Jay Leno is not one to complain.
The former “Tonight Show” host has maintained a positive outlook in recent years, even as he faces some personal struggles.
In 2022, Leno was working on his car in his garage when an accident occurred and he was sent to the ICU with third-degree burns on his face.
But when I asked him if he ever got nervous walking back to the garage, he flatly replied, “No!”
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Jay Leno said he had no hesitation in returning to work in his garage after sustaining third-degree burns in an accident. (Fremantle)
“I was burned by the fire. My face was filled with gas and sparks flew. [It’s] It's not like, “How did this happen?” I mean, people are getting burned every day,” he told Fox News Digital, joking that people's reactions were stronger because he's a celebrity.
“I got out of the hospital in eight and a half days,” Leno said. “I took two days off work. So it wasn't too bad. It was better than a broken leg, believe me.”
He required multiple skin grafts for his facial injuries, but just two months later he broke his leg in a motorcycle accident.
“I was on my bike and this guy had to run a wire across the driveway and there was no flag up, and when I turned around, the sun hit my eyes. It tore my face apart,” said the 74-year-old. Said.
Leno said he was discharged from the hospital “eight and a half days” after the accident. (Fremantle)
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He said, “I have to call my face guy and say, 'Listen, do you remember that new face you gave me? Is there another face? I need another face.' “It didn't happen,” he joked. [He said] “Okay, come on,'' he went and gave me another look,'' adding, “You can't see the zipper, can you?''
“I used to look like Abe Lincoln,” he continued with a laugh. “No, I look exactly the same, just an improved version… say so, I’m saving face. Or, I’m a two-faced man, whatever you want to receive.” I think so.”
Leno and his family faced another health challenge when news became public that Mavis, his wife of 44 years, was suffering from advanced dementia.
Regarding Mavis' current condition, Leno said, “It's okay. It's life. It's something that everyone goes through.”
“I've been very lucky in my life,” Leno said, adding that he cooks dinner “every night” for his wife, Mavis, who has advanced dementia. (Nina Zacuto)
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He continued, “My life has been very lucky. I don't complain about anything. I have a lot of fun and I cook dinner for her every night.”
“She's good. She's good, you know? It's a change you have to make, but that's okay. That's okay.”
WATCH: Jay Leno cares for wife with dementia and says “I'm very lucky in life''
Leno also focuses on another longtime love, cars, on the new season of “Jay Leno's Garage.”
“We make a new video every week. Anything that spins, explodes, makes noise. That's pretty much it: steam engines and motorcycles,” the comedian said of the show.
Leno said his show “Jay Leno's Garage” features “anything that rolls, explodes, makes noise.” (Fremantle)
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However, he always strives to innovate the series and check out new cars and vehicles, regardless of complaints from experts.
“I love how passionate people are. They're the kind of people who say, 'What if we did EVs again?'” [electric vehicle]I'll never watch it again. I say, “Okay… Mark Twain used to say, “I love progress, but I hate change.'' And car people are pretty conservative. They want to see the same thing every week. Well, that's not how we grow, so we…try to cover all aspects of transportation. ”
One of the recent episodes featured the Big Boy Steam Locomotive, which Leno thought would upset some people despite its impressive stats.
“It's like the Empire State Building turned on its side. It's pulling a five-mile-long convoy. Each vehicle is five miles long. Each vehicle has a payload of 600 tons. And how powerful is it? A surreal experience has been built. [in] 1941. They built 25 units. It was a fascinating piece of history. And I thought some people would be angry. Actually, people like that, right? That was good,” he said.
“My life has been very lucky. I don't complain about anything.”
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Leno, a longtime interviewer, will of course be joined on the show by some of the biggest names in the automotive world and Hollywood, including Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Tim Allen and Jeff Dunham.
Their interest in cars doesn't come as a surprise to Allen, who Leno says is “very knowledgeable about most cars,” and fellow comedian Jerry Seinfeld, whose Porsche is his “go-to” car know-how.
“But then you have guys like Jon Hamm. I never thought of myself as a car guy, but he is,” Leno said. “You'd be surprised how many people really like cars.”
Leno is famous for his love of classic cars, which he says are “much better now.”
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“In the '60s, cars were fast, but they didn't stop,” he says. “And they didn't take the corner. At 15 miles per hour, you could have died in an accident.”
He once witnessed a serious accident between a Corvette and a Subaru and recalled that he “couldn't recognize either car” but “both drivers walked away.”
“It's amazing how safe cars have become,” he added.
Hosting “Jay Leno's Garage” gave the star, a lifelong car enthusiast, the opportunity to realize many of his childhood dreams.
Leno said it was “very cool” to meet many of the people in the auto industry that he read about in books as a child. (Fremantle)
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“You know, all the people I used to read about when I was a kid, in math class they had hot rod magazines under their books and I was reading them and I was reading about all these people.” It was very cool. ”
“I mean, it's a wonderful life,” he added with a smile.
“Jay Leno's Garage” is currently airing on RIG TV.
