You weren’t imagining it: that guy with the familiar mop of white hair, the pronounced jawline and the Canadian tuxedo hanging out downtown on Saturday was Andover native Jay Leno:
Leno performed at Lowell Memorial Auditorium on Friday, then spent some time on Saturday visiting stores and posing for photos downtown, including a stop at Royal Jewelers (above). Leno currently hosts “Jay Leno’s Garage” on CNBC but is best known as the host of The Tonight Show for 22 years.
In an interview previewing his standup show with the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune last week, Leno talked about a favorite teacher at Andover High School and was asked if there were any favorite local foods he missed.
“When I was a kid I used to go to Tripoli’s Bakery and the pizza was 25 cents,” Leno told the newspaper. “There’s something about their sauce, it tastes the same as it did 50 years ago.”
Main photo: bambineandme/Instagram