Last week Jimmy Fallon, host of The Tonight Show, took time away from the cameras to visit his mother, who was in the hospital until she passed away. At the age of 68, Jimmy’s mom, Gloria, left this world with her family and friends by her side.
Jimmy returned and was determined to share memories of his mom with all of us. This is what Jimmy said:
“As some of you know, my mother Gloria passed away recently and I canceled our shows last week to be with my family and make arrangements. She was the best audience. She was the one I was always trying to make laugh and she was such a fan of the show, and everything I did. When we were little, my mom would walk us to the store, me and my sister, and we would hold hands and she would squeeze my hand three times to say I love you and I would squeeze I love you too.”
“Last week, I was in the hospital and I grabbed her hand and I squeezed I love you and I just knew we were in trouble, you know?”
“I feel so grateful to be able to do this every single night and I’m very appreciative of all the support from all of you that my family received over the past week and we’re going to continue to work really hard to bring some light and laughter into the world,” Jimmy shared. “Thank you for watching. Thank you for helping me and my family recover from this loss.”
Jimmy has always said that his mom was his best audience.
He ended his tribute, saying,”Mom, I’ll never stop trying to make you laugh. I love you.”
Later in the show, surprise musical guest Taylor Swift sang a song of love and loss, entitled New Year’s Day, bringing everyone in the audience to tears. “Hold onto the memories, they will hold onto you,” she sang.
