Jay Leno says thanks and goodbye on 'Tonight Show'

Jay Leno ended his final “Tonight Show” on Friday not with a surprise guest or a selection of his vintage comedy bits, but with what he called “the greatest thing we’ve ever done.”

What followed was an onstage parade of the children — 68 in all — who had been born to people who had met because they worked on the program.


"Goodnight, everybody," Jay Leno began when it appeared doubtful that the rabid standing ovation would ever cease.

After more than a minute of hoots and applause, the audience finally quieted down so that Leno, after 17 years behind the wheel of the late-night staple, could welcome the crowd to "the exciting season finale of the Tonight Show."

"I want to thank all the people that made it possible—Michael Jackson, Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton." But as the Leno faithful know, it was the easygoing charm and spot-on delivery of the prominent-chinned, uniquely coiffed comedian who kept millions tuning in night after night. (That and a certain 1995 mega-get named Hugh Grant, whom Billy Crystal paid tribute to in his farewell song for tipping the ratings in Jay's favor forevermore.)

Leno, 59, took the reins of the venerable program in May 1992 from Carson.

After initially struggling in the ratings against late-night counterpart David Letterman, who

had been his rival for the "Tonight Show" job, Leno grabbed the lead in viewership about 13 years ago and become a mainstay of American TV.

He has taken jabs at four presidents, from George H.W. Bush to Barack Obama, who in March became the first sitting U.S. chief executive to appear on a late-night talk show.

He made audiences laugh through an era that included natural disasters, wars and the September 11 attacks.

Jay Leno with his final guest, Conan O’Brien, on Friday night.

Notable moments included Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement of his candidacy for California governor in 2003 and British actor Hugh Grant's first public appearance after being arrested with a Los Angeles prostitute in 1995.

Leno's comic segments such as "Jaywalking," in which he joked with everyday people on the street, became popular staples.