List of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno sketches

This is a list of segments appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A few segments have also been used for The Jay Leno Show, as well as on Jay Leno's hosting tenure on You Bet Your Life.

• 99 Cent Shopping Spree: Jay Leno's show often features items that he has collected from a local 99-cent store. These items often have assembly mistakes, such as hair combs in a bag labeled "sun glasses." In other cases, the directions or packaging contain poorly translated words. And then there are the items that are just plain tacky.
• Ask the Fruitcake Lady: Marie Rudisill was an outspoken older woman who was the aunt of Truman Capote. She appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to promote her cookbook about fruitcake. During her appearances, she responded to questions about relationships, sex, and family. The segment was discontinued in November 2006 upon Rudisill's death.
• Ask Jay Anything: Jay asked the audience anything by answering questions. On the May 12, 2003 episode, there was a variant called "Ask Katie Anything (Cause Jay's Not Here)".
• Beyondo: Jay Leno would work with Kevin Eubanks on a recurring sketch called "Beyondo." In the sketch, Leno would try to summon people from the great beyond. To do this, they would use green screen camera tricks to make only Leno's head visible.
• Celebrity Interviews: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featured a recurring segment called "Jaywalking." In this segment, Leno would conduct an interview with a celebrity or recent major news name. The person in question was an obvious parody designed to elicit humorous responses. The interview was often conducted "via satellite," but the character's portions were filmed on the musical performance part of the stage. Fred Willard (as "Willard J. Fredericks") and Gilbert Gottfried were the most common actors used for the segment. Another variation consisted of "Phony Interviews," which were edited segments in which Jay asked comedic questions on set, followed by the actual subject's response at a news conference or on a news interview show.
• Celebrity Jeopardy: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featured a recurring sketch called "Celebrity Jeopardy!" The sketch featured contestants portraying famous people in the news, often former presidents George W. Bush and Martha Stewart. Gilbert Gottfried was always on the panel, and would often portray unusual characters like the Easter Bunny or Pontius Pilate. Gottfried was known for his frequent use of the phrase "Son of a bitch!" during the segment.
• Comedic Products: Jay Leno often uses comedy to comment on current events, media releases, and "inventions that didn't work out." For example, in the summer months he might bring out "The Day After Tomorrow" home game. It also came out in a different iteration, as being supposedly sold through the NBCCC (Nothing But Cheap Crap Channel), with Leno playing the channel's resident host, Bob Johnson.
• Cop 'N Kitty: In this skit, Jay Leno portrays a police officer who has a kitten as his sidekick. This skit originated on "The Jay Leno Show."
• Dealing with the Public: Jay Leno often played recordings of police and 911 calls on his late-night talk show. These recordings were often hilarious, and provided a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people.
• Does This impress Ed Asner?: "This or That?" is a recurring segment on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." In the segment, individuals perform stunts or show off a talent in front of Ed Asner. Asner then comments on whether or not the act impresses him. The segment is similar to the former "Late Show with David Letterman" stunt, "Is This Anything?"
• Does This Impress William Shatner?: Individuals performed stunts or showed off their talents in front of William Shatner. Shatner would then comment on whether or not the act impressed him.
• Don't Try This at Home: Jay Leno's "Do Not Try This at Home" segment features individuals performing dangerous stunts. The segment's name warns the home and studio audience not to attempt the stunts, as the performers have trained themselves to do them safely. Untrained people who try the stunts are likely to injure or kill themselves. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featured a segment called "Guys Night Out," where male performers showed off their talents. However, very few female performers appeared in the segment.
• Duller Image Catalog: The Sharper Image Catalog was a popular mail-order catalog that featured cutting-edge products. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno created a spoof of the catalog called "The Tonight Show Catalog of Outrageous and Crude Products." In the sketch, Leno presents outrageous and crude products that were created by the show's staff.
• Fake Spokesperson Auditions: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno would like you to be a spokesperson for a TV ad. You will be asked to read cue cards, or do strange things, as part of an advertisement for a fake product. At the end of the "ad", you will be asked to say "I'm on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno".
