Ex-Knight headed for Late Night
Jimmy Fallon to take over for Conan O'Brien
Allison Maloney
Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: Entertainment
Comedian Jimmy Fallon, who will debut on late night March 2, is known for stints on NBC's Saturday Night Live. He's played Jerry Seinfeld, John Travolta, John Lennon, Adam Sandler, Justin Timberlake and Enrique Iglesias.
He didn't begin doing these impressions on the set of SNL. In the early 1990s, Fallon was well-known for his spot-on imitations on the Saint Rose campus. "He would be in disguise as all these different famous people like John Travlota, Tom Cruise, athletes, presidents, you name it. He could do anybody's voice," said Jim Eaton, a classmate and 1996 graduate of the College of Saint Rose, "It was absolutely hysterical and every time he did that it was standing room only."
Fallon garnered attention off-stage, too. One time, at The Playdium, the closest bowling alley to campus, where Saint Rose students had gathered for community midnight bowling, he did something a lot of people may have the impulse to do, but never act on.
"All of the sudden, you see this person sprinting down the bowling lane. [Fallon] dove like a Pete Rose slide, head first, and knocked all the bowling pins over. He got up and he did a big X like he got a strike and the whole place went nuts and starts clapping," said Eaton.
The owner kicked Fallon out, but an hour later he returned in disguise again. "He had the mustache, glasses, a wig, a hat. It was just hysterical because everybody in the place but the owner knew that it was Jimmy Fallon," Eaton said.
Fallon was just a semester short of graduating when he decided to leave Albany and try his hand at show business. "That sounded risky to me given that so many people are trying to make it big. But risky doesn't necessarily mean foolish. Thanks to Jimmy's talents, and his ability to seize opportunities, his career has indeed taken off, and I'm pleased about that," said Fred Antico, professor of communications, who taught Fallon in a television production course.
Fourteen years later, Fallon is readying himself to replace Conan O'Brien weeknights at 12:30 a.m. O'Brien is moving to Jay Leno's spot, which will now be the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. "I think Jimmy's an acquired taste. I know a lot of folks that like him and others who can't stand him, mostly because he had trouble holding in the laughter during SNL skits. Fortunately for him, the demographic that watches TV after midnight probably already likes him," said Gregory Matusic, writer of the Times Union's Television blog.
He didn't begin doing these impressions on the set of SNL. In the early 1990s, Fallon was well-known for his spot-on imitations on the Saint Rose campus. "He would be in disguise as all these different famous people like John Travlota, Tom Cruise, athletes, presidents, you name it. He could do anybody's voice," said Jim Eaton, a classmate and 1996 graduate of the College of Saint Rose, "It was absolutely hysterical and every time he did that it was standing room only."
Fallon garnered attention off-stage, too. One time, at The Playdium, the closest bowling alley to campus, where Saint Rose students had gathered for community midnight bowling, he did something a lot of people may have the impulse to do, but never act on.
"All of the sudden, you see this person sprinting down the bowling lane. [Fallon] dove like a Pete Rose slide, head first, and knocked all the bowling pins over. He got up and he did a big X like he got a strike and the whole place went nuts and starts clapping," said Eaton.
The owner kicked Fallon out, but an hour later he returned in disguise again. "He had the mustache, glasses, a wig, a hat. It was just hysterical because everybody in the place but the owner knew that it was Jimmy Fallon," Eaton said.
Fallon was just a semester short of graduating when he decided to leave Albany and try his hand at show business. "That sounded risky to me given that so many people are trying to make it big. But risky doesn't necessarily mean foolish. Thanks to Jimmy's talents, and his ability to seize opportunities, his career has indeed taken off, and I'm pleased about that," said Fred Antico, professor of communications, who taught Fallon in a television production course.
Fourteen years later, Fallon is readying himself to replace Conan O'Brien weeknights at 12:30 a.m. O'Brien is moving to Jay Leno's spot, which will now be the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. "I think Jimmy's an acquired taste. I know a lot of folks that like him and others who can't stand him, mostly because he had trouble holding in the laughter during SNL skits. Fortunately for him, the demographic that watches TV after midnight probably already likes him," said Gregory Matusic, writer of the Times Union's Television blog.
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