Leno & a Hudson

oldhudsons

I subscribe to & read the L.A. Times every morning & today there is a feature article about Leno parting ways with the "Tonight" show. Part of the article has a photo of him with an armful of stuff standing by a 2-tone '51 Hornet sedan at the studio in Burbank where the show is taped; can't tell if he's loading or unloading but car is shown completely, in color. If you'd like to see it and or read the article just go to: newspapers.com then pick the L.A. Times.

hudsontech

Neat article Pete. I'm thinking Jay also has a '53, but not sure about that. Well, if you're out of a job you might as well leave in style!!!!!!!!

Hudsonly
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

snowshoe90aolcom

I believe you are correct Alex- he has a '51 & a '53. There is a youtube video of him with both cars...one driving and one standing and talking... really cool. Terry

Jon B

Here he is. Click on picture to enlarge.

oldhudsons

Jon, ya beat me to it as wasn't sure how to take that photo out of the paper to bring here, and yes, he has a Hornet cp. which I think he's driven on a video that's been online.

oldhudsons

His 200 car garage/museum is near the studio in hangar(s) at the Burbank airport as is the studio; it is not open to the public.
In article his net worth est. at $350 million, lives in Beverly Hills with his long time wife, they have no children. As some of you may know he is retiring from his role of host on the "Tonight Show" & program will be done out of NYC; he will be doing some "stand up" shows around the country, doesn't sound like he will or wants to return to doing a TV show, at least for now.

dave s

He sure looks tall standing next to it, he is 5'11"

oldhudsons

yes, about that, maybe an inch or so shorter (have seen him at swap meets).
Very unpretentious, always wears Levis - if it wasn't for the elongated chin you'd never notice/recognize him.

hudsontech

If I were worth $350 mil I'd have 200 cars too - all Hudson makes!!!! Hell, I'd build the club a museum for that matter.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

MikeWA

Pretty cool picture- just a guy cleaning out his desk during the week before retirement, and taking it home in his Hudson. However, most of us are not on a billboard in the background when we do it.

He used to be on My Classic Car quite a bit- and seems to favor his Hudsons for just regular "driving around" cars.

Browniepetersen

I took my Hudson to work on my last day. Seemed like a good thing to do-and, it was.

Lee ODell

Our home is on a street that Jay drives to work and back to where he keeps his cars. It appears he drives a different car each day. It is a treat to see many of the beautiful old cars he drives, some I've never seen pictures of. A couple days ago he drove by with a car load of friends in a beautiful two tone Nash (around late 40s early 50s). I think it is neat he shares his enjoyment with others. I'm going to miss his shows, both cars and TV. Since we live on one of the main roads through town I expect to see him driving sometime old again. I agree that Jay Leno is one of the friendliest person anyone could meet.

One I saw a very huge shiny aluminum Indy type race car where I buy gas. I walked over to look at it. I wondered what it was. A moment later Jay walks over and begins telling me all about it. That was pretty cool. Our HET chapter members were invited to visit his car collection. Unfortunate for me I had to work on that day.

Lee O'Dell

Park_W

Here's the aforementioned monster car.

oldhudsons

Before he really got into cars Leno was a m/c collector.
My neighbor where I lived the longest in L.A. (20 yrs). was a BMW rider whereas I rode Hondas (a smaller bike to drive to work, GoldWing for out-of-state rides with wife). He introduced me to the "Rock Store" which is an old gas station from the '20s, made of rocks cemented together, which became a MAJOR gathering place for bikers on Sundays. It is many miles west of the L.A. metro area on Mulholland Drive. On a good Sunday attendance would accede 100-200 bikers at any one time. You'd see about anything ever built on 2 wheels, from stuff the factories were considering building (ridden out by writers from m/c mags), to scruffy old Harleys, rare "classic" bikes. The Rock Store owner sold soft drinks, sandwiches, and beer. One Sunday a pair of perfectly restored Vincent Black Shadows drove up, one ridden by Leno, another by a friend of his. To me they were a legend in the motorcycle world, famous, fast, expensive - a huge crowd collected around them, no one paying any attention to the owners, LOL

Park_W

Here's a look at part of Jay's bike collection as it was in 2005.

oldhudsons

the bike at the lower right & center of the left photo is a Vincent Black Shadow

ESSX28-1

We used to laugh at the Vincents from our Ariel Square 4's. If only we'd had the foresight to keep them.

oldhudsons

you must have been laughing as they passed you.
Think the Ariel Square Four the best looking m/c engine I've ever seen.

50C8DAN

The online link was posted several days ago here on the forum. The pics are there!

http://www.classiccar.com/forum/discussion/165259/leno-stepdown-featured-on-swan-song-article-for-burbank#Item_5

Kevin_Ch

I love the catch pans under each bike. LOL

Kevin C.

RL Chilton

Or British ones . . .

oldhudsons

you guys are mean!!!!
nasty ~

ESSX28-1

How else do you assess if they need oil!!

oldhudsons

there, see, Ken knows a practical solution!

Lee ODell

Yah, my 56 triumph TR6 motorcycle side cover leaked and one or more of the valve covers would be missing after a bike ride by the time I got home. 3M cured the leak but I liked to never got the side cover off after that.
Lee O'Dell

Lee ODell

Ken, I should have mentioned I was a kid back then, this was over 55 years ago. Don't know if blue Loctite was around then. Have used it a lot since. Some things are learned the hard way. Sold the bike after marriage in 1969. Best trade I ever made. After being deliberately forced off the road a couple time by some nutty car guys sealed the deal. The worst part was selling it to a friend. He was killed on it a few months later, after being married for two weeks. Years later my brother bought a new 750 Honda and let me ride it around the block. Scared the pant off me. It was a rocket compared to the Triumph. While he was cruising fast on a mountain road curve his handle bar clipped an oncoming car. Nearly killed him lost some body parts. Took about five year before he could barley get around again. If I was not in the Los Angles area it might be nice to go for a ride on a Triumph again. But I would never get the thumbs up I get when driving my Hornet. Bettie wants the 47 PU on the road. You guys know the tune, 'What ever Bettie wants Bettie gets'. Hope to have it drivable and nice enough for 2015 National.
Lee O'Dell

oldhudsons

drive that Triumph out to the Rock Store you'll sure get a "thumbs up"!
1st bike I ever "drove", as opposed to just riding on, was a Triumph Thunderbird, '56-7?
Jump 2 decades and cousin's boyfriend had a Honda 750, gave me a ride, ditto "scared the pants off me" too.