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Jay Leno on Letterman's Retirement: 'He and I [will] Do Sunshine Boys on Broadway'

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In the wake of David Letterman's recent announcement that he will be retiring from his post as host of CBS's LATE SHOW, there has been much speculation as to who will take over the reins. One such name being bandied about former Tonight Show host Jay Leno.

Leno famously nosed out Letterman for the coveted post as successor to Johnny Carson when the legendary Tonight Show host retired in the 1990's. Since that time, the two comics have been considered long-time rivals.

However, in a recent interview with Extra TV last week, Leno had nothing but compliments for the CBS host, noting that as far as a replacement, "I don't know a lot of good people out there." Asked if he would consider filling the spot, he replied, "There's nothing to fill in."

Leno also joked that with the late-night feud now in the past, he and Letterman are headed for the Great White Way. "He and I [are going to] do 'The Sunshine Boys' on Broadway," he quipped. "So we're very excited about that."

The Sunshine Boys is a play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television. The play focuses on aging Al Lewis and Willie Clark, a one-time vaudevillian team known as "Lewis and Clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years, not only grew to hate each other but never spoke to each other off-stage throughout the final year of their act.

Photo credit: NBC

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