Words by Jimmy Fallon has made late-night television feel like a party. As host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” he favors games, musical bits and celebrity sketches over pointed political monologues, an approach that helped the show thrive in the era of viral online clips.
Early life
James Thomas Fallon Jr. was born on September 19, 1974, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Saugerties, in New York’s Hudson Valley. As a teenager, he did impressions and performed in comedy contests. He attended the College of Saint Rose in Albany, studying computer science and later communications, before leaving to pursue comedy. He completed his degree years later, in 2009.
Saturday Night Live
Fallon joined “Saturday Night Live” in 1998. He became known for celebrity impressions, musical parodies and his tendency to crack up during sketches. In 2000, he became co-anchor of “Weekend Update” with Tina Fey, a pairing that became one of the segment’s most popular eras.
He left the show in 2004 and made films including “Taxi” (2004) and “Fever Pitch” (2005) with Drew Barrymore.
Late Night
In 2009, Fallon succeeded Conan O’Brien as host of NBC’s “Late Night.” He brought in the hip-hop band The Roots as his house band, a choice that became one of the show’s signatures. Segments like “Slow Jam the News” and musical impressions built a strong online following.
The Tonight Show
Fallon took over “The Tonight Show” from Jay Leno in February 2014, moving the show back to New York’s Rockefeller Center, where it had started under Johnny Carson’s predecessors. The Roots came with him.
His version of “The Tonight Show” leaned heavily on games and recurring segments, including Lip Sync Battle, which later became its own television series; “Wheel of Musical Impressions”; “Thank You Notes”; and classroom-instruments performances with musicians playing their hits on toy instruments. Many of these clips have drawn millions of views online.
Other work
Fallon has hosted the Golden Globe Awards and the Emmy Awards. He has released comedy albums, including “The Bathroom Wall” (2002), and won a Grammy for best comedy album for “Blow Your Pants Off” (2012). He hosts the game show “That’s My Jam” on NBC and has written several children’s books, including “Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA.”
Style
Fallon’s comedy is famously good-natured. He is known as an enthusiastic interviewer who celebrates his guests rather than challenging them, and as a musical performer who can mimic voices from Neil Young to Bruce Springsteen. Critics have sometimes faulted that approach as too gentle, while fans see it as a welcome break from more cynical comedy.
Personal life
Fallon married film producer Nancy Juvonen, co-founder of Drew Barrymore’s company Flower Films, in 2007. They have two daughters.
Legacy
Fallon belongs to a generation of hosts who recognized that late-night audiences increasingly watch the next morning, on their phones. By designing segments that work as standalone clips, he helped redefine how the format reaches viewers. At the same time, he has kept a classic piece of television tradition alive, sitting at the same desk once occupied by Johnny Carson and Jay Leno.
Where to start
Look up his “Weekend Update” segments with Tina Fey, early “Late Night” clips with The Roots, and “Tonight Show” favorites like Lip Sync Battle and the classroom-instruments performances. They show a comedian whose talent is making everyone around him look like they are having the time of their lives.
Few hosts have been as closely tied to the internet era of late-night television, and few seem to enjoy the job as visibly as he does.
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