Jimmy Fallon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jimmy Fallon
Fallon in 2013
Birth name	James Thomas Fallon
Born	(1974-09-19) September 19, 1974 (age 50) New York City, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up television film music books
Alma mater	College of Saint Rose (BA)
Genres	Observational comedy musical comedy sketch comedy clean comedy impressions satire
Subject(s)	American culture American politics everyday life pop culture current events
Spouse	Nancy Juvonen ​ (m. 2007)​
Children	2

James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is a famous American comedian, TV host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. He is best known for his exciting work on television. Jimmy became very popular as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2004.

Later, he hosted the late-night talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014. After that, he became the main host of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy grew up loving comedy and music. He moved to Los Angeles at age 21 to start his stand-up comedy career. Besides his TV shows, he has also released two comedy albums and seven books, many of them for children.

Early Life and Childhood

James Thomas Fallon was born in the Bay Ridge area of New York City on September 19, 1974. His parents are Gloria and James Fallon. His family has roots from Germany, Norway, and Ireland.

Jimmy's father sang in street groups when he was younger. He later worked as a machine repairman for IBM. The family moved to Saugerties, New York, when Jimmy was young. Jimmy has said his childhood was very happy. He and his sister, Gloria, often played together at home.

Jimmy went to a Catholic school called St. Mary of the Snow. He thought about becoming a priest when he was an altar boy. But he soon became more interested in comedy. He loved listening to The Dr. Demento Show on the radio. This show introduced him to lots of comedy and music.

Teenage Years and Comedy Dreams

As a teenager, Jimmy became obsessed with Saturday Night Live (SNL). He watched it all the time. He and his sister would even act out sketches with their friends. In his teens, he was good at doing impressions of people like actor James Cagney.

Jimmy also loved music. He started playing guitar at age 13. He performed comedy and music in contests and shows. In junior high, he was known as a class clown. But people also described him as "nice and well-mannered."

At Saugerties High School, Jimmy performed in many school plays. He won a young comedian's contest by doing an impression of Pee-wee Herman. He finished high school in 1992. Then, he went to The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. He studied computer science before changing to communications. He performed stand-up comedy on weekends. He often traveled to Caroline's Comedy Club in Times Square to perform. He left college early to follow his dream of becoming a comedian.

Many years later, in May 2009, Jimmy went back to his college. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications. The college gave him credit for his TV work.

Starting His Comedy Career

In 1995, Jimmy Fallon left college. He moved to Los Angeles to focus on comedy full-time. By age 21, he had a manager and was getting comedy shows. He often performed stand-up at the Improv club. He also took classes with Groundlings, an improv comedy group.

He appeared in a film called The Scheme (1998). A small part he had in the 1997 film Father's Day was cut. In 1998, he had a brief role on the TV show Spin City.

Auditioning for Saturday Night Live

Jimmy really wanted to join Saturday Night Live. After two years with the Groundlings, he auditioned for SNL in 1997. But he didn't get in that time. When he was cast in a TV show for The WB, Jimmy made sure his contract said he could leave if SNL wanted him. His manager sent videos of him to the SNL producers.

Jimmy got a second audition for SNL when he was 23. He was told that the show's creator, Lorne Michaels, almost never laughed during auditions. Jimmy worried about the comedian before him, who had many props. But Jimmy went on stage and did great. He performed a "celebrity walk-a-thon" with impressions of famous comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler. Lorne Michaels and others laughed.

Tina Fey, a head writer for SNL at the time, said Jimmy was completely ready for the show. Jimmy felt his musical impressions were his strongest. Three weeks later, he was asked to meet with Lorne Michaels. Michaels told him they wanted him for the show. Jimmy felt like it was a dream come true. He told Michaels, "I'm going to make you proud."

His Time on Saturday Night Live (1998–2004)

Jimmy Fallon joined Saturday Night Live as a new cast member in September 1998. He quickly became a star. By his fourth episode, he was performing Halloween-themed songs and his popular Adam Sandler impression. Jimmy became very famous and had many fans. He was known for his impressions of people like Robert De Niro and Jerry Seinfeld. He was promoted to a main cast member in his second season.

In his free time, Jimmy released a book of emails with his sister, Gloria. It was called I Hate This Place: A Pessimist's Guide to Life (1999). He also had a small part in the film Almost Famous (2000).

Later Years and Weekend Update

Jimmy first thought he would only stay at SNL for three years. But he was asked to stay for three more years. He was given a big role: co-hosting Weekend Update with writer Tina Fey. This made him even more famous. During this time, he became very close with Lorne Michaels, who gave him advice on many things. Jimmy said his favorite moment was a sketch in December 2001. He imitated Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger while Jagger watched him in a mirror.

In his later years on SNL, Jimmy also starred in a sketch called The Barry Gibb Talk Show. He played Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb alongside musician Justin Timberlake. This sketch started a long friendship and many collaborations with Timberlake.

Jimmy became known for sometimes laughing during sketches, which is called "breaking character." This started in the famous "More Cowbell" sketch. Will Ferrell wore a very tight shirt, which made Jimmy laugh. After that, other cast members would try to make him laugh on purpose.

During his last year on SNL, Jimmy also co-hosted the 2001 MTV Movie Awards and 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. He released his first comedy album, The Bathroom Wall (2002). It was nominated for a Grammy Award. He also modeled for Calvin Klein. In 2002, People magazine named him one of the "50 Most Beautiful People," which Jimmy found a bit embarrassing.

