The first episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon as host was a lot of fun, and it came loaded with star power. Will Smith’s appearance gave us The Evolution Of Hip-Hop Dancing, while the bit above led to a surprise parade of A-listers from all walks of the celebrity realm.
Fallon mentions that a friend once bet him $100 that he would never host The Tonight Show, opening the door for Robert De Niro to stomp on stage and drop $100 on his desk. Following suit were Tina Fey, Joe Namath, Rudy Giuliani, Mariah Carey, Tracy Morgan, Joan Rivers, Kim Kardashian, Seth Rogen, Lindsay Lohan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mike Tyson, Lady Gaga, and new timeslot rival Stephen Colbert. Naturally, Colbert hammed it up and stole the moment.
You might say the cameo-heavy segment was just like the thing Jay Leno tried to do, except executed much better. Which, come to think of it, might make a good slogan for this incarnation of The Tonight Show.
