Jay Leno gets candid about his health from a recent 60-foot fall to injuries from a garage fire

Chrissy Callahan

November 21, 2024 at 2:59 AM

From delivering belly laughs on stage to hosting a talk show, Jay Leno has always had tough skin as a comedian. He's also quite resilient in his personal life.

Over the years, Leno has faced a few health challenges ranging from broken bones and severe burns to dyslexia and high cholesterol. Through it all, the 74-year-old has exhibited his signature sense of humor and refused to let any setbacks deter him.

Below, discover everything Leno has shared about his health over the years.

2024: He bruised his face and injured his eye after falling down a hill

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Even a 60-foot fall on a hill couldn't keep Leno down. In Nov. 2024, the comedian spoke to Inside Edition after he suffered a pretty serious accident.

"I'm a little beat up," he said. "I fell 60 feet. Boom, boom, boom, boom."

While on his way to dinner, the star rolled down the side of a hill and walked away with a series of injuries after hitting "a bunch of rocks."

"I broke my wrist. And then I'm all black and blue from 60 feet of hitting rocks," he said.

The comedian was wearing an eye patch during the interview and explained that his face and his eye hit a rock during the tumble. Still, he bounced back quickly.

"What else are you supposed to do?" he said.

2023: He sustained multiple injuries in a motorcycle accident

In January 2023, Leno revealed that he had a broken collarbone, two broken ribs and two cracked kneecaps following an accident while driving his 1940 Indian Motorcycle.

In an interview with NBC News, Leno said he smelled leaking gas while driving and attempted to pull over into an empty parking lot.

"So I turn around, I start to cut through a parking lot. And there was a wire across two poles which was not well marked and boom, I just got -- it clotheslined me, hit me in the neck and threw me off the bike," he said. "And the bike kept going and I was laying on the ground. So that's about the end of that."

Leno's spokesman told NBC News the star had a shoulder operation and some lingering "trouble with his knees" but was "OK."

While speaking about the accident with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Leno explained that he tried to lay low after the accident because of all the media attention his last accident (more on that below) stirred up.

"You know, after getting burned up, you get that one for free," he said. "After that, you're Harrison Ford, crashing airplanes. You just want to keep your head down."

2022: Leno was severely burned in a garage fire

Leno's love for cars runs deep, but his passion landed him in hot water in 2022 when he caught on fire while working on a 1907 White Steam car. The incident occurred after the car's pilot light jumped.

As the comedian told TODAY's Hoda Kotb the month following the accident, the car's fuel line was clogged so he went underneath the car to take a look.

"I said, 'Blow some air through the line,'" he said to his friend, Dave Killackey, who was positioned above the car. And Killackey did.

The fuel line made a noise, Leno remembered, and then suddenly he "got a face full of gas."

"And then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire," he recalled.

Killackey helped smother the flames and Leno went to the bathroom to put cold water on his face. Instead of going to the hospital as 911 doctors suggested, the comedian opted to go home since he knew his wife would be worried.

Leno soon went to the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles and was treated for third-degree burns. During a nine-day stay, he spent eight hours a day in a hyperbaric chamber so oxygen could help speed up the recovery process.

Leno's doctor told NBC News the comedian had burns on "approximately 7% of his body."

While talking with Hoda, Leno showed off his signature humor and said he wasn't too concerned about the burns affecting his appearance.

"When you look like me, you don't really worry about what you look like," he said. "Look, if I'm George Clooney, it's going to be a huge problem. But they said it would be alright so, you know my attitude is I trust people who are the best to do what they do."

2019: Leno opened up to the TODAY crew about his high cholesterol

Leno put his platform to good use in 2019 and served as a paid spokesperson for an ad campaign about the dangers of high cholesterol. In a TV ad, the comedian opened up about his personal experiences with the health condition.

"I really do have high cholesterol, you know, the stuff that can clog your arteries and lead to a heart attack or stroke," he said. "I've been fortunate I haven't had a heart attack or stroke, but I have a lot of friends that have, and it's important for them to seek out these new treatments and do what they can do to lower that bad cholesterol."

While Leno was discussing the campaign on the 3rd Hour of TODAY, Al Roker asked if the comedian had been inspired to alter his diet while learning more about cholesterol.

"Somewhat, not drastically," he replied. "But, you know, cholesterol is one of these deals where it's not like we have an upset stomach (and say) 'Well, let me go to the doctor. I had a friend of mine who runs three miles every day and boom, had a stroke. And he was in great health. And look at me, I'm sitting at home watching you guys instead. It's the luck of the draw."

2017: Leno spoke about his experience with dyslexia

Leno offered words of encouragement for anyone dealing with dyslexia in a 2017 video for the nonprofit organization Child Mind Institute.

Per the Mayo Clinic, dyslexia is a "learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding)."

During the video, Leno opened up about his own childhood experiences with dyslexia, saying the mindset surrounding the condition was a lot harsher decades ago.

"When I was a kid, this was the cure for dyslexia," he said and slapped his face twice while repeating the phrase, "Hey, smarten up."

Leno went on to share the words of wisdom his mother imparted to him when he was struggling.

"My mother would always say to me, 'Hey look, you're just gonna have to work twice as hard as the other kids to get the same thing.' And you know, I applied that to life. (I thought) 'I'll just stay an extra hour. I'll just put more time in,'" he explained. "So I not only got to equal the other kids. I got to do better because I was focused on my subject."

Per Leno, dyslexia often makes people "focus like a laser beam," which can be a positive trait.

"You tend to put all your efforts into that direction and you don't get as distracted as other people do. So with every disadvantage, there's an advantage. And I think that's our advantage. When we find something we can do well, we go right there and we become successful," he said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com