Film Career (2004–2008)

Jimmy Fallon decided to try acting in movies in 2004. He had turned down many roles before because he didn't have time or wasn't interested. He took his first main role in Taxi, a remake of a French film. He was excited to work with co-star Queen Latifah. He also liked that it was an action comedy, like early films by SNL star Eddie Murphy.

In late 2003, he worked on the film in Los Angeles. He also flew back to New York City for SNL. His contract was ending, and his sixth season was his last. Jimmy left Saturday Night Live in May 2004.

Fallon in 2007

Taxi came out in the fall of 2004. It was not popular with critics or audiences. This was Jimmy's first big movie that didn't do well. But 20th Century Fox had already signed him for another movie. He starred with Drew Barrymore in the 2005 romantic comedy Fever Pitch. Fever Pitch also received mixed reviews and didn't make much money. Jimmy met his wife, producer Nancy Juvonen, while making this film. They got married in December 2007.

After these movies, Jimmy started getting fewer film offers. He moved back to New York and spent a few years figuring out what to do next.

Before Jimmy left SNL, Lorne Michaels told him he would be a good host for NBC's Late Night show. This was when Conan O'Brien was leaving Late Night to host Tonight Show. Michaels encouraged NBC to sign Jimmy in February 2007. This way, other networks couldn't hire him.

To get ready to be a late-night host, Jimmy performed comedy at colleges and clubs for eight months. He tried out a new 50-minute routine. He also studied the comedy of famous hosts like Johnny Carson. In May 2008, it was announced that Jimmy would take over Late Night from Conan O'Brien.

Some people thought Jimmy was an unusual choice for the job. Even some people at NBC thought it might not work. An early ad for the show joked, "You loved him on SNL! You hated him in the movies! Now you're ambivalent."

Back to Television: Late Night (2009–2013)

Fallon interviewing President Barack Obama on the campus of UNC at Chapel Hill in April 2012, during his time on Late Night

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon started in March 2009. At first, reviews were mixed. The show became known for its positive and fun style of humor. Jimmy's show was different from other late-night shows. It focused more on music, dancing, impressions, and games.

Jimmy's love for music and his amazing house band, The Roots, made his Late Night show very musical. He had popular sketches where he imitated singers like Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. These videos became very popular online.

The show also used social media and the Internet a lot. One of the first big online hits was Jimmy and Justin Timberlake performing a "History of Rap." Online fun and social media became very important to the show's success. By August 2013, Jimmy was earning $11 million a year for his work on Late Night.

Jimmy also hosted the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2010. In 2012, he released his second comedy album, Blow Your Pants Off. This album included many of his musical performances from Late Night. It won a Grammy Award in 2013 for Best Comedy Album. In early 2013, people started talking about Jimmy taking over The Tonight Show.

Hosting The Tonight Show (2014–Present)

On April 3, 2013, NBC announced that Jimmy Fallon would take over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno. This happened after the 2014 Winter Olympics. Jimmy and Jay Leno even sang a funny song together about The Tonight Show. Jimmy's first Tonight Show episode on February 17, 2014, was watched by 11.3 million people.

Jimmy's third book, a children's book called Your Baby's First Word Will Be Dada, came out in June 2015.

Fallon on the set of The Tonight Show in 2019

In 2020, Jimmy Fallon worked with a company called WubbaNub. They made special pacifiers based on the penguin and cow characters from his children's books.

On November 16, 2022, a fake rumor spread on Twitter that Jimmy Fallon had died. The hashtag #RIPJimmyFallon started trending. Jimmy asked Twitter owner Elon Musk for help. The next day, Jimmy made fun of the rumors in a skit on his show.

On August 30, 2023, Jimmy started a comedy podcast called Strike Force Five. He hosted it with other famous hosts like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. They created the podcast to help their staff members who were out of work because of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.

Influences and Personal Life

Jimmy Fallon has said that when he was a child, he and his sister would copy comedy routines from Saturday Night Live. He also listened to comedy records and learned to imitate comedians like Rodney Dangerfield. In 2009, he talked about how much Monty Python influenced him in a TV show.

Jimmy Fallon married film producer Nancy Juvonen on December 22, 2007. They first met on the set of Saturday Night Live. But they became good friends later while working on the movie Fever Pitch. Jimmy asked Nancy to marry him in August 2007. They got married four months later. Their two daughters were born in 2013 and 2014 through a surrogate. They have a house in Sagaponack, New York. They also have a female English cream Golden Retriever dog named Gary Frick, who has appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

On November 4, 2017, Jimmy's mother, Gloria, passed away at age 68. The Tonight Show tapings for the next week were canceled. A week later, Jimmy honored his mother on his show. He became emotional and called her "the best audience."

Jimmy was raised Roman Catholic. In a 2011 interview, he said he liked the Latin Mass.

Health Update

On June 26, 2015, Jimmy Fallon had a serious finger injury. He tripped over a rug at home and tried to catch himself. His wedding ring caught on a countertop, almost tearing off his finger. He had to have special surgery on his finger. He spent 10 days in the hospital. He talked about the accident on his show and thanked the doctors and nurses. A month later, he still had limited feeling in his finger. He later said he would need another surgery.

On January 4, 2022, Jimmy announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 during the holidays. He thanked medical workers and said that the COVID-19 vaccine helped him have only mild symptoms.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Appearances

Video Games

Theatre Performances

Music Albums

Studio Albums

Singles

As the Main Artist

As a Featured Artist

Other Charted Songs

Guest Music Appearances

Notes

See also

In Spanish: Jimmy Fallon para niños

• New Yorkers in journalism
• Political satire