Jay Leno returned on Sunday (27.11.22) – just two weeks after suffering major burns in a horrific accident.
The TV presenter, 72, has since undergone skin graft surgery after suffering injuries to his face, hands and chest when one of his cars burst into flames while he was in the garage at the beginning of this month.
And he performed for the first time since the tryout at The Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Calif., over the weekend.
According to “Entertainment Tonight,” Jay, who was accompanied by his wife Mavis, was greeted by a “Welcome Back Jay” sign.
The comedian made light of his accident and burns before doing his usual stand-up set.
Arsenio Hall, who opened for Jay, joked, “No comic would leave the Grossman Burn Center and do standup on Sunday in Hermosa!
“I lost my thumb nail after someone stepped on my foot at the Super Bowl last year. I canceled three meetings after that.”
Jay insisted he was doing “fine” after being discharged from a burns unit last week after spending 10 days in hospital.
According to the New York Post’s Page Six column, he told a paparazzi: “[I’m] hang in there. Everything is okay.”
The former “Tonight Show” host underwent two graft procedures to remove unhealthy tissue and promote healing after he was burned while working on his 115-year-old car.
A fuel leak followed by a spark in the white 1907 steam engine caused an explosion, requiring hospitalization.
Dr. Peter Grossman, plastic surgeon and medical director of the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles, recently said that Jay — who is an avid car collector — suffered “significant” and “deep” second-degree burns. and “possibly” some third-degree burns from the incident, but he anticipated that he would “make a full recovery.”
The surgeon said in a press briefing: “Our hope is that when all is said and done, he will do well.
“But burns are progressive and dynamic, and it’s hard to ultimately predict what the end result will be at this stage of the game.
“He seems to be a gentleman who just doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it. He wants to move on and he wants to get back to work.
“I had to tell him that he needs to take a step back and realize that some of them [this] take time.”
Shortly after the incident, Jay said: “I had some serious burns from a petrol fire. I’m fine. I just need a week or two to get back on my feet.”