Jay Leno is no stranger to late-night feuds.
The story of exactly how the comedian landed in Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show chair, despite David Letterman also being a contender, became the stuff of legends—plus a bestselling book (Bill Carter’s The Late Shift) that was later turned into an HBO movie.
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Even after retiring from The Tonight Show in 2009 and welcoming Conan O’Brien as his replacement, Leno had second thoughts.