Jay Leno

HIS TV show has out-rated the competition for more than a decade, his frequent stand-up appearances in Vegas are surefire sell-outs and his public persona is that of an affable middle-aged, scandal-free classic car nut. So why can't Jay Leno get any respect from the powers-that-be in the entertainment media who routinely leave him off best-of lists? For his part, Leno doesn't know or, so he says, care. "It's not my problem; I don't worry about it," the 58-year-old "Tonight Show" host insists.

Johnny Carson did not invent late-night television - he wasn't even the first (or second) host of "The Tonight Show," which he captained for 30 years until he quit the business cold in 1992 - but he is the most important person ever to have made it his home. His name may mean increasingly little to younger generations, but late-night is still very much the thing he created, shepherded by hosts formed in his image. Any time a talk-show host plays disaster for comedy, building more laughs on the back of a dud joke than he might be getting with a live one, you are watching the shade of Johnny Carson.

Johnny Carson did not invent late-night television - he wasn't even the first (or second) host of "The Tonight Show," which he captained for 30 years until he quit the business cold in 1992 - but he is the most important person ever to have made it his home. His name may mean increasingly little to younger generations, but late-night is still very much the thing he created, shepherded by hosts formed in his image. Any time a talk-show host plays disaster for comedy, building more laughs on the back of a dud joke than he might be getting with a live one, you are watching the shade of Johnny Carson.

Former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who dropped out of the race after presenting an energetic challenge to Mitt Romney from the party's right flank, jousted over gay marriage and contemporary culture with Jay Leno on Tuesday, the day after he endorsed his former rival (see videos below). Before they ever so gently crossed political swords, though, Santorum presented Leno with a gift, the sartorial symbol of his unexpectedly long-lived campaign: an American-made sweater vest from Bemidji Woolen Mills, a Minnesota company.

When presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain turns 72 on Friday, it's likely his Democratic opponents will make sure no one forgets his birthday. But McCain beat them to the punch line Monday night with his own jokes during a return appearance to NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." McCain had barely taken his seat when Leno offered him early birthday wishes: "We were going to have a cake, but the fire marshal said 'that many candles?' " The late-night host added that they'd ribbed McCain with "a few jokes" about his age during the campaign.

David Letterman made a run at "The Tonight Show" in October and early November, but in recent weeks Jay Leno has reclaimed his No. 1 spot in the late-night rankings. Last week his program registered its largest audience in more than eight months, figures from the Nielsen Co. showed Thursday. NBC's "The Tonight Show" averaged 4.2 million viewers for the week of Dec. 13-17, while CBS' "Late Show" drew 3.6 million. NBC said Leno's show also had a 22% advantage over Letterman's among viewers in the 18-to-49 age bracket that many advertisers covet.

Has the balance of power in late-night TV shifted yet again? CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" has beaten NBC's "Tonight Show" in viewers and the key demographic groups for the first time since Jay Leno returned to the latter program in March. Last week, Letterman averaged 3.8 million viewers, compared with 3.6 million for Leno, according to figures published Thursday by the Nielsen Co. In adults ages 18 to 49, the group most sought by the majority of advertisers, Letterman averaged a 1.0 rating/4 share, compared with a 0.9 rating/4 share for Leno.

Governing is turning out to be a lot harder than Barack Obama thought it would be, so he has turned to what everyone knows he's good at: barnstorm-style campaigning across the country to rally public support for his economic program and budget. From a Hollywood perspective, the interesting thing about that is that one of the first stops on his national tour will be "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

Home computer printers gave people the ability to produce bank statements, concert tickets, holiday cards and party invitations at the touch of a button. But what if you wanted to "print out" a dinner plate, the leg of an armchair or an eyeglass frame? It may sound far-fetched and futuristic, but plastic extrusion machines that can do this — popularly known as 3-D printers — are poised to enter the home electronics market. "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno has an industrial version in the warehouse-sized Burbank garage that houses his collection of more than 200 cars and motorcycles.

The last time Jay Leno said goodbye to America, it was in gala fashion, marked by high emotion, a cheering studio audience and tears. In ending his 17-year stretch on "The Tonight Show" last May, Leno gracefully honored his predecessor, the late Johnny Carson; figuratively passed the hosting baton to successor Conan O'Brien and then asked James Taylor to serenade viewers with "Sweet Baby James." Don't expect that kind of weepy, bittersweet send-off Tuesday when Leno signs off his failed prime-time program that was once trumpeted by NBC as a bold experiment that could reshape television.

