. He once took a huge risk by hiring an unknown singer named Bruce Springsteen to perform at a large venue. He filled every seat. Tim made both a great discovery and $4,000, enough to pay for a year of his law school education. He also went on to become friends with Bruce and often attended his concerts with Luke.

Tim tried for years to get Jay to ask him about his “favorite” story, but, sadly, he never did because of limited time. It was about Mary Matalin and James Carville, the married odd couple of politics. James is a Democrat, and Mary is a Republican. As regular guests on
Meet the Press,
they bickered frequently on the air, which was very funny. One of
their
verbal spats started in the MTP green room before the show and continued on the air and during the commercial breaks. When the program ended, they kept arguing while walking off
the set. Tim
looked out the window and noticed they were still at it in their car as they were driving away. Later, they were pulled over by a cop who became concerned after seeing them wildly waving their arms and yelling at each other.

Jay made one appearance (May 1994) on
Meet the Press
. I accompanied him to the show in Washington, DC, and I remember being struck by how convivial the mood was in the green room before the show. Tim
was smiling as he introduced the guests to each other, and Jay was telling jokes. Then when the show started, Tim
shifted into his MTP persona, putting all of his guests, except Jay, on the hot seat. Jay was asked what political stories his audience found funny: “Sex and money are always the best . . . they are the kind of jokes people understand. . . . Most people don’t have nuclear weapons in the backyard, but they have, well, the guy next door,” Jay said.

Meet the Press
, the longest-running show on network television, was an American icon, but it was on life support when Tim took it over in 1992. In his seventeen years as host, Tim restored the venerable Sunday morning news program to its old glory as must-see TV for political junkies and an essential stop for the biggest names in politics. And as our show became known as an essential stop for presidential hopefuls, Tim was always available to help me with contact information for political guests, often making calls on our behalf. He was not only my good friend but also, I believe, the greatest American journalist of our time. When he died, he left a void that has never been replaced.

I knew columnist and commentator Tony Snow long before he was named President Bush’s press secretary in 2006. He was a good person, and we soon became friends. A conservative, he was widely respected by people on the left and the right. When he got his own radio show in 2003, I sent him guest ideas and jokes on a regular basis, which he never forgot. When Tony was hired by the Bush administration, he invited my wife, Mary, and me to his new office in the West Wing of the White House. He was full of ideas on how to improve the administration’s strained relationship with the press, which he shared with us. In the days that followed, he would become one of the most articulate and open press secretaries in modern times. About a year later he took a leave of absence to seek treatment for a recurrence of colon cancer, which was spreading to his liver. In September 2007, he decided to step down as the president’s chief spokesman.