BEHIND THE CURTAIN BEHIND THE CURTAIN BEHIND THE CURTAIN (30 page)

Acknowledgments

This book has my name on the cover, but it was a team effort. I am grateful to the other name on the cover, Jay Leno. Without him, there would be no book. I only hope
Behind the Curtain
does justice to the great legacy he leaves to
The Tonight Show.

I am truly thankful to all my former colleagues at
The Tonight Show.
I think of them as family, especially executive producer Debbie Vickers, whose support was unwavering. Thanks also to my fellow co-producers Stephanie Ross, Bob Read, Ross Mark, Tracie Fiss, Mike Alexander, and Barbera Libis. Others at the show provided helpful ideas, including John Melendez, Michael Jann, Greg Elliot, Joe Drago, Rene Mooshy, Denise Walker, Denise Soulam-Banks, and Mark Zawacki.

I have to credit Bill O’Reilly for planting the seed to do this book. I politely rejected his advice at first, insisting no one would be interested in what I had to say about Jay or
The Tonight Show.
Bill persisted for three years, offering specific suggestions and help, and I thank him for doing it.

I am deeply indebted to Gene Del Vecchio for his tireless help and encouragement in pitching the manuscript. I also want to thank Kathy Cannon and John Tenorio for enlightening me with their marketing savvy. A heartfelt thank you to Jessica Quinn for selflessly sharing her media-relations knowledge, and to Kristin Maynard for her insights about social media.

I truly appreciate Geoff Verhoff for always being there to answer endless questions about every subject under the sun and for pushing me to make difficult choices I didn’t want to
make. Thanks also for helping me land some of Jay’s biggest political gets. I also want to reach out to Joe Allbaugh, Matt Romney, and other politicos who provided me with essential
details for many of the stories.

A special thank you to Diane Prettyman, Robin de la Llata
Aime, and Linda Vanek for their editing expertise. It’s a
thankless but essential task. I am thankful to my sister Mi
chelle Berg, Amanda Gibbon, and Dana Gibbon for their enthusiastic efforts in setting up the website. And a shout-out to Cory Gilbride for sharing his photographic and technical knowledge, and to Nancy Baughman for her invaluable practical suggestions.

I wish to thank D.J. Snell and Crosland Stuart at Legacy Management for believing in this book and tirelessly working on my behalf, and I greatly appreciate Pelican Publishing for its support, especially my editor, Erin Classen.

I am most grateful to my family for providing me stability during the many highs and lows we experienced during my tenure at
Tonight.
My daughter, Melissa, and son, David, grew up hanging around the studio and covering the walls of my office with their artwork from school. David’s wife, Anne, joined our family at the studio for my last day on the job. My wife, Mary, is the reason I got the job, encouraging me to apply for it despite my objections. She is also the uncredited co-writer and co-editor of this book.

Finally, I have to say Amen to God for showering me with blessings beyond belief. May any good that comes from this book be to His glory.