Client: John Melendez Writer of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Hello again to Jay Leno, back as 'Tonight' host
Source: AP Television Writer By FRAZIER MOORE
NBC and Leno's fans can relax: Judging from his first night back, it's the same old Jay with pretty much his same old "Tonight Show."
He started the show by spoofing the conclusion of "The Wizard of Oz," where Dorothy awakens to find all those crazy goings-on were only a dream.
Jay, seen in sepia tones in what was meant to be a Kansas farmhouse, said, "I went away to the strangest place! It was wonderful, but some of it wasn't so nice."
In fact, Leno had gone away from the nation's TV screens for less than a month when he returned Monday to his old haunt in late night.
"It's good to be home," he told his audience as he began his first "Tonight Show" monologue since last spring. "I'm Jay Leno, your host. At least, for a while."
Leno was reclaiming his old job at NBC's "Tonight Show" just nine months after giving it up to O'Brien, and only 19 days after NBC pulled the plug on Leno's prime-time misadventure.
"We were off for the last couple of weeks," Leno cracked during his monologue. "Kind of like the Russians at the Olympics. What happened to them?"
Leno noted that one of his guests was an American gold medalist, skier Lindsey Vonn.
"Did you see her?" Leno marveled. "When it comes to going downhill, nobody is faster. OK, except NBC."
As he zinged his own network, along with former vice president Dick Cheney, Toyota and Tiger Woods, Leno signaled the resumption of the late-night war between him and his longtime CBS rival David Letterman, who had gained the ratings upper hand during O'Brien's brief, unhappy claim on "The Tonight Show."
Leno's other welcome-back guests included Jamie Foxx and singer-songwriter Brad Paisley.
And in a pre-taped piece, Leno knocked on front doors asking unwitting residents if he could come in and try their desks (he had notably eschewed any desk for "The Jay Leno Show"). Then, back in the studio, he unveiled his own stylish new desk.
NBC is praying that Leno will comfortably settle in behind that new desk on the not-particularly-new "Tonight Show," where he ruled late night (and beat Letterman) for much of 17 years.
But already handicappers were weighing whether Leno can regain his momentum.
So were some viewers.
Dorothy Elayan, 50, of Louisville, Ky., and her daughter, Jena, 19, who were visiting Southern California, were waiting to enter the NBC studio in Burbank for Monday's taping. Both said they preferred Leno over O'Brien.
"I didn't like Conan. I didn't like his sense of humor," Jena Elayan said.
Her mother said she had remained a fan of Leno in prime time.
"I would like him earlier because I go to bed earlier. I was that one little person still watching," she said, referring to his disappointing prime-time ratings.
Also in line was Natalie Hanks, 19, of San Clemente, Calif., who said she found O'Brien funnier than Leno but added, "I wish there was room for both."
She said Leno might face resistance from O'Brien's fans.
"I've seen a lot of people on Facebook rallying around Conan. I think younger people" will boycott "Tonight" with Leno, Hanks said.
Meanwhile, theories have abounded concerning the next step for O'Brien, currently the odd man out, who is widely seen as having been victimized by Leno and by NBC's ham-handed shake up that led to his departure. The most popular scenario places him on the Fox network, butting heads nightly with Letterman and Leno.
Now with NBC's much-watched blanket coverage of the Winter Olympics just a memory, the stumbling, oft-ridiculed network desperately needs something new to brag about. A successful trip back to the future with Leno hosting "Tonight" might qualify - and could actually happen.
After 15 seasons on Howard Stern’s Radio Show, Mr. Melendez, known to Stern fans as “Stuttering John,” has just finished his fifth season on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On the tonight show besides being the show’s nightly announcer, Mr. Melendez was also involved in comedy sketches and correspondence pieces as well as being the daily warm up performer for Jay. Mr. Melendez signed on to be a writer on the new Jay Leno Show airing on NBC at 10:00pm as well as continuing to be the shows warm up performer.
Mr. Melendez, who began with The Howard Stern Show as an intern in college, landed on the air almost immediately. During his 15 seasons with Stern, Melendez gained national acclaim and recognition with his daring interview style and prominent personality. In addition to interviewing countless celebrities on the radio, Melendez was simultaneously hired as a field reporter for the nationally syndicated Howard Stern Television Show, where he worked for two seasons as an interviewer and in sketch pieces for the show’s recurrent man-on-the-street segments. He continued his television work for Stern on the highly- rated E! television show.
Aside from his notable work with Stern, Mr. Melendez’s feature credits include Private Parts, Dude Where's My Car, and Osmosis Jones. On television, he is credited with appearances on the reality series I'm A Celebrity, Get Me out Of Here, Celebrity Fear Factor, guest starring roles in Wings, and Baywatch Night, and in the animated series, Tripping the Rift, on the Sci-Fi channel. Last year Mr. Melendez starred in a full-length feature, National Lampoon's One, Two, Many, which he wrote and produced.
