An encore of my interview about gay marriage with birthday boy Jay Leno

I’m so glad to see the longtime host of The Tonight Show is feeling better after a brief hospitalization. He missed tapings for the first time since taking over for Johnny Carson in 1992 last week. Today, Jay turns 59 years old.

I met Jay last June at, of all places, The Abbey. He was there to show support for same-sex marriage and I have to say, he was incredibly cool that day. I was told there was no chance for one-on-one interviews with him but when I saw him left alone for about 15 seconds, I pounced. He got engaged and his handlers did not dare interfere at that point.

Here is our chat from last June:

Greg: Thought I’d grab you for a chat while I can.
Jay: Sure, whaddaya wanna know?

Greg: What made you decide to be here?
Jay: I have friends in the gay community, I mean we live in Hollywood. Who doesn’t know gay people in Hollywood? So, they asked me to come down and I said, ‘Sure!’ I mean, what’s everybody afraid of?”

Greg: What do you think about gay marriage in California and all that’s happened in the last few weeks?
Jay: “Well, I come from Massachusetts and they have it there and the sky didn’t fall in, everyone seems to be fine. It;s one of those things where it’s a matter of time, you sort of ease into it and you see what happens.”

Greg: Do you have any friends who you want to see married?
Jay: Oh, I have a lot of gay friends. We have a couple of gay couples at ‘The Tonight Show’ who’ve been together 7,8,9 years. Whether they want to get married or not…Well, the nice thing about gay marriage is you have TWO people excited about the wedding. In straight marriages, only one person is excited. Gay marriage, both persons are excited.
“But you know what’s so funny to me, it’s how people miss out on the economic benefits just in terms of catering and flowers and planning. The services that come with it. I see all the companies that have benefited from gay travel. If you look at it, gay people have probably the most disposable income of any group and the businesses that cater to them do very well. So it judt seems like common sense. Gas is four bucks a gallon. For me to worry about what Larry and Bob are doing seems sort of ridiculous.

Greg: If (Sen. John) McCain came on your show, would you ask him about gay marriages?
Jay: Yeah. I know what he would say because that’s sort of what you have to say. But I think things gradually change and that’s what happens. Obviously when you put people on the spot and you confront them and you stick a mic in their face, well, they’re gonna say one thing. I don’t know what would happen if he become president but I know that you just have to kind of ease into these things. Like I said in Mass., people just got married, no protests, no parade. Just, ‘Oh, OK. Life went on.”

Greg: Were we too hard on you over the whole Ryan Phillippe thing? (Leno was blasted for asking the actor to give him his “gayest look” while guesting. He later apoliguzed for any offense)
Jay: “That seemed a little over the top to me, I have to admit. Only because it was not my intention. When I’ve had straight actors on who’ve played sexy roles, I’ll say, ‘Give me your sexiest face.’ So, when I said it to Ryan, we had said he’s a kid from a Baptist community who was now playing a gay part and I said, ‘OK, now give me your gayest look’ knowing he wouldn’t do it. You laugh and OK fine. Obviously it upset some people. Hey loo, I’m an entertainer, sometimes you annoy people, you make people mad. Alright, that happens. But, I really think there are bigger issues than that. That’s a classic case where you’re not talking about morality or lifestyle, you’re just talking about silly stuff.”