Jay Leno is showing that he's not easily deterred. Despite a recent fall that left him with significant bruises, the 74-year-old former host of "The Tonight Show" was seen enjoying a meal at one of Los Angeles' beloved burger spots — In-N-Out. Although Leno's injuries were still visible — his left side of the face was bruised and his right wrist was in a brace — he was no longer wearing the patch over his left eye that he had sported on Monday night outside a comedy event in Beverly Hills. The comedian seemed to be in high spirits, even waiting in line and smiling for the cameras after indulging in a burger and fries at In-N-Out in Burbank, California.
Leno's fall occurred last week before he was scheduled to perform at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. Apparently craving wings, he decided to grab a bite at a sports lounge near the Hampton Inn where he was staying. Although the sports bar was only 200 yards from his hotel, it was a mile and a half away. Without a car, Leno opted for a shortcut — down a steep, grassy hill. While attempting to navigate the slope, he fell, finally stopping when he reached the restaurant's parking lot below.
"To get to [the sports lounge], I didn't have a car, so you had to walk about a mile and a half around. I said, 'Well, the hill doesn't look that steep. It's about 60-70 feet. Let me see if I can go down the hill,'" he told TMZ on Monday night. "I fell down. Boom, boom, boom. I rolled down the hill, hit my head on a rock, knocked me in the eye."
Leno revealed to Inside Edition that he broke his wrist, lost one of his fingernails, and bruised the entire left side of his body. His eye was also damaged, swelling shut after the scrape. "It'll be fine," he said of the eye injury. "I'm not worried about it." Despite the injuries, Leno still performed later that night and traveled to Southern California the following day for a show at the Yaamava' Casino in Highland, California. He finally sought medical attention once back in Los Angeles.
"When I came back to LA, I went to the hospital," Leno told TMZ. "It was only a couple of hours of the show, so. It's not that big of a deal, it's fine!" "The great thing about this age [is] you don't learn by your mistakes, you just keep doing the same stupid thing," he joked, referencing an accident that left him with second-and-third-degree burns.
The automotive enthusiast was rushed to the hospital in 2022 after a gasoline fire broke out while he was working on one of his cars. After suffering significant burns on his face, chest, and hands, Leno underwent several surgeries and skin graft procedures at the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills, California. Leno praised the center's "unbelievable" work and even joked that he has a "brand-new face." While on Kelly Clarkson's talk show last year, the comedian quipped, "You'd think there'd be a zipper here," gesturing to his jawline.
Leno landed in the hospital again in January 2023 after breaking several bones in a motorcycle accident. Ever resilient, he told Page Six months later that he was "doing good" and "recovering."
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