It took a radio disc jockey to remind Jay Leno where he'll stand in “Tonight Show” history when he walks off the stage for the last time Friday. Leno was at the wheel of one of his famous vintage cars when he heard the DJ conduct a pop quiz: Who's the second-longest-running host of “Tonight,” after Johnny Carson? “The guy on the radio actually got it before I did,” Leno said Thursday, smiling. “It just sort of made me laugh. I went, ‘Oh, that's pretty good.”' Maybe even better than good? “I come from ‘pretty good,”' replied Leno, unfailingly modest in interviews. “If somebody wants to say even better, that's great.” He will have posted an impressive 17 years as “Tonight” host, but well short of Carson's three decades that ended with his retirement in May 1992. Leno debuted as “Tonight” host a few days later. He leaves the show atop the late-night ratings, his run abbreviated by NBC's decision five years ago to create a succession plan that gives “Tonight” to Conan O'Brien. “Will I miss it? Yes, terribly. It's the most wonderful job ever in show business,” he said of “Tonight,” which started in 1954 with Steve Allen as host. Unlike the solitary road life of a typical standup comedian, telling jokes to an audience of maybe 100 or so, Leno said, he had the chance to make millions of viewers laugh - and then go home each night to his wife. On Thursday's show, Billy Crystal, Leno's first “Tonight” guest 17 years ago, returned to salute him with a musical medley akin to Crystal's Oscar ceremony opening numbers. This summer, he'll continue doing his standup appearances that filled his weekends during his “Tonight” reign. More importantly, he'll get ready for the new show that, he acknowledges, will face stiff competition in prime-time. “It'll be really tricky. But we'll just do the best we can,” Leno said.
