Free BEHIND THE CURTAIN BEHIND THE CURTAIN BEHIND THE CURTAIN by Dave Berg Page B

all, it was a late-night show. Many wore sexy and provocative dresses, and slightly cheeky behavior was actually appropriate under the circumstances. They all knew Jay was happily married to Mavis.
    A few of our female guests had had relationships with Jay before he was married. He never discussed them, but we all knew who they were. Hollywood is a small town, and word gets around. The women continued to be friends with Jay, and nothing was ever amiss. For most of the show’s twenty-two years, none of them ever publicly discussed their personal history with Jay. However in September 2013, Sharon Osbourne decided to go public. Why would the long-time wife of rocker Ozzy Osbourne spill the beans about a romantic fling with Jay Leno thirty-five years earlier? Ratings, of course. She just happened to “dish” about Jay and herself on the season debut of The Talk, a daytime television show she co-hosts. The theme of the show’s premiere week was to have the hosts reveal secrets about themselves. Sharon said she had just moved from England to America when she met Jay at a comedy club. They were both single. Eventually he came to her house and they had a “flingy-wingy.” It was short lived because it “was more fling for me and not fling enough for him . . . a couple of months into it, he brought around the real love of his life [Mavis, his future wife] for me to meet, and she was lovely and they took me to Fatburger and they showed me around town. . . .”
    The Fatburger reference authenticated the story. Never a fan of fancy restaurants, Jay liked basic food. If he wanted to show Sharon and Mavis they could all get along, he definitely would have chosen the iconic hamburger restaurant over an elegant eatery in Beverly Hills. Sharon insisted the affair was not a “dirty little secret.” She said she couldn’t even remember if they had sex. (Wink! Wink!) But she was grateful it happened. She sent Jay a heart-shaped plant with a message: “Dear Jay, thanks for the memories and for driving me into the arms of the Prince of Darkness.”
    In earlier days she and Ozzy were regular guests on Tonight and were always entertaining, although it was often hard to understand Ozzy, as the drugs and alcohol had taken their toll. But in 2007, we had a falling out with the Osbournes and they never came back. It had to do with Ozzy’s music. Sharon, who was also Ozzy’s manager, demanded that he play two songs on the show, while our format limited guests to one.
    Most guests came to the studio in a limousine, which we paid for, but a few preferred to drive themselves, including golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson (who came up from his home in San Diego). Teri Hatcher always drove her Lexus onto the lot, but one time the guard at the gate wouldn’t let her in even though she identified herself as a guest on the show. The guard didn’t recognize her and assumed she just wanted to come to the show. She didn’t call me because she didn’t have my number and was detained for more than a half hour. Finally, the guard called our office just before show time. We were worried sick and had been trying to reach her. Teri took it all in stride and joked about it with Jay on the air. Fortunately, she was Teri One that day.
    Oscar winner Shirley MacLaine, who used to drive to the lot in her old, banged-up station wagon, wasn’t as understanding as Teri when she was denied admittance. She just turned her car around and started to leave. Luckily for us—and the guard, who could have easily lost his job—he relented and let her in. Shirley also discussed the incident with Jay on the air, but unlike Teri, she was not amused. She said she was only a few seconds away from going home and had no intention of returning.
    A man claiming to be Jack Nicholson once showed up backstage, as the show was being recorded, saying he wanted to make a surprise appearance. This guy was a dead ringer for Jack, and his impersonation was spot on. Still, how did he