Jay Leno delivers his punchline: I’m a dead man without writers
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Burbank
Jay Leno pulled up to NBC’s West Coast headquarters on Bob Hope Drive atop his Harley, wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans. He took off his helmet and delivered three boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. ‘This is writers’ food. See the bodies of these people. They don’t get that way eating tofu,’ he said.
Leno milled about with the 50 or so writers carrying picket signs. ‘We’re not on tonight,’ he told the picketers of his show. ‘I don’t know what were going to do. I don’t know how long it is going to last. We will see what happens.’
When NBC’s funnyman was surrounded by reporters, he said that he was backing the writers.
‘I’ve been working with these people for 20 years. Without them I’m not funny. I’m a dead man without them. There a lot of misconceptions about how much these people make. Most of them are not highly paid. Some are, but the average make about 30 grand a year. I’m out here to support the writers. I’m on the writers’ side.’
--Meg James
