Late-Night Face-Off

Thank you for Brian Lowry’s excellent column on Jay Leno and David Letterman (“Leno Can’t Win for Winning,” May 22). He articulated many of the same things that I feel about these two talented and yet totally different entertainers.

Each man has an entirely different style. Leno’s celebrity interviews are very soft, and he handles his guests with kid gloves. Letterman is the total opposite: He is mean and petty and capable of serving his guest’s heart to the audience for dinner if he thought he could get a laugh. Yet I have to admit that Letterman is very funny and very clever.

I understand why many people don’t like Letterman. What I don’t understand is why people don’t like Leno. His public persona is that of a totally pleasant, positive man.

CURTIS MILLNER

Sherman Oaks

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What’s not to understand why critics and viewers alike find Jay Leno a turnoff and still pine for the good ol’ days of Johnny Carson?

Let’s face it, Leno is a one-joke act--whoever he can beat to death as a punch line for a year or two! First there was Sen. Ted Kennedy, then O.J. Simpson. Then there were endless President Clinton jokes, then Gary Condit bought him some more ratings, and now Robert Blake.

Are we only looking through rose-colored jokes at what Carson did for decades? No. What we viewers want is humor without jealousy, political motivation or monotony. Unfortunately, with Leno, we are stuck with all three.

JULIE T. BYERS

Temple City