In a preview of Rick Santorum's first appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (see video below), the former Pennsylvania senator, who could be prickly in debates, seemed relaxed and able to joke about some of the topics that cemented his reputation as the most conservative candidate in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Leno prodded Santorum, who wore his trademark sweater vest, about the timing of his endorsement of Mitt Romney, which came at the end of a long email to supporters Monday.

Ed Savko, who bought a small-town grocery known as the Rock Store on Mulholland Highway in 1961 and turned it into an internationally recognized motorcycle mecca frequented by celebrities, businessmen, outlaw clubs and other bikers, has died. He was 86. Savko, who made it a weekend ritual to ride the twisty Santa Monica Mountains roads and stop at his hangout to swap stories and grab a bite to eat, died April 2 of congestive heart failure at Los Robles Hospital's Transitional Care Center in Thousand Oaks, according to his daughter, Sandra Clark.

Making his first turn on NBC's "Tonight Show" this election cycle, Mitt Romney mostly played the straight man Tuesday — but allowed himself a jab at his rival Rick Santorum for losing his cool over the weekend. Santorum created a kerfuffle by scolding New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny in Wisconsin on Sunday after the journalist asked him to clarify his remark during a speech that Romney was "the worst Republican in the country" to run against President Obama. The former Pennsylvania senator lashed out with a curse word — telling the reporter to "quit distorting my words.

President Obama got a taste of Los Angeles traffic Tuesday on his way to NBC's studios in Burbank, where he taped an interview with Jay Leno before jetting to San Francisco to raise more money for his reelection campaign. Obama's motorcade slowed to a crawl on Highway 101 just past Ventura Boulevard, setting the president about 10 minutes behind schedule. A few dozen supporters greeted him as he rolled through the studio gates. It was Obama's second appearance on "The Tonight Show" as president.

Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann, whose gaffes have made her a favorite punching bag for Jay Leno and other late-night comedians, paid Leno a visit Friday. In her first appearance on "The Tonight Show," Bachmann tried to show her lighter side -- even making a joke about Christian anti-gay therapy, but Leno challenged her on gay rights, the HPV vaccine, her opposition to raising the federal debt ceiling and other conservative positions. The comedian's gentle persistence could not budge Bachmann from her talking points.

We'll call the movie "Three Beaches and an Airport. " It'll star Hugh Grant as a buttoned-up business traveler who is separated from his job, money and luggage at LAX, then befriended by a team of wise-cracking Olympic volleyballers who introduce him to the sun-baked, wave-splashed piers and brew pubs of L.A.'s South Bay. In no time, he soars to entrepreneurial success, leading beach-cruiser bike tours along the Strand, living in an ocean-view condo and...

The Early Show Chris O'Donnell. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today Robert Pattinson; the cast of "Eight Is Enough"; Anthony Anderson; career fairs. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC Good Morning America Danny Elfman. (N) 7 a.m. KABC Live With Regis and Kelly Chris O'Donnell; Carrie Ann Inaba; Beautiful Baby Week 2010 kicks off. (N) 9 a.m. KABC The View Nathan Fillion ("Castle"). (N) 10 a.m. KABC The Doctors Montel Williams. (N) 11 a.m. KCAL Rachael Ray Chris Harrison ("The Bachelor")

Every high school in America has its cool kids, the smart, snarky ones who sit in the prow of culture, and its dorks, the plodding if amiable ones who sit in the middle of the boat and try not to make waves. One needs to be reminded of this in assessing what was really at stake in the headline-making Leno-O'Brien war that ended Thursday with an agreement to pay $45 million to O'Brien and his staff. Celebrities and critics are still taking sides -- the younger, hipper ones decrying how shabbily NBC had treated poor Conan; the older, statelier ones backing Leno -- giving us a clear demonstration of just how much this was a function not so much of money or ratings but of demographics.

David Letterman made a run at "The Tonight Show" in October and early November, but in recent weeks Jay Leno has reclaimed his No. 1 spot in the late-night rankings. Last week his program registered its largest audience in more than eight months, figures from the Nielsen Co. showed Thursday. NBC's "The Tonight Show" averaged 4.2 million viewers for the week of Dec. 13-17, while CBS' "Late Show" drew 3.6 million. NBC said Leno's show also had a 22% advantage over Letterman's among viewers in the 18-to-49 age bracket that many advertisers covet.

Has the balance of power in late-night TV shifted yet again? CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" has beaten NBC's "Tonight Show" in viewers and the key demographic groups for the first time since Jay Leno returned to the latter program in March. Last week, Letterman averaged 3.8 million viewers, compared with 3.6 million for Leno, according to figures published Thursday by the Nielsen Co. In adults ages 18 to 49, the group most sought by the majority of advertisers, Letterman averaged a 1.0 rating/4 share, compared with a 0.9 rating/4 share for Leno.