Leno, Jay

Born: April 28, 1950

Comedian
Born in New Rochelle, NY, USA

Jay Leno is an American comedian of Italian and Scottish extraction who is best known as the host of the long-running NBC television variety and talk show The Tonight Show. He also owns the production company which co-produces The Tonight Show called Big Dog Productions.

Leno was born James Henry Muir-Leno in New Rochelle, New York and grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and received his Bachelor's degree in Speech therapy from Emerson College in 1973. Leno has a slight form of dyslexia.

When Carson retired in 1992 Jay Leno became the new permanent host of The Tonight Show after a long period of debate and negotiations with Leno and David Letterman (who had been considered by many to be Carson's heir apparent). Letterman signed a deal with CBS, sparking an ongoing late-night rivalry between the two talk-show hosts. Although Letterman's Late Show led in the ratings at the start, The Tonight Show took over the lead in 1995 and has, on the whole, had higher ratings ever since.

Leno has been married to Mavis Leno, known for her work with Afghani women under the Taliban, since 1980. They have no children.
In late October 2005, Leno told The New York Daily News that he and rival David Letterman have not spoken to one another in 13 years.

More Italian Celebrities(Alphabetical listing)

1. Adonis, Joe - Mobster
2. Agnelli, Gianni - Industrialist, principal shareholder of Fiat.
3. Alda, Alan - Actor, writer and director
4. Andretti, Mario - Racecar driver
5. Antonioni, Michelangelo - Director, writer and painter.
6. Bancroft, Anne - Actress.
7. Bancroft, Anne - Actress.
8. Bellucci, Monica - Actress
9. Benigni, Roberto - Actor, Writer, Director.
10. Bennett, Tony - Singer
11. Berra, Yogi - Baseball player and manager.
12. Bertolucci, Bernardo - Film director and screenwriter
13. Bocelli, Andrea - Singer, Tenor
14. Bon Jovi, Jon - Musician, actor.
15. Bon Jovi, Jon - Musician and actor.
16. Bonaparte, Napoleon - Military and political leader
17. Bono, Sonny - Singer, congressman
18. Broccoli, Albert "Cubby" - Producer of all James Bond movies
19. Caboto, Giovanni (John Cabot) - Explorer, discoverer of Canada.
20. Cage, Nicholas - Actor
21. Capone, Al (Alphonse) - Famous mobster
22. Capra, Frank - Director
23. Cardinale, Claudia - Actress.
24. Caruso, Enrico - Tenor
25. Celentano, Adriano - Singer, songwriter, comedian and actor. Born in Milan, Italy.
26. Colombo, Cristoforo - Discoverer of the New World.
27. Como, Perry - Singer
28. Coppola, Francis Ford - Director, Screenwriter
29. Danza, Tony - Actor.
30. De Niro, Robert - Actor, director and producer
31. De Sica, Vittorio - Director and actor.
32. DeVito, Danny - Actor, director, and producer
33. Di Caprio, Leonardo - Actor
34. DiMaggio, Joe - Baseball player.
35. Dio, Ronnie James - Musician
36. Faggin, Federico - Physicist, inventor of the microprocessor.
37. Fermi, Enrico - Italian physicist, pioneer in nuclear fission.
38. Galilei, Galileo - Born in Pisa in 15 February 1564.
39. Garibaldi, Giuseppe - Military and political leader.
40. Giannini, Amadeo Peter - Founder of Bank of America
41. Hogan, Hulk - Professional Wrestler and Actor
42. Jacuzzi family - Inventors, hot tubs.
43. Leno, Jay - Comedian
44. Leno, Jay - Comedian.
45. Lohan, Lindsay - Model, Actress, Singer.
46. Loren, Sophia - Actress.
47. Madonna - Singer, composer, actress, author.
48. Mancini, Henry - Composer and arranger
49. Marciano, Rocky - Boxer
50. Marconi, Marchese Guglielmo - Engineer, inventor of radio
51. Martin, Dean - Singer and actor.
52. Mastroianni, Marcello - Actor
53. Minnelli, Liza - Actress and singer.
54. Pacino, Al - Actor, director.
55. Pasolini, Pier Paolo - Director
56. Pavarotti, Luciano - Tenor
57. Pesci, Joe - Actor, comedian and musician.
58. Polo, Marco - Famous explorer. Born in Venice, Italy.
59. Ramazzotti, Eros - Singer, songwriter
60. Russo, Rene - Actress, Model.
61. Scorsese, Martin - Director, writer and producer.
62. Shields, Brooke - Actress
63. Sinatra, Frank - Singer and actor.
64. Springsteen, Bruce - Musician.
65. Stallone, Sylvester - Actor, director, producer and screenwriter.
66. Stefani, Gwen - Singer and actress.
67. Tomei, Marisa - Actress.
68. Travolta, John - Actor, dancer, and singer.
69. Tyler, Steven - Musician.
70. Valentino, Rodolfo - Actor
71. Verrazano, Giovanni da (or Verrazzano) - Italian navigator and explorer.
72. Vespucci, Amerigo - The explorer after whom the Americas are named.
73. Volta, Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio - Electricity Pioneer.
74. Zamboni, Frank - Inventor of the Zamboni machine (ice rinks).