By Cordillia Marvine
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
James Douglas Muir Leno (/ˈlɛnoʊ/ LEN-oh; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC‘s The Tonight Show from 1992 until 2009 when Conan O’Brien took over as host. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET, also on NBC. O’Brien turned down NBC’s offer to have Leno host a half hour monologue show before The Tonight Show to boost ratings amid reported viewership diminishing, which sparked the 2010 Tonight Show conflict that resulted in Leno’s returning to hosting the show on March 1, 2010. He hosted his last episode of his second tenure on February 6, 2014. That year, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. From 2014 to 2022, he hosted Jay Leno’s Garage, and from 2021 to 2023, hosted the revival of You Bet Your Life.
Leno writes a regular column in Popular Mechanics showcasing his car collection and giving automotive advice. He also writes occasional “Motormouth” articles for The Sunday Times.
Leno made his first appearance on The Tonight Show on March 2, 1977, performing a comedy routine. During the 1970s, he had minor roles in several television series and films, first in the 1976 episode “J.J. in Trouble” of Good Times, and the same year in the pilot of Holmes & Yo-Yo. After an uncredited appearance in the 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane, he played more prominent roles in 1978 in American Hot Wax and Silver Bears. His other appearances from that period include guest spots on the television shows One Day at a Time, Alice and Laverne & Shirley. He had minor roles in the films Americathon (1979), and Polyester (1981). His only starring film role was the 1989 direct-to-video Collision Course, with Pat Morita. He also appeared numerous times on Late Night with David Letterman.
He also appeared on three weeks of the short-lived NBC game show Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1983 and 1984.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
When you’re planning to build a structure or do some landscaping, two good resources are the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Cooperative Extension Service. In most cases, fees are nominal or nonexistent. Call directory assistance for your county seat and ask for listings under county services.
Word of the Day
The letters signified by the signal ( … – – – … ) prescribed by the International Radiotelegraph Convention of 1908 for use by ships in distress. SOS was chosen as the universal distress signal because this combination of three dots followed by three dashes followed by three dots was easy to send and easily recognized, especially since they were usually sent as a nine-character signal, which stood out against the background of three-character Morse Code letters. The letters themselves are meaningless. SOS does not stand for Save Our Souls, Save Our Ship, Stop Other Signals, or Sure Of Sinking.
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- James Monroe (5th U.S. president) –
- Oskar Schindler (businessman) –
- Ethel Catherwood (1928 Olympic gold-medal winner for high jump) –
- Harper Lee (author) –
- Eugene Shoemaker (American astrogeologist) –
- Ann-Margret (actress) –
- Paul Guilfoyle (actor) –
- Jay Leno (talk show host) –
- Penelope Cruz (actress) –
- Jessica Alba (actress) –
Died
- Benito Mussolini (Italian dictator) –
- Penelope Fitzgerald (writer) –
- Alexander Lebed (general) –
- Dabbs Greer (actor) –
- Will Robinson (first African American basketball coach at a Division I school) –
- Mel Bartholomew (construction engineer and gardener known for his Square Foot Gardening method) –
Events
- Maryland became the seventh state of the Union –
- Coal mine explosion occurred in Eccles, West Virginia –
- Vaccine for yellow fever announced –
- A six-man expedition, led by Thor Heyerdahl, sailed from Peru aboard a balsa-wood raft named Kon-Tiki on a 101 day journey that would take them across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia –
- At age 98, Walter Sitch of Halifax, NS, became a great-great-great-grandfather –
- Charles de Gaulle, president of France, resigned –
- A Chorus Line closed after 6,137 performances on Broadway in New York City –
- The Soyuz-TM 32 launched, carrying the world’s first space tourist, Dennis Tito, to the International Space Station –
- Ashes of actor James Doohan, who portrayed engineer Scotty on Star Trek, and of Apollo 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper soared into space aboard a rocket –
- Six endangered red wolf pups were born at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina –
Weather
- Coastal storm caused tremendous late season snow, 35 inches fell in Bayard, West Virginia –
- Six feet of snow blocked roads in Buffalo –
- Tornadoes swept through central and southeastern Virginia –
- A total of 13 inches of snow fell overnight on New York’s Adirondack Mountains and in northern Vermont –
- Hailstorms hit parts of Texas and Oklahoma, with a 6.4-inch hailstone falling in Hondo, Texas –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
