GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) – Jay Leno, a comedian and former host of “The Tonight Show,” was seriously injured in a fall while in Greensburg, Pennsylvania for a stand-up comedy show.
Leno’s show at the Palace Theater went off without a hitch on Friday, but what happened before the show got everyone talking.
How did Jay Leno get hurt?
The comedian was apparently staying at the Hampton Inn on Route 30 near Greensburg when he decided to get wings at the nearby Dino’s Sports Lounge.
The restaurant is only about 200 meters from the hotel, but the quickest way to walk to it is up a steep, grassy hill.
Leno said that while trying to navigate the slope, he lost his balance and tumbled about 50 to 60 feet down the hill to the parking lot below.
“I thought, ‘I have to call an ambulance,’ because I thought whatever happened, it was a bad fall,” said Gary Latshaw, the owner of Latshaw Productions, the company that put on the sold-out Jay Leno show.
Jay Leno’s injuries
The 74-year-old comedian was seriously injured, breaking his wrist and hitting his head and left eye so hard that he put on an eye patch to hide the swelling. option.
The Emmy winner carried on as if nothing had happened. He performed for over 1,500 people for ninety minutes and received a standing ovation at the end.
Latshaw said that in all his years of producing shows and working with talent, he has never seen anything like what Leno experienced.
“It is truly inspiring to see someone who is committed to his work and profession,” said Latshaw. “He didn’t want to disappoint the people, even the people who came to meet him backstage. He could have canceled that. He didn’t cancel anything. I’m amazed. It really is. It was inspiring to see.”
It seems Jay Leno is the personification of the old theater saying: the show must go on.
Christopher DeRose
