Thursday, May 4, 2000 Older Editions

Jay gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame Leno has fame cornered

By Neil Fater

Jay Leno got an early 50th birthday present last week -- his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The star's location clearly shows just how far Leno has come as a performer, and not just because it's near icon Marilyn Monroe's piece of sidewalk.

"I chose the star to be on the street corner where I got arrested when I first arrived in Hollywood from Andover," says Leno, during a recent break in rehearsals for The Tonight Show.

As an out-of-work comedian with nowhere else to go in a new city, Leno was detained for vagrancy at 6780 Hollywood Blvd.

"I didn't have a place to live or any money. A cop said keep moving," says Leno. "He came back and there I was."

Two days later the cop saw Leno hanging out on the same corner again, and called him into his cruiser.

"I told him some jokes and was polite, and he realized I wasn't some gang guy," says Leno. "We tried to find him (for the unveiling), but he wasn't around.

"It seems like just yesterday to me, but it's a great ride. Really, it's a lot of fun," says Leno.

But Leno doesn't seem to think talking about his accomplishments is a lot of fun. When Tonight Show guest Matthew McConaughey congratulated Leno last Thursday on getting his star that morning, Leno quickly changed the subject.

"I'm from New England. You know how that is," explains Leno.

"(People think,) 'You're blowing your own horn? Shut up!' I didn't ask for him to bring it up, but it would have seemed a little self-indulging."

The Walk of Fame star was the first part of a special triple-header of a weekend for the talk-show host. On Thursday, Leno received his star, on Friday he celebrated his 50th birthday, and on Saturday he and President Bill Clinton were the only two speakers at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.

As he often does, Leno found a way to share the weekend with an old Andover High School buddy.

Leno invited Lewis Trumbore and his daughter to the media dinner as his guests.

"She's 18, so she's old enough to meet the president," Leno joked before the dinner.