Jay Leno was seriously burned in a garage fire in Los Angeles on Saturday after one of his cars was set on fire, the comedian announced.
“I suffered severe burns from a petrol fire. I am OK. I just need a week or two to get back on my feet,” Leno said in a statement to NBC News Monday.
Leno was working in his garage when a blowtorch erupted in a car, a Leno representative said. According to the comedian, there are an estimated 180 cars and 160 motorcycles in his garage at Hollywood Burbank Airport. duPont registrya marketplace and publication for collectors of rare and classic cars.
In a statement, the Burbank Fire Department said it responded to a medical emergency near Leno’s garage at 12:28 a.m. Saturday. The patient, who did not identify the ward, was taken to a hospital.
The garage, which employs mechanics and support staff to maintain and restore vehicles in Leno’s collection, is also the location of his company Big Dog Productions.
In July, duPont Registry estimated that Leno’s car collection was worth just over $50 million, and that his total net worth was about half a billion dollars.
Known among car enthusiasts for its ability to restore vehicles in-house, the garage is the site of two shows under the moniker “Jay Leno’s Garage” — one featuring weekly episodes on his 3.4 million subscriber YouTube channel, and his CNBC program featuring stars and their cars.
It is not clear what vehicle it was. Many of Leno’s vehicles, including steam-powered models and a jet-powered car, predate current safety and efficiency standards.
The 72-year-old comedian and former host of “Tonight Show”. canceled a Las Vegas performance scheduled for Sunday night after “a very serious medical emergency”, People signed up.
He was initially rushed to a hospital in Burbank on Saturday before being taken to a burn center in Los Angeles, a person familiar with the incident told NBC News.
The veteran entertainer suffered burns to the left side of his face and was eventually taken to the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills, where he remains, TMZ originally reported and Leno’s rep confirmed. The flames did not reach Leno’s eyes or ears, the rep said.
A luminary in the automotive world, Leno gets the kind of celebrity treatment his late night show is reserved for top guys.
His performances at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California and at the Audrain Concours + Motor Week in Newport, Rhode Island made local headlines.
In 2017, Big Dog registered Jay Leno’s name, sketch, and signature for a potential line of car care products.
The comedian has famously said that he is not spending any of the millions of dollars he made hosting the “Tonight Show”. on cars or anything else – he has it on savings.
Leno has kept a relatively low profile at home, performing for years on off-nights at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, where he was scheduled to perform on Nov. 20.
It was not clear whether the incident would affect the schedule of his CNBC show. A representative for that show did not immediately respond to a request for information. It is recorded every season well before it airs.
All his appointments for this week have been cancelled.
Dennis Romero and Gemma DiCasimirro contributed.