• Headlines: These are humorous print items submitted by viewers. They are real-life headlines that are usually found in newspapers, magazines, retail advertisements, and other article clippings. They contain typographical and photographic errors, inadvertently humorous descriptions, or unintentionally inappropriate items. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno had a recurring segment called Headlines. The segment usually started with a fake, humorous headline during the introduction sequence, such as "Arabs Wish Bush a Happy Shoeing Year!" The headline usually reflected some current event. In 2009, Jay Leno moved this segment to a 10:00 p.m. ET/PT time slot. The title sequence headline on the final broadcast of this segment reflected this change: "4 Out Of 5 Scientists Say 'Headlines' Funnier at 10PM Than 11:30PM." The "Headlines" segment aired on Monday nights, unless the Monday episode (or the entire week's slate of episodes) was a repeat. If a segment featuring a "Tonight Show" correspondent at an event aired in its place, then "Headlines" aired in the next new episode.
• Hockey Player or Medication?: Jay Leno sometimes shows the audience a word and asks them to guess whether it is the last name of an NHL player or the name of a medication.
• Howie Do It: "Howie Do It" was a recurring segment on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in which Howie Mandel played practical jokes on average citizens using a hidden camera. The bit became much less common after Howie began hosting the game show "Deal or No Deal". "Howie Do It" was later spun off into its own television series, which ran briefly in spring 2009.
• Iron Jay: This sketch features Jay Leno playing a muscle-bound bodybuilder named Iron Jay. Edd Hall fields questions from the audience. Mirrors and camera tricks are used to make Iron Jay's body appear even more muscular.
• Jaywalking: "Jaywalking" is a pre-recorded segment of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." It's a play on the host's name and the illegal practice of jaywalking. Leno interviews up to 15 people in an hour or less for each segment, with about nine interviews used on the air.
  • Battle of the Jaywalk All-Stars: "Jaywalk All-Stars" is a recurring segment on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In this segment, some of the lowest-scoring "Jaywalkers" are brought back onto the show. These contestants are asked a series of simple questions to see which one can score higher this time. According to Leno, he initially expected that contestants, after watching themselves on television, would study facts in preparation for their return to the show. (Leno: "Not a problem!")
  • Steve the Judgmental Bastard: In this Tonight Show sketch, Steve Schirripa riffs on the idea of "jaywalking," where he predicts how random people on the street will answer questions about themselves based on their appearance.
  • Tattoo or no tattoo?: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno had a recurring segment where Leno would interview a guest, then ask the audience to guess whether the guest had a tattoo. The audience would then vote, and the guest would reveal whether they had a tattoo or not.
• Listen to Iman: Jay Leno would often invite Iman, the famous model, to give advice to audience members on his show. Iman would provide helpful tips on everything from fashion to relationships.
• Meal or No Meal: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featured a talent show with three contestants from the audience. The three panelists watched each contestant's talent and then decided whether the performance was impressive enough to award the performer a free meal at a local restaurant.
• Midnight Confessions: Members of the audience are invited to share embarrassing stories from their lives. Often, at the end of the confession, a product that addresses the situation is presented to the person, often by Gilbert Gottfried.
• Mr. Brain: Jay Leno played a brainiac who took questions from the audience on his Tonight Show. To make his head look bigger, mirrors and a camera were used.
• Photo Booth: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno had a real free photo booth set up at Universal Studios Hollywood. People inside the booth were bothered and made fun of before getting their picture taken. The booth's voice was provided by comedian Kira Soltanovich.
• Pitch To America: Whenever a screenwriters' convention is held in the United States, a camera crew from "The Tonight Show" sets up an area where screenwriters can walk up and make a pitch for a movie script or television show that they have been working on. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno had a recurring segment called "Stuff We Found on eBay." In this segment, the crew would go to a trade show where inventors would pitch their products. The audience would then be asked if they thought the product "sold" or "not sold."
• Pumpcast News: A recurring sketch on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featured a fake news anchor, played by Timothy Stack, who appeared on a TV screen at a gas station. The anchor would harass and bother the customers who were pumping gas.
• Pumpernickel Bread Special: "Cooking with Jay" was a recurring segment on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In this segment, Leno invited celebrity chefs to share their hilarious recipes.
• Presidential Jeopardy!: Jay Leno portrayed Jay Trebek, a parody of Alex Trebek, in a sketch on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In the sketch, presidential candidates provide questions for the answers.
