Actor and comedian Tim Allen gave an update this week after visiting fellow comedian Jay Leno in the hospital following Leno’s tragic burn accident.
TMZ reported Monday that Leno, 72, was in his garage in Los Angeles when “one of the cars erupted into flames without warning.”
“Jay is good. He’s wonderful because he’s feeling better,” Allen said. “He’s feeling better. I took him some car magazines. We did some jokes, which is what we do. We commiserated. We just connected with his friends and it’s the only thing you can do.”
“His face looks great. It didn’t look all that good to begin with,” he joked. “He’s going with the George Clooney look. You’re gonna be surprised. He’s handsome and he’s happy and the hospital is doing a great job taking care of him.”
Dr. Peter Grossman, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Los Angeles, told reporters that Leno suffered “significant burns to his face and hands” and required a “surgical excision and grafting procedure.”
“He seems to be a gentleman who really doesn’t want to make a big deal of this,” Grossman said. “He wants to get back to work, that’s what he does. I had to tell him that he needs to step back a bit and that these things take time.”
Grossman said Leno had already undergone one surgery and would need another later this week. He said Leno may have suffered second or third-degree burns and described the situation as fluid.
“Burn injuries are progressive and dynamic,” said Grossman. “It’s hard to predict what the final outcome will be at this stage.”
Leno said in a statement earlier this week that he got “some serious burns from a gasoline fire” and that he needed a few weeks to “get back on my feet.”
Leno is widely known to be a serious car enthusiast as he owns more than 180 mostly high-end cars and 160 motorcycles. He also boasts nearly 3.5 million followers on his YouTube channel, Jay Leno’s Garage, where he reviews the hottest cars on the market and sells car care products.
According to duPont Registry, just a few of the more impressive vehicles that Leno owns include a 427 Shelby Cobra, 2017 Acura NSX (VIN 003), 2011 Audi R8 V10 Spyder, 2009 Aston Martin DBS, 1931 Bentley 8-Litre, 1989 Bentley Turbo R, 1924 Bentley Twin Turbo, 1929 Bentley Speed 6, 1930 Bentley 27-Litre, 1928 Bugatti Type 37A, 1937 Bugatti Alantique, Bugatti Type 51, 2008 Corvette C6RS by Pratt & Miller, 2009 Corvette ZR1 (VIN 001), 1993 Dodge Viper RT/10 (First Black Viper), 2017 Ford GT, 2015 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350-R, 1986 Lamborghini Countach, 2004 Maybach 57, 1994 McLaren F1, 2012 McLaren MP4-12C, 2015 McLaren P1, 2010 Mercedes SLR McLaren, 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost, and 2012 Tesla Model S.
Virginia Kruta contributed to this report.
