Thursday 16 June 2016

Jimmy Fallon

James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American
comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and as the host of late-night talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and raised in Saugerties, New York. He grew up with an interest in comedy and music, moving to Los Angeles at 21 to pursue stand-up opportunities.

He was commissioned to join NBC's Saturday Night Live as a cast member in 1998, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Fallon remained on SNL for six years between 1998 and 2004, co-hosting the program's Weekend Update segment and becoming a celebrity in the process. He left the program for the film industry, starring in films such as Taxi (2004) and Fever Pitch (2005). Following his film career, Fallon returned to television as the host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC in 2009, where he became well known for his emphasis on music and games. He transitioned from that program to become the sixth permanent host of the long-running The Tonight Show in 2014.

In addition to his television work, Fallon has released two comedy albums and three books.

Jimmy Fallon was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, and is the son of Gloria (née Feeley) and James W. Fallon. Fallon's ancestry is five-eighths Irish, a quarter German, and one-eighth Norwegian; his paternal grandmother, Luise Schalla, was from Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Lower Saxony, Germany, while one of his maternal great-grandfathers, Hans Hovelsen, was an immigrant from Fredrikstad, Norway.

A Vietnam War veteran, his father spent his adolescence singing in street-corner doo-wop groups, and shortly after his son's birth, was working as a machine repairman for IBM in Kingston, New York. In preparation, the family relocated nearby to Saugerties, New York. Fallon has described his childhood as "idyllic," while his parents have been noted as overprotective. He and his sister, Gloria, were unable to leave their home, and they had to ride their bicycles in the backyard.

Fallon attended St. Mary of the Snow, a Roman Catholic elementary school in Saugerties. He considered being a priest, inspired by his experiences as an altar boy. He became more interested in comedy instead. He spent many nights recording the radio program The Dr. Demento Show on a reel-to-reel recorder, where he was exposed to both comedy and music. Fallon developed an obsession with the late-night comedy program Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a teenager, watching it religiously. He grew up watching the show, viewing "the clean parts" that his parents taped for him. He and Gloria would re-enact sketches like "The Festrunk Brothers" with friends. Fallon was such a fan that he made a weekly event of watching the show in his dormitory during college.

On April 3, 2013, following a period of speculation, NBC officially announced that Fallon would succeed Jay Leno to become the sixth permanent host of The Tonight Show following the 2014 Winter Olympics. Fallon and Leno sang the "Tonight"'s parody of Tonight Show together. Fallon's Tonight Show debut on February 17, 2014 on NBC's network engaged 11.3 million viewers.

Fallon's third book, Your Baby's First Word Will Be Dada, a children's book, was released in June 2015.

Fallon was raised in a Catholic family and, when he was a child, wanted to eventually become a priest. He has a female English cream Golden Retriever dog named Gary Frick that has appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

On February 22, 2011, Fallon was on The Dr. Oz Show and had a mole removed from his left hand in front of a live studio audience by cosmetic surgeon Arthur Perry.

On June 26, 2015, Fallon suffered a ring avulsion, an injury he suffered by tripping over a rug in his home and catching his ring on a counter top which nearly tore off his finger. He was taken to the emergency room then sent to a surgeon who performed microsurgery on his finger. Fallon spent 10 days in the ICU before going home. He discussed this on the July 13 episode of the Tonight Show and thanked the doctors and nurses who helped him. As of July 14, 2015, he was expecting to spend another eight weeks without any feeling in his finger.In an interview with Billboard magazine in September 2015, Fallon explained that his finger still had limited mobility and that another surgery would be required. He reiterated this point at the 67th Emmy Awards on September 20, 2015, where he also appeared in public without his finger bandaged for the first time.

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