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There are two famous car collectors in the old car hobby; Jay Leno and all the rest. Jay�s collection includes everything from the rarest and most desirable true classic cars to ponderous behemoths from the 1950�s. I have been producing and hosting television�s �Vintage Vehicle Show� since 1993 and the question that I�m repeatedly asked is �When are you going to have Jay Leno on your show?�
I started courting Jay about four years ago when it became apparent that he was willing to appear on every TV car show in existence except mine. An inside source supplied me with his personal secretary�s phone number and the onslaught began. Helga, also known as the �Gatekeeper�, began receiving calls from my personal secretary, also known as me, requesting an interview with Mr. Leno. I was told that he was much too busy and to try again some other time. The other time arrived a few weeks later when I told Helga that I would be in California soon and would be able to schedule an interview with her boss. She asked me to email the request and so she could pass it on to Jay. I admired her creative way of saying �No, and please stop bugging me�. I sent the request into email outer darkness and, no surprise, received no response. Helga received phone calls from me every few months and, much to her credit, was always polite when she informed me that Mr. Leno was much too busy for the likes of me. Then a small miracle happened; I received an invitation from Helga to attend a broadcast of the �Tonight Show� and meet with Jay after the show. I was so excited that I required a diaper change right after the call. A few days later I was off to the NBC studio in Burbank to watch the show and throw down a few brewskys with my buddy Jay, however; it didn�t quite turn out that way. I was able to chat with him after the show and talk about favorite cars and mutual friends. When I asked him for an interview he said �We can do that. Just arrange it with Helga�. Pooh! My calls to her were received with the same lack of cooperation and I vowed to wait until the �Vintage Vehicle Show� was so successful that Jay would have to call my personal secretary and beg for me to appear on his show. That didn�t happen.
Fast forward to last Sunday when the �Vintage Vehicle Show� crew is in Pasadena filming the Art Center Classic Car Show. Every big name car guy is there and I�m able to tape interviews with Chip Foose, Barry MeGuiar, Bruce Meyer and a few other auto notables. Then it happened; Jay arrived. He drove up in a 1928 Bugatti and, believe me, he was noticed. People ran just to be closer to him. I was much more subtle; I ran over the top of women and children to ask Jay for an interview. He stated, or lied, that he enjoyed our last conversation and agreed to do the interview and I once again required a diaper change. The crew set up the equipment and I proceeded to successfully glean from Jay such pearls as �I like this show because you don�t have to worry about someone leaning against your car, smoking Marlboros and wondering why you think it�s wrong for them to be rubbing their butt on your $40,000 paint job.� We finished the interview, I thanked him, and we both went on with our day. Fortunately there were still a few Depends in the crew�s truck.
Program Note: The �Vintage Vehicle Show� airs on KWPX 3/33 every Friday at 5:30 PM and can also be seen anytime on Comcast�s On Demand.
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