Check out the feature I wrote on London late night talk show host Jeff Leeson. It was posted on his website:
http://www.londontonight.ca/mictomic.html
Mic to Mic with Jeff Leeson
By Eryl McCaffrey
I just started on my walk downtown to meet with Jeff Leeson, when all of a sudden I get a phone call from the late-night comedian. He’s feeling antsy and he’d rather take a drive around London, so he’s just going to pick me up. I accept the unusual request and hop into Leeson’s black SUV as we zoom away. From the second I stepped into that car, I knew it was going to be a fun ride, and Jeff did not disappoint. He’s truly larger than life. I mean literally, at well over six feet with quite the sturdy frame Jeff makes his four-wheel drive look like a Tonka truck. But, his build isn’t the only extraordinary thing about him. The 25-year-old Londoner portrays a stand-up comedian both on and off the stage. He’s only ever one line away from making you spew out your coffee everywhere during an unstoppable laughing attack.
The super young host of London’s one and only late night talk show, /London Tonight with Jeff Leeson/, is going places and he’s getting there fast, real fast. However, Jeff says he wasn’t always on the expressway to success: “When I was a little kid I was ridiculously shy, but then I went to school and teachers would tell my mom ‘he’s very funny,’ but I was so standoffish.” Though, the introverted boy inside Jeff could always be shoved aside when his school’s annual speech competition came around. For Jeff, the ability to speak publicly came naturally: “Especially when people laughed. There was something about laughter to me that was addictive. I heard it and I knew that I did it and it felt good.” The funnyman is so charismatic he actually managed to make me forget my first question: why are we on this drive around London in the first place?
When I finally ask what the purpose of our little adventure is, Jeff’s face lights up like a little boy on Christmas Eve. You can really see the nostalgia wash right over him. As a true home-grown Londoner, Jeff has always loved the city he calls home: “When I first got my license I would just go for random drives around London …and when I did standup I had to drive for hours on end around the city so it really became part of what I do.” But, with his hectic schedule Jeff is finding it a little harder to do
those things that make him feel relaxed.
The big guy with a big heart has no regrets about his career choice, though. His voice nearly drops a tone when he thinks back to his childhood and how this all got started. At a very young age, Jeff’s parents divorced. In an effort to cope with his feelings he put tongue in cheek and turned to comedy. To lighten up his parents during the difficult time Jeff says, “I would make my mom laugh and she would feel better. It seemed to help her, so I kept making jokes.” All of a sudden the jokester façade disappears, and I become privy to the serious side of Jeff Leeson. But, it’s not long before the cheeky eyes and smirk return to his youthful face.
“This is very nostalgic for me,” he says, “I’m driving around the city, and I’m talking about my feelings and bringing up childhood memories…this is delightful! This should end in a big cry session!” It seems as though he’s able to smile and laugh through anything, even some challenging adolescent years. Jeff’s grin widens even more when he begins to tell me about his first real stand-up gig: “One thing I was having trouble doing was booking myself. I needed an agent, but no agent worth a salt would take on an 18 year old kid who wanted to do stand-up comedy. So, I asked my girlfriend if she’d pretend to be my agent and book a summer tour for me.” The gimmick ending up paying off, and at age 14 Jeff took to the streets of Southwestern Ontario for a 30-show comedy tour during the summer. The television host says, “I learned that I wasn’t ready…I was such a bad comedian at that point. But you have to just take it on the chin every single night.” And thank heavens he did. His perseverance and natural charm has now landed him a comics dream job.
At 25, Jeff is hosting a truly successful local late night talk show. However, he says he’s not quite used to all the attention and celebration just yet: “It’s still bizarre to me that people watch me in their house doing what I would do for free without cameras, just because I love to do it. It’s amazing to me, always.” And as far as the future goes, Jeff wants to stay put right where he is. When asked if he’d do the hosting gig for the long run Jeff says, “I would do this forever. Until somebody said leave and get off the TV now.”
Margaret Atwood is currently campaigning with the Toronto Public Library, to keep city reading-realms open.
