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One day after Jay Leno signed off from The Tonight Show, it’s time for Jimmy Fallon to do the same for Late Night.
Fallon opened his final show with a nod to his CBS rival — and a small dig for the time slot he’s leaving.
PHOTOS: Jimmy Fallon: From Early ‘SNL’ to Movie Star to ‘Late Night
“You know, I’m really going to miss being on TV at 12:37. I’ll especially miss the battle for late-night ratings with my fierce rivals, Craig Ferguson and a veggie chopper infomercial,” Fallon said.
He also noted he’s hosted 969 episodes since taking over Late Night in 2009.
“Yep, tonight is the 969th and final episode of Late Night. Or as my dad put it, ‘Couldn’t make it to a thousand, huh? Quitter.’ ”
VIDEO: Inside Jay Leno’s Teary, Guest-Filled ‘Tonight Show’ Goodbye
Fallon was also able to sum up the more than 10,000 monolgue jokes he told in that time.
“The best way I could summarize those jokes is that Joe Biden needed Obamacare after Anthony Weiner texted Justin Bieber a picture of Chris Christie dating a Kardashian on the Jersey Shore. (with Rob Ford).”
Fallon struck gold with a few of his thank-you notes. Among them:
– “Thank you, Joe Namath‘s fur coat from the Super Bowl for showing me what happened to the losing team of last year’s Puppy Bowl.”
– “Thank you Super Mario for being brave enough to rescue the princess, and chill enough for letting her kidnapper play tennis with you.”
In pre-taped messages, Fallon also received advice from stars on how to succeed on The Tonight Show. Miley Cyrus advised him to remember the fewer clothes, the better. Rachel Maddow said “Do not be afraid to go blue. Real f—ing blue.” Ice-T said Tonight would be fine, as long as Fallon had him on as a guest once a month.
VIDEO: Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon’s 5 Best Collaborations
Fallon welcomed Andy Samberg, who recently won a Golden Globe for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as his frst guest. Samberg revealed Fallon sent him a gift with a note: “Congratulations. I only ask that you don’t spend this all in one trip.” The present? “A five-dollar gift card to Subway Sandwiches,” said Samberg.
After a walk down memory lane with show announcer Steve Higgins, Fallon rocked out with The Muppets, who joined him for “The Weight” by the Band. The song ended with him walking across the hall to his Tonight Show studio.
Fallon returns to NBC airwaves Feb. 17, when he’ll make his debut as host of Tonight at 11:35 p.m. His first episode will feature Will Smith and musical guest U2. Seth Meyers takes over Late Night on Feb. 24.
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