Leno's plan: Bring comic relief to a battered Detroit
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By JULIE HINDS
DETROIT FREE PRESS POP CULTURE WRITER
March 10, 2009
If Jay Leno’s free show on April 7 at the Palace of Auburn Hills goes well, he’d like to do more of them at other places across the country.
But Leno’s “comedy stimulus plan” is starting in metro Detroit because he’s a car guy who knows that the people who’ve lost jobs here are hurting.
“I just started in Detroit because, obviously, I’m a big fan of the automotive field,” Leno said today during a break before taping “The Tonight Show.”
“All these men and women who are getting laid off, it’s not their fault. They’re making a good product. They’re working hard. It’s just the idea that most people don’t have an entertainment dollar.”
During Monday’s “Tonight Show,” Leno announced his plan to do a free show for metro Detroiters who are unemployed. In the most recent U.S. rankings, Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the nation.
The Palace is donating the venue and parking. Pepsi is on board as the event sponsor.
Leno, who’s leaving “The Tonight Show” on May 29 and moving in the fall to NBC’s prime-time schedule, said he’s done similar things in the past to help beleaguered communities.
He described how, when the Las Vegas economy was reeling after 9/11, he played the Mirage “a bunch of nights and we said, ‘That’s free, all we ask is you tip your waiters and waitresses.’ ”
The Palace show isn’t going to be sold or marketed in any way, according to Leno.
“It’s not going to be an HBO special,” he said. “Nobody’s making any money on it.”
According to Leno, it’s just a way for out-of-work people to have a night of comic relief.
“I like Detroit, and between the Lions and the mayor being in jail, it’s been a rough year, so people can use a few laughs,” Leno quipped.
Palace spokesman Jeff Corey said Leno’s people contacted the Palace with the idea within the last week. He said the Palace staff is still sorting out some of the specifics, like how many employees will be needed that night.
“Our plan was, let’s make it happen,” said Corey. “We can work out all the fine points.”
Palace Sports and Entertainment president Tom Wilson said Leno wanted to reveal the concert on his show. He says the idea for the event was “totally Jay.”
“He loves the business, he loves the industry,” he said of Leno’s reputation as a car guy. “Somewhere along the way, he’s kind of adopted Detroit.”
Wilson said the concert is aimed at “anybody who hasn’t been able to take their wife or their husband out for a long time, because every nickel is precious.”
And it could put a spotlight on the region’s struggles and let the rest of the country see the human faces involved.
“This gives you a chance to look at the people, the families that are hurt by this downturn,” said Wilson. “It’s not just saving an industry. It’s saving people. And that’s something that gets lost in the numbers.”
In some ways, the Leno event is a symbol of America’s long love affair with car culture.
“It’s a remarkable happening, and his affection for the auto industry mirrors the affection a lot of people have,” said Michael Bernacchi, a marketing professor at the University of Detroit Mercy.
The concept of a free concert to bring cheer and optimism to the unemployed lends a 2009 spin to the long tradition of performers giving back.
Over the past several months, a few entertainers have spoken out on behalf of Detroit and the domestic auto industry.
In January, country star John Rich used a catchy tune and lyrics in a protest song, “Shuttin’ Detroit Down,” to convey the frustrations of those caught in the economic crisis.
Rosie O’Donnell, who filmed the Lifetime cable movie “America” here, blogged last year about the need to save the city and recently described to the Free Press how moved she was by the plight of the jobless.
Leno, who’s optimistic that the domestic auto industry can bounce back, was happy to stick up for the Detroit 3 today.
“They pick on General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, but you know, Toyota is way off, Honda is way off,” he said. “You go out here to Long Beach and Toyota and Mercedes Benz had to rent 15 acres to put all the unsold cars on.”
He said he was inspired in part by Barack Obama to do something to help in difficult times.
And what he knows how to do is be funny.
“I can tell some jokes and cheer people up. It’s pretty simple. Like I say, if people don’t like it, I’ll give them their money back.” |
