Jimmy Fallon

Background

James Thomas Fallon Jr. was born September 19, 1974, in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Fallon went to St. Mary of the Snow School, a Roman Catholic school. He was an altar boy in school and considered becoming a priest at one point. Fallon outgrew his religious aspirations after becoming more interested in comedy while listening to the Dr. Demento show on the radio. Fallon, like many other teenagers, became obsessed with “Saturday Night Live.” Along with his sister, they performed sketches from the show for their parents. During his four years at Saugerties High School, he appeared in the majority of the stage productions. In 1992, he graduated from Saugerties High School. Fallon attended Saint Rose College in Albany, New York. He did stand-up comedy on the weekends and dropped out of college a semester before graduating in 1995 to move to Los Angeles at the age of 21 to pursue a full-time comedy career.

In Los Angeles, Fallon joined The Groundlings improv troupe and began honing his stand-up routine. He frequently performed stand-up at the legendary Improv, where he was paid $7.50 per set, which didn’t even cover the cost of parking. In 1997, Fallon tried out for “Saturday Night Live” (S.N.L.) for the first time but was turned down. At the age of 23, Fallon landed his second audition for “S.N.L.” “S.N.L.” auditions are notoriously difficult and intimidating. Several people told him at the audition that creator Lorne Michaels seldom laughed during auditions.

Fallon took the stage and performed admirably. He did a “celebrity walk-a-thon” sketch in which he did impressions of well-known comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. Michaels burst out laughing. He was cast as a member of the 1998 to 1999 season. Fallon rose to prominence as the show’s most talented impressionist.

At first, Fallon imagined himself following in the footsteps of John Belushi and spending three years at “S.N.L..” He was persuaded to stay, however, when he was given the Weekend Update alongside Tina Fey in 2000. In his later years on “S.N.L.”, Fallon co-starred with Justin Timberlake in a skit titled “The Barry Gibb Talk Show,” in which they portrayed musicians, Barry and Robin Gibb. This was the start of a long friendship and collaboration with Timberlake. Fallon remained a member of the “S.N.L.” cast until the 2004 season. He has been dubbed “the best S.N.L. cast member since Phil Hartman” and is well-liked by “S.N.L.” viewers. Fallon left “S.N.L.” in 2004 to pursue a career in film. He appeared in the comedies “Taxi” (2004) and “Fever Pitch” (2005), as well as the drama “Factory Girl” (2006) and the comedy-drama “Whip It” (2009).

He took over from Conan O’Brien as host of the television show “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” which was renamed “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2009.” N.B.C. announced in April 2013 that Fallon had been chosen to take over “The Tonight Show” from Jay Leno immediately following the 2014 Winter Olympics. Fallon is the first host in “The Tonight Show’s” history (aside from original host Steve Allen) to become the show’s permanent host without previously serving as a guest host. Before him, Jay Leno had filled in for Johnny Carson, Carson had filled in for Jack Parr, and Parr had filled in for Steve Allen. “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” won a Primetime Emmy in 2010, “Saturday Night Live” in 2012 and 2014, and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in 2015.

On the set of his film “Fever Pitch,” Fallon met film producer Nancy Juvonen, co-owner of Flower Films (along with Drew Barrymore). They started dating in May 2007. In August 2007, Fallon proposed on the dock of Juvonen’s family home in New Hampshire at sunset. They tied the knot on December 22, 2007. They have two daughters, Winnie Rose and Francis Cole, as well as a golden retriever, Gary Frick. Gary has appeared on Fallon’s show.