Tim Allen Reveals the 1 Thing That Jay Leno Refused After Suffering Serious Burns: 'He's an Amazing Human Being'
Comedian Tim Allen revealed something that surprised him when his friend Jay Leno was injured recently.
While talking with “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon on Monday, Allen described a phone call to Leno at the Los Angeles hospital where he was treated after his face and hands were severely burned in a fire that ignited while Leno was working on one of his cars last week.
“Remember the ‘Deadpool’ villain that couldn’t feel pain? He’s that guy,” Allen told Fallon.
“I called him the day of the accident — our shops are close to each other, we play around with hot rods and stuff — and one of his mechanics called and said, ‘Jay’s [been] in a bad accident,'” he said.
Allen said he called and left a voice message for the former “Tonight Show” host. “And he calls back, five minutes later. ‘Hey Tim, what’s going on?'”
Allen told Leno he’d heard his friend had been in a bad accident.
“Yeah, burned all over,” Leno acknowledged, according to Allen. “Third-degree burns on my hands, on my face, everything.”
Allen indicated he was rather taken aback that Leno sounded so matter-of-fact about it all.
“Well … what are you doing right now?” Allen asked his friend.
“I’m holding the phone. It’s really painful,” Leno replied. “And I’m not doing painkillers,” he added.
Allen sounded confused. “Why not?” he asked.
“Pain is there for a reason,” Leno told him.
“OK,” Allen told Leno, “I think pain is there to tell you to take a painkiller.”
Allen said he later went to visit Leno in the hospital. “He’s an amazing human being,” the comedian said. “He just wanted to get out of the hospital.”
Allen joked about asking Leno for any spare painkillers during the visit. “Could I use some? ’Cause I’m in pain watching you.”
When reporters interviewed him after his hospital visit, they asked Allen how Leno looked. “He generally didn’t look that good to begin with,” Allen quipped.
But seriously, “He looks really good, considering the grafts he’s got,” Allen told Fallon.
“The picture today — it is amazing what they can do. The hospital did a great job.”
Leno, 72, was discharged Monday from the Grossman Burn Center, CNN reported.
“Jay will receive follow-up care at the Grossman Outpatient Burn Clinic for burns to his face, chest and hands he received during a fire at his home garage,” the hospital announced in a news release.
Dr. Peter Grossman said he was “pleased” with Leno’s progress and “optimistic that he will make a full recovery,” according to the report.
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