Los Angeles (REUTERS) — For “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno, the hardest part about switching jobs with “Today” show co-anchor Katie Couric for one day each month will be getting up before dawn, lowering his voice and reading from a TelePrompTer.
For Couric, the most difficult challenge will be delivering a funny monologue.
During a conference call with reporters Wednesday to tout their May 12 one-day NBC job swap, Couric gave herself a test run with the following G-rated joke:
“What did the snail say when it got on the turtle? … Wheeeee!” to which Leno replied, “Oh! Hey!” as if impressed and ready to hire Couric to write jokes for him.
“I think Jay has the tougher job,” she added.
Leno readily gives Couric full credit for coming up with the concept. “Do you think I would dream this up? It’s not a guy idea,” Leno riffed.
“It’s a girl ideal. Guys don’t say, ‘Bob, let’s trade places.’ I mean, have you ever heard two guys go, ‘You’re a mechanic, I’m an insurance salesman. Come on! Let’s trade!’ That’s like a girl idea. But it’s a good idea.”
For Leno, the gimmick will make a bit of “Tonight Show” history, marking the first time that someone other than Leno has presided over NBC’s late-night proceedings since he succeeded Johnny Carson as host in 1992.
Leno often says he has long resisted the idea of turning the show over to guest hosts, as his predecessor often did, because of the extra work it creates for his staff.
Couric, host of her top-rated morning show for 12 years, plans to open for Leno with the traditional “Tonight Show” monologue but will lean heavily on his writers for help. “I might even be calling Jay frantically on Sunday night.”
Subduing the high octane
Couric said she is also counting on some pre-taped gag segments, along with gregarious celebrity guests with whom she’s familiar, to help her get through the show.
“I don’t want to be the one that has to come up with the one-liners and sort of play off of them,” she said. “I just want them to entertain the audience, and I’ll be the conduit.”
Leno, a veteran night owl, said the hardest part for him will be getting up at 5 a.m. to do the morning show – and toning down his high-octane demeanor for a more subdued morning audience.
“I’m getting notes like, ‘Jay, it’s the morning, so don’t shout like you do at night … They’re sleepy, OK?”‘
Couric predicted Leno would have no trouble conducting interviews. After all, he’s had such heavyweight figures as Vice President Dick Cheney and first lady Laura Bush on his show.
But she warned that Leno may find it awkward reading from a TelePrompTer, which he does not use on his show, without looking like “a deer in the headlights.”
“Yeah, that’s the tricky part, because I’m a little dyslexic,” Leno agreed. “I try to memorize as much as I can.”
Leno said he doesn’t yet know whom he’ll be asked to interview on “Today” but would welcome the chance to indulge his biggest hobby by doing a segment on vintage cars.
As for snail jokes, Leno countered with one about a guy who comes home to find a big snail sitting in front of his door. He picks up the snail and throws it into the bushes. Three years later, the guy answers a loud knock at the door to find the snail sitting on his step asking, “Hey! What was that all about?”
