Jay Leno, the legendary TV host and comedian, has had his share of accidents in recent years. His most recent mishap left him with visible injuries, though fortunately, it was less severe than some of his earlier incidents.
At 74, Leno isn’t a stranger to danger. In November 2022, he suffered serious burns when a gasoline fire erupted while he was working on a vintage car. The following year, he endured another close call when a motorcycle crash left him with multiple broken bones.
His latest accident occurred when he took an ill-advised shortcut while staying at a hill-top hotel. Leno was attending the Comedy for Kobe event in Beverly Hills on Monday, November 18, where he arrived sporting an eyepatch and visible bruising. The left side of his face was mottled with blue and black marks, and his wrist was bandaged.
The Fall
According to Leno, the incident happened as he was trying to reach a restaurant at the bottom of the hill where his hotel was located. Rather than using the designated mile-and-a-half-long path, he opted to walk straight down the 60-to-70-foot hill. Unfortunately, the hill proved steeper than it appeared.
“I fell down and rolled down the hill,” Leno told TMZ. He explained that during the tumble, he hit his head on a rock, which injured his eye. Lifting his eyepatch during the interview, Leno revealed that his eye remained swollen shut from the impact.
“When I came back to LA, I went to the hospital,” Leno added. “But it’s not that big of a deal, it’s fine.” Despite the fall, Leno refused to cancel his scheduled comedy show, performing just three hours after the accident.
A String of Misfortunes
This latest mishap adds to a series of injuries that Leno has sustained over the past few years. Earlier in 2023, he was clotheslined off his motorcycle by a wire strung across a parking lot. That incident left him with a broken collarbone, two broken ribs, and cracked kneecaps.
In a video addressing the accident, Leno joked about his misfortune, saying, “I’m going to fix [the Indian motorcycle] and get back on it again, because as you know, once a man hits 40 you can’t really teach them anything… Luckily, I’m only 72.” He reflected on how the crash could have been much worse, noting that if he had been going faster, he might have been decapitated.
In November 2022, Leno also sustained serious burns while working on a car. A gasoline fire erupted, leaving him with visible injuries. At the time, Leno downplayed the incident, telling Page Six, “I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire. I am OK. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet.”
Resilience and Dedication
Despite his streak of bad luck, Leno has remained unfazed and dedicated to his craft. Whether enduring burns, broken bones, or bruises, he continues to perform and maintain his sense of humor. His latest fall might have left him bruised, but it hasn’t slowed him down.
