Jay Leno reveals ‘brand new face’ after recovery from garage car fire burns | Ents & Arts News
US comedian Jay Leno has revealed his “brand new face” after one of his vintage cars burst into flames in November, leaving him with third-degree burns.
The former Tonight Show host, who was left with a scarred neck and jaw, showed off his healed face in a TV interview.
The 72-year-old suffered serious burns to his hands and chest when one of his cars erupted into flames while he was working on it in the garage of his Los Angeles home on 12 November.
He was hospitalised and doctors used temporary skin grafts as part of his treatment.
Speaking on the Kelly Clarkson Show, Leno said he had a “brand new face” and described what happened as “pretty bad”.
He said: “This is a brand new face, it’s unbelievable!
“What happened is, I was working on a car and got a face full of gasoline and it caught fire.”
Leno was even in good enough spirits to joke about his injuries, adding: “I had been eating a Flamin’ Hot Dorito and when I bit into it, it set my face on fire.”
But he continued: “It was interesting, all third-degree burns, it was pretty bad, it was pretty bad… This is like a brand new face.”
Leno previously told NBC’s Today show he was working on his 1907 White Motor Co steam-powered car with a friend when he noticed the vehicle’s fuel line was clogged.
He said when he tried to unclog it and blew some air through the line, he received a “face full of gas” and caught fire.
The comedian suffered third-degree burns to his face. Pic: Grossman Burn Center
The presenter was taken to hospital and then sent to the Grossman Burn Centre in Los Angeles, where he received hyperbaric treatment – an oxygen therapy that “can accelerate burn wound healing,” according to the centre’s website.
Previous pictures of his treatment showed him bandaged up and lying in a hyperbaric chamber.
Days after he was released from the burn centre, Leno returned to stand-up with a sold-out performance at the Comedy & Magic Club in California.
Read more:
Jay Leno describes the moment his face caught on fire
Police search for Travis Scott after alleged nightclub punch
The comedian is an avid car collector and has more than 200 vehicles housed at a garage in Burbank, north of Los Angeles.
He left the Tonight Show in 2014.
