More than 30 years later, Jay Leno is open to putting his past with David Letterman aside for a potential reunion.
The late night host recently said if a reunion was in the cards, he “would do it,” but he doesn’t want to “instigate those kind of things” after having his own “awkward” encounters with Letterman.
“Oh, yeah. I would like to do that. I think I have no problem with it,” Leno said on In Depth with Graham Bensinger. “I think Dave might be awkward.”
Explaining that Letterman is “a quirky guy,” Leno clarified he doesn’t “mean that in a bad way.” He acknowledged that he’s also quirky, “but opposite sides of the coin.”
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Leno recalled riding motorcycles with fellow comedian Wil Shriner when they decided to stop by Letterman’s Malibu home for a visit. “‘We’ll just surprise him at his house.’ It was the most awkward. Dave’s like, ‘Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Uh, come on in.’ And we’re like, ‘Oh, this is a mistake,’” he said.
“It was just so awkward,” added Leno. “‘So, uh, you want a glass of orange juice?’ ‘No, I’m OK. Yeah. We gotta get going.’ It was just so awkward… because you really, you have nothing else in common other than comedy really. Dave’s a sports guy. I’m not a sports guy… But I mean, believe me, if they want to do something, I would do it. But I’m not gonna… I tend to get my hand bitten when I instigate those kind of things.”
After getting his start appearing on Late Night with David Letterman, Leno was chosen over Letterman to replace Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show in 1992. The saga became the basis for the 1996 HBO movie The Late Shift.
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