Leno to pay salaries of laid-off staffers

By Paul Bond

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A day after they learned that they would be laid off, employees of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" have received news that might ease the blow.

Leno has decided to pay his non-writing staff out of his pocket through next week, sources said Saturday. That could be extended if the writers' strike is not resolved by then.

"Tonight Show" executive producer Debbie Vickers is said to have been involved in the decision and reportedly began calling laid-off employees Saturday.

A couple of days after the Writers Guild of America strike began November 5, the star of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" told about 80 of his staffers that they need not worry about their finances. Leno was so adamant about paychecks being safe, many didn't bother looking for new jobs even though NBC was forecasting layoffs.

So it came as quite a shock Friday when the entire staff was told that they were not only out of a job but also that they weren't guaranteed of being rehired once "The Tonight Show" returns.

"Some people were crying. Some people were screaming," said one employee speaking on the condition of anonymity.

NBC declined comment on the firings beyond a brief statement Friday saying that the network had "regretfully informed the people who work on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' and 'Late Night With Conan O'Brien' that their services are not needed at this time due to our inability to continue production of the shows."

TENSIONS HIGH, MORALE LOW

According to several staffers, tensions at "Tonight Show" have been mounting for weeks, and matters weren't helped by news that other late-night hosts have been preserving the jobs of their non-writing staffs or paying those who had been laid off. Conan O'Brien confirmed Thursday, for example, that he would pay the salaries of at least 50 non-writing "Late Night" staffers out of his own pocket on a week-to-week basis.

But "Tonight Show" insiders say Leno's actions have destroyed morale at the show and in the process dented the host's previously squeaky-clean reputation as one of television's A-list nice guys.

"A lot of people don't want to work for Jay anymore," another staffer said. "His true colors have shown. We were told he won't cross the picket line until David Letterman or Conan O'Brien do so that he can look like the good guy to the WGA."

All of the laid-off workers who spoke for this article asked that their names not be used.

Insiders said the source of the sudden hostility toward Leno is a conference call he held shortly after the WGA strike began.

"He was on speaker phone," a staffer said. "There were 80 of us. He told us not to panic. He said to trust him. He said: 'I can't get into details, but nobody will miss a car payment or lose their house. We're family. Trust me. I'm going to take care of this.' But that was the time we should have been looking for new jobs."

More recently, a letter NBC sent to now-laid-off staffers said, "If your services are needed, we will contact you."