It's been almost two years since back-to-back injuries left Jay Leno in need of extensive cosmetic reconstruction. Honoring his surgeon earlier this week, the 74-year-old gave an update on his current condition.
In November 2022, Leno was working on one of his classic cars when gasoline was spilled on his face and the gasoline later ignited due to a pilot light. This resulted in second and severe second-degree burns to his face, chest, hands and left arm. Then, just a few months later, in January 2023, the former The Tonight Show The homeowner suffered multiple broken bones and additional facial injuries when he was lining his clothes with a chain while riding an antique motorcycle.
Leno at the 2024 Day Beauty Awards with Dr. He was presenting the Award for Excellence in Medicine to Peter Grossman. TO! News about his recovery.
Leno announced on the red carpet that he was hitting the road and said, “This is good. Everything is good. I can't complain.” “I just write jokes, make jokes, get checked out. It's a very simple process.”
“I am very lucky. I have been married to the same woman for 45 years,” he said of his wife, Mavis. He expressed the secret of their long-term relationship as follows: “Don't be silly, it's quite simple.”
Speaking about the future, Leno said he hopes his “next chapter” doesn't involve his “next accident.” He recalled that despite the extent of his injuries, it only took him nine days to recover. “I missed two days of work, so it wasn't bad,” he continued. “It's better than the face I have, so I'll take it.”
Before presenting Grossman with the award, Leno told the crowd on stage how he didn't go directly to the burn center when his “face got filled with gasoline and caught fire.” Referring to his wife's diagnosis of Alzheimer's, he said he decided to spend the night at home and return the next day because he did not know where he was.
“I go home, I see my wife and we sleep, I don't realize it's still burning,” he explained. “When I wake up, I can't get the pillow off my face. So I sit there with scissors, trying to cut the pillow off. So Dr. Grossman took the pillow off my face.”
Leno also talked about having to return to Grossman after the motorcycle accident, which left him with facial injuries as well as a broken collarbone, two broken ribs, and two cracked kneecaps.
“I was riding my motorcycle and a guy ran a wire across the road and boom it smashed my face,” he continued. “I called Dr. Grossman and said, 'Listen, I need another face. Your other face was great, but I need another face.'”
“So I guess I'm officially a two-faced bastard now,” he added.