Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy Fallon

James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon Jr. (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, actor, television host, 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 and before that Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He grew up with an interest in comedy and music, moving to Los Angeles at 21 to pursue opportunities in stand-up comedy.

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 studios in 2009, where he became well known for his emphasis on music and video games. He moved 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 five books.

James Thomas Fallon was born on September 19, 1974 in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the son of Gloria (née Feeley; 1949–2017) and James W. Fallon (born 1948).[1][2][3] He is of Irish, German, and Norwegian descent. His paternal grandmother, Luise Schalla, was a German immigrant from Osterholz-Scharmbeck, and his maternal grandmother's father, Hans Hovelsen, was a Norwegian immmigrant from Fredrikstad.[4] Another set of great-great-grandparents were Thomas Fallon, an Irishman from County Galway, and Louisa Stickever, the daughter of an Irishman born in France and his Irish wife.[5][6]

Fallon's father spent his adolescence singing in street-corner doo-wop groups, then served in the Vietnam War.[7] Shortly after his son's birth, he started working as a machine repairman for IBM in Kingston, New York.[8] In preparation, the family moved nearby to Saugerties, New York. Fallon has described his childhood as "idyllic,"[9] while his parents have been described as overprotective. He and his sister, Gloria, were unable to leave their home[10] and had to ride their bicycles in the backyard.[11] Fallon attended the Roman Catholic school St. Mary of the Snow. He considered being a priest, inspired by his experiences as an altar boy,[11][12] but became more interested in comedy instead. He spent many nights listening to the radio program The Dr. Demento Show, which exposed him to both comedy and music; he often recorded it on a reel-to-reel recorder.[9]

As a teenager, Fallon developed an obsession with the late-night comedy program Saturday Night Live. He watched it religiously, although he was only allowed to see "the clean parts" that his parents taped for him. He and Gloria would re-enact sketches such as "The Festrunk Brothers" with friends.[13] In his teens, he impressed his parents with impersonations, including of actor James Cagney[14][15] and comedian Dana Carvey.[16] He was musically inclined, and started playing guitar at age 13. He would go on to perform comedy and music in contests and shows.[15] By his junior high years, he was labeled a class clown, but was also described as "nice and well-mannered."[17]

At Saugerties High School, he was a performer in most stage productions, and was twice a class social director.[17] He won a young comedian's contest with an impression of Pee-wee Herman.[13] He graduated in 1992, then attended The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, where he was a computer science major before switching to communications in his senior year. He was an average student. On weekends, he would perform stand-up comedy.[9] Fallon would often board buses from his aunt's house in Fort Hamilton to perform sets at Caroline's Comedy Club in Times Square.[18] He did not graduate, leaving college a semester early to pursue a comedy career.

In May 2009, 14 years later, he returned to receive a Bachelor of Arts in communications, awarded by Saint Rose officials who granted him experiential learning credits for his television work. He joined his classmates at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center to collect his degree