Hey everyone, this is Kate Snow. I recently had a virtual chat and drink with Jay Leno.

We all know him for two decades hosting The Tonight Show, but in our conversation, he talked about how it was really the two decades before the Tonight Show that made him who he is.

And those two decades, including moments when he had to sleep in New York City alleys and squat

in Los Angeles homes for sale, this interview is part of my series, The Drink with Kate Snow.

You'll find other conversations with people at the top of their game at NBCNews.com slash

the drink.

If I don't leave right now, I'm going to get stuck here.

I left all my stuff in the apartment, and I just got on a plane and I flew to L.A.

Hi, Jay.

How are you?

Good.

We're doing this during coronavirus, so we're virtually having a drink.

What do you got there?

Oh, just some snapple.

Okay.

I've got some sparkling coconut water.

Oh, there you go.

That sounds trendy, yeah, sparkling coconut water.

It's pretty good.

This is the drink. So what we do is we talk about how you became who you are, how you got to the top.

So Jay Leno, how in earth did you get where you are now?

Well, you sound like my mother.

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