Thursday, February 1, 2001 Older Editions

Remembering Mr. Robichaud

By Jay Leno

In 1998 Tonight Show host and Andover High School graduate Jay Leno gave $250,000 to the school system's technology program, in exchange for a principal's pardon. As a high school student in 1967, Leno had been caught squealing his car's tires in the parking lot after staying home from school "sick." The incident always bothered his mom. The pardon was delivered during a Tonight Show episode by one of Leno's favorite teachers, David Robichaud, who occasionally traveled to California to visit.

Robichaud died last week. When Leno heard about his death, he asked to say something about his teacher.

Tonight Show host Jay Leno welcomes David A. Robichaud, his former teacher from Andover High, to the show on Thursday, Oct. 15, 1998. Photo by Rosemary Ford / Courtesy of The Eagle-Tribune

Here are his comments:

On The Tonight Show on Monday, while introducing former president Jimmy Carter, I said there are some people so moral and so decent that just by meeting them you feel like a better person. They restore your faith in humanity and in the basic goodness of man. I felt that way about Sen. John Glenn, a hero about whom I had to write a paper in the sixth grade - at South School, by the way. I was also thrilled to have him as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show.

Another man I would put in that category was my Andover High School history teacher, Mr. Robichaud, who died last week at the age of 71. He was the type of teacher who is all too rare these days.

He lived in Andover, and walked to school in what seemed to be the same black suit, white shirt and red tie every day. And his teaching style was as exciting as his wardrobe was dull. He talked in a quick, staccato voice, punctuating the air with his finger to make his point. By enjoying his work he made us enjoy it too.

When I heard that he was only 71 when he died, I was somewhat shocked because in my teenaged mind I thought he was 71 when I had him. When he would come to visit me in California he would always say, "Call me Dave," and I would always say, "I can't call you Dave, you're Mr. Robichaud." Some people command respect. Mr. Robichaud always earned it.

One time he was at my house for a party. I said, "What can I get you, Mr. Robichaud?" He said "How about a scotch and soda?" I said, "I can't get you a scotch and soda, you're Mr. Robichaud. You can have either apple juice or milk."

Often times on the show, when I would go out on the street and ask people simple questions about history, or who the president was, every time they got one wrong I would wonder if Mr. Robichaud was watching. I guess that's the sign of a good teacher, that 35 years later you're still afraid he'll pop out of the woodwork to find out what you're doing.

It was always a sense of pride for me that people would stop me on the street and tell me how proud Mr. Robichaud was of me. He never became president, he never circled the earth, but he affected my life in a way that those men never could have. He was my teacher.

Former pupil,

Jay Leno