• Ross the Intern: Ross Mathews was an intern for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was often sent to participate in special events. As part of a running gag, Leno began introducing Mathews as his illegitimate son.
• Sidewalking: In a public location, a camera and microphone are set up. Passersby are invited to step up to the microphone and perform whatever they desire.
• Steve Irwin: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featured a recurring segment called Snakes and Crocodiles, in which Steve Irwin brought in live snakes and crocodiles. The segment was discontinued after Irwin's death in 2006.
• Stuff We Found on eBay: Jay Leno would sometimes bring up some of the oddest stuff that he supposedly found while searching on eBay. He would then ask the studio audience to guess whether the object was actually sold.
• Survey Says: People at the Third Street Promenade in Los Angeles are asked to take a survey for a chance to win a gift certificate to a store. Cast members then use the information the person provides on the survey (college, hometown, work, etc.) to pretend to know the target.
• Teenage Wasteland: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featured a segment called "Audience Show and Tell," which was similar to the "Stupid Human Tricks" and "Audience Show and Tell" segments on the Late Show with David Letterman. In this segment, teenagers would perform a stunt or display a talent. Most of the teenagers featured in this segment were male, with only a few female teenagers appearing.
• The Audience Wants to Know: Members of the audience are selected to ask Jay Leno questions. Leno then shows a video clip that relates to the subject of the question.
• The Economy is Bad: During his monologue, Jay Leno tells a series of one-liners themed around the current state of the economy. He has acknowledged that the cadence of his delivery is a tribute to Rodney Dangerfield, and a quick playing of "Hooray for Hollywood" follows each joke.
• The Fine Print: Jay Leno presents regular everyday products on his desk. However, when he zooms in to reveal the fine print, the product's real intentions are revealed. For example, a bag of chips warns that eating the product will make you fat.
• The Worst-Selling Products on Amazon.com: Jay Leno would show a best-selling book, DVD, and CD available at Amazon.com. He would then show a totally fictitious, but similarly designed and humorously titled item that was supposedly a complete flop at Amazon.
• They Walk Among Us: Jay Leno presents images of celebrities and their supposed look-alikes, who were discreetly taped in Burbank. Leno claims they are the products of cloning experiments gone wrong.
• Tonight Show phone in: Jay Leno would often talk with celebrities while tapes of their voices were played. This allowed him to interact with the celebrities in real time, which made for a more interesting interview.
• Truth in Labeling: Jay Leno often featured products whose names had been changed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reflect their most common uses. For example, a one hundred-dollar bill might be referred to as "gas money."
• Videos We Found on YouTube: This segment is a prototypical Jay Leno segment. In it, he shows amusing videos that he says he found on YouTube. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno had a recurring sketch called "Zoo Tube." The sketch featured videos of animals. However, the videos were not viewed on YouTube but were instead stored as video files.
• Virtual Jay: The "Virtual Jay" skit featured a computer-generated animation of Jay Leno. In the skit, Leno heats up a burrito in the microwave with the foil still on it. This causes an electrical shock to travel from the microwave to Leno's computer, which causes Leno to "travel" through the Internet. The skit usually included gags that emphasized some of Leno's recurring jokes at the time, such as "Virtual Jay" appearing on a page with a picture of a desert and then realizing that he was on Dan Quayle's webpage during his unsuccessful 1996 run for president.
• What's George Bush Doing Today?: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno sketch "George W. Bush: After the Presidency" depicts what Bush has been up to since leaving office. In the sketch, Bush is played by Steve Bridges. The sketch shows Bush playing "Dance Dance Revolution," having a lightsaber duel with Dick Cheney, and dancing to "Dragostea din tei" in a parody of the Internet meme "Numa Numa."
• Wheel of Consolation: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" had a segment where the person voted off "American Idol" in the final weeks of the season would come on the show and be given a chance to spin the wheel of consolation. The wheel was rigged to stop on a certain item, and the contestant would receive a play off of the item won. For example, if the wheel stopped on "Breakfast with Royalty," the Burger King mascot would present the contestant with a breakfast sandwich.
• Zoo Tube: Jay Leno presents a series of video clips of animals at the zoo. The clips show a variety of animals in their habitats, including lions, tigers, bears, elephants, and more.