Westchester Native Leno Bids Tearful 'Tonight' Farewell

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- New Rochelle native Jay Leno fought back tears on Thursday as he signed off as host of "The Tonight Show" for the final time.

New Rochelle native Jay Leno hosted his final episode of "The Tonight Show" on Thursday, Feb. 6.
Photo Credit: *Wikimedia Commons*

Joe Jenkins

02/07/2014 12:30 p.m.

Leno called his time hosting the show "the best 22 years of his life," and referred to the staff as members of his family.

Leno took over "The Tonight Show" for Johnny Carson in 1992 and left briefly in 2009 when Conan O'Brien took over. NBC executives decided to bring Leno back after just a few contentious months, as detailed in a story in Variety.

Leno was born in New Rochelle in 1950 and later moved with his parents to Andover, Mass.

Click here to read the full Variety article.

Click here to watch Leno's signoff on NBC.

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