Leno Versus Letterman

With Jay Leno heading wrapping up his time at the Tonight Show I have been watching more of the program than I normally do. Generally my viewing of late night TV is limited to when they have a good guest or to watch the opening monologues. But in that viewing I have noted a distinct difference between Leno and Letterman, which I think can be traced, at least in part, to their backgrounds.

While neither man has officially stated his political affiliation I think it is safe to assume both are fairly liberal in their viewpoints. But the manner in which this liberalism comes out in the monologues demonstrates to me why I have always found Leno to be a far classier act.

If you look at his performances, whether on the Tonight Show or on the stage, he seems to be far more balanced in his humor. To be sure he takes his swipes at the right, at former President Bush or the Republicans. Certainly he has made plenty of jokes about Governor Ahnold. But he also pokes fun at the left and the Democrats. Like many he has been a bit more reluctant to take on President Obama, but otherwise his humor is bipartisan.

More importantly, his humor is not personal. You do not get any sense that he is out there to push an agenda or to ‘get people’ he does not like. For him the key is the joke, getting the laugh, having the audience enjoy themselves.

By contrast, I have found Letterman to be far more partisan and personal in his political humor. Even today most of his jokes are about the right or the GOP and there is an edge to the humor that gives you the clear impression that he enjoys ‘getting those guys’.

While I am sure there are many reasons for the differences, I think that the key is the difference in their backgrounds.

Leno came up in the world of the stand up comedian. His world was, and to a large degree still is, that of the stage, going from town to town. In doing this he learned a few important lessons, the most important being that if the audience doesn’t laugh it gets pretty lonely and awkward on stage. So he learned that the key is not to pursue the agenda but the laugh.

In addition, because he could be performing in San Francisco one night and Mississippi the next, he learned to adjust his humor to meet the community. He might need to go after the conservative movement one night to make the counter culture crowd laugh and then go after that same crowd the next night to get his new customers to laugh.

At the same time, he knew that the first audience was likely to hear about the jokes he told the second night, so he had to make sure that the humor was not too personal or offensive to anybody. This meant he needed to develop a light hearted humor.

These instincts were, I think, amplified by his respect for Johnny Carson. Carson was a man of the old school, a class act who recognized that it was important to treat people with respect. Even in the deepest depths of Watergate or Vietnam his humor was never too harsh or negative. Leno took a lesson from this.

By contrast, Letterman came up more through the school of a writer and performer on television. He was surrounded by people who had an agenda, to go after the enemy. This is not to say that he is out for an open agenda, even he recognizes that he cannot offend entire groups or large segments of the audience. But his humor is far more personal and negative.

That is why I will miss Leno, though hopefully his successor will follow his example.