'Better than what was there before': Jay Leno Jokes about his 'brand new face' after garage fire
NEW YORK CITY; NEW YORK: Jay Leno's sense of humor is unaffected by the accident that left him with third-degree burns in his garage on Sunday, November 12, 2022, after one of his cars burst into flames and left him with burns on his face. Soon after the Gasoline fire incident, the 72-year-old comedian was rushed to the Grossman Burn Center for treatment, where he mentioned in a statement, “I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire. I am OK. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet.”
Leno hosted 'The Tonight Show', one of the most popular talk shows in the nation. Since 2015, he has also been hosting his own Emmy-winning series titled 'Jay Leno's Garage'. According to Auto Tech Portal, Leno is said to have a collection of about 181 cars and 160 bikes. Leno maintains all of his collection in his 122,000-square-foot garage in Burbank, California, according to Way.
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The comedian joked, "Eight days later, I had a brand new face. And it’s better than what was there before," as per the Wall Street Journal. Leno added, "But really, it was an accident, that’s all. Anybody who works with their hands on a regular basis is going to have an accident at some point." Leno credited his "quick-thinking" buddy Dave Killackey for saving his life when the incident occurred. According to Leno, Dave was right there and jumped on him, quickly smothering the flames.
"If you play football, you get a concussion or a broken leg. Anything you do, there’s a risk factor. You have to joke about it. There’s nothing worse than whiny celebrities. If you joke about it, people laugh along with you," Leno told WSJ.
On November 12, as Leno was working on one of his cars, a 1907 White Steam automobile, a fuel leak resulted in gas being sprayed all over his hands and face. The gas then ignited, setting him ablaze. At the burn center, he underwent several procedures, including two grafting procedures to remove unhealthy tissue and promote healing and several hyperbaric chamber sessions in an effort to “decrease swelling” and “increase blood flow with good oxygenation.”
Shortly after a 10-day hospital stint, he returned to comedy, performing in front of a packed house at the Comedy Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California.