Jay LenoJay Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, on April 28, 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Her schooling was limited and as a result she prized her children's successes. Leno's father, Angelo, who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973. Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran and a lawyer. He was raised as a Catholic. As Leno was growing up, he used to say that he would take over Johnny Carson's job,[citation needed] which he eventually did. In the late 1970s, he was the warm-up act for Johnny Mathis, Tom Jones, and John Denver.
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