Jimmy Fallon Brings ‘Tonight Show’ to NYC

18 Feb, 2014

Jimmy Fallon took the reins of the long-running “Tonight Show” on Monday, bringing NBC’s late night talk show flagship back to Manhattan after an absence of more than 40 years, being welcomed on set by a host of top stars, including Robert De Niro, Mike Tyson and Lady Gaga.

The surprise appearances, also made by Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Mariah Carey, Lindsay Lohan, Joan Rivers, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Sarah Jessica Parker, Joe Namath and Stephen Colbert, were among the highlights of Fallon’s “Tonight Show” debut, following the departure this month of long-serving host Jay Leno.

The slew of unannounced walk-ons followed Fallon’s remark that someone owed him $100 after betting he would never host the “Tonight Show,” at which point De Niro and others strode on stage one after another, each plunking bills onto his desk until finally Colbert showered him with a bucket of pennies.

Actor Will Smith and Irish band U2 were the Brooklyn-born Fallon’s first official, previously announced guests as the former “Saturday Night Live” comic launched the show’s widely anticipated return to Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center.

Fallon’s stepping into one of the most visible roles in television marked NBC’s second attempt to imbue the competitive late-night landscape on U.S. television with a more youthful vibe by appealing to the coveted 18-to-34 year-old demographic.

“I’m Jimmy Fallon and I’ll be your host — for now,” Fallon told the audience in the new multi-million dollar studio where such beloved “Tonight” veterans Johnny Carson and Jack Paar once presided.

It was one of a handful of references to the show’s recent troubled history. Leno was initially replaced by Conan O’Brien in 2009, but he returned months later in a public relations debacle for the network.

He also paid tribute to the show’s previous hosts by name, being sure to mention Leno twice — once before, and once after, O’Brien.

“If you guys let me stick around long enough, maybe I’ll get the hang of it,” joked Fallon, who wore an understated gray suit, white shirt and blue tie for his first show.

Brooklyn-raised director Spike Lee shot a new opening, a stirring series of black-and-white night shots that gave way to colorful depictions of such iconic locations as Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center.

The new set, with a dramatic Manhattan skyline backdrop, befit its Rockefeller Center location.

And when it came time for U2 to perform its new single, “Invisible,” the band took to 30 Rock’s rooftop at sunset.

When the four members of U2 joined Fallon for a chat after their rousing al fresco performance, Fallon, 39, asked “Was that the highest you’ve ever been?”

The “Tonight Show” first aired on NBC in 1954 from New York with host Steve Allen. Paar hosted the show from 1957 until Carson took over in 1962, and reigned for 30 years, before departing in 1992. Carson moved the show to southern California in 1972.

In its final Burbank days, the “Tonight Show” drew about 3.9 million viewers per episode.

First Lady Michelle Obama is among the guests scheduled for this week, along with Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake. Jerry Seinfeld, Kristen Wiig and Lady Gaga will appear on Tuesday.

Reuters

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