Can you believe that there were some people who never thought Jimmy Fallon would be the host of The Tonight Show? This is the angle Fallon used during last night's series premiere to parade a line of celebrities out onto the stage. Among those who showed up to hand Fallon the hundred dollars they "owed" him for losing that bet were Robert De Niro, Tina Fey, Joe Namath, Rudy Giuliani, Tracy Morgan, Joan Rivers, Kim Kardashian, Seth Rogen, Lindsay Lohan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mike Tyson, Lady Gaga and Stephen Colbert.
Giuliani thanked Fallon for bringing the show back to New York, while Mariah Carey produced her hundred-dollar-bill from her bosom and Sarah Jessica Parker removed hers from her designer shoe. Mike Tyson handed him something else along with the money, but did anyone catch what he said? Lady Gaga whispered something then carefully walked off her in her barely-there outfit and super-long platinum hair. Stephen Colbert paid Fallon back in pennies, took a selfie with him and then said "Welcome to 11:30 bitch!."
And Joan Rivers was also among the bet-losers. As Variety notes, Rivers hasn't been seen on The Tonight Show in about three decades, since Johnny Carson banned her for leaving his show to work on another one. It seems the ban has been lifted!
The bit worked well to usher out the many surprise celebrity cameos for Fallon's first episode. He also addressed the Olympics in another segment, called "Tonight Show Superlatives: Sochi Winter Olympics"...
But we've jumped ahead of ourselves. Fallon opened the show with a traditional monologue, which included a funny but mild nod at the last time someone took over The Tonight Show, saying, "I'm Jimmy Fallon, and I'll be your host... for now." He went on to graciously and humorously thank the previous Tonight Show hosts, including Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien... and Jay Leno...
And as his celebrity guest, Fallon had Will Smith take a seat on the couch for an interview...
Smith was also on hand to help Jimmy Fallon out with his latest "Evolution of Dance" segment. You can watch that video by clicking the image below...
U2 was also there to perform on a rooftop and jam in the studio...
You can read more about the Tonight Show premiere in our more thorough review of last night's episode. And see who's set to appear as a guest on the show in the coming weeks here.
