Comedian talks getting ‘face full of gas’ in ICU, reflects on wife’s challenging disease

Jay Leno opened up to Fox News about his recent facial surgery in which he had a “face full of gas,” and revealed the struggles with his wife’s advanced dementia.

In 2022, Leno, 74, found himself in the ICU with third-degree burns as a result of an accident while working on one of the cars in his garage.

“I got burned in a fire,” he said. “I got a face full of gas. A spark jumped. (It’s) not like, ‘How did this happen?’ I mean, people get burned every day.”

The result was multiple skin grafts for his facial injuries, then there was the broken leg in a motorcycle accident.

“I was on my motorcycle, and the guy had to wire across a driveway but with no flag on it,” Leno said. “And I turned, and the sun was in my eyes. And so it tore my face across.

“I had to call my face guy and go, ‘Listen, remember that new face you gave me? You got another face there? I need another one.’ (He said) ‘all right, come on,’ and he went and gave me another face.”

“I used to look like Abe Lincoln. No, I look exactly the same, just a better version. … I’m saving face, put it that way. Or I’m a two-faced guy, any way you want to take it.”

In addition, Leno and his wife Mavis have been dealing with her diagnosis of advanced dementia in April.

“It’s OK,” Leno said. “You know, it’s life. Everybody goes through it. I’ve been very lucky in my life. I don’t complain about everything. We have a lot of fun, and I cook dinner for her every night.

“She’s good. She’s good, you know? It’s changes you have to make, but that’s OK. That’s OK.”