Burbank mayor on possible ‘Tonight Show’ move: “I am going on an hunger strike”
Burbank is not just sitting back and letting NBC move its signature tourist attraction back to New York City after 40 years. It’s fighting back.
“I am going on an hunger strike,” Burbank Mayor Dave Golonski said this afternoon. “I’m going to protest.”
A hunger strike? How dramatic! Just as I was getting excited, he burst my bubble: “No, actually, we are drafting a letter asking NBC to reconsider.”
“Will you at least beg, plead, offer huge tax breaks?” I asked.
“Yes, yes and no,” Golonski replied. “I also suspect they will hear from a lot of our residents. This is a blow to our community. ‘The Tonight Show’ and Burbank have been together for so long. It’s been an iconic part of Burbank, a storied part of our history.”
Like many Burbankers, Golonski has seen “The Tonight Show” many times in person, but as a town father, he has also been featured on the show. “I threw a silver dollar across the L.A. River in a reenactment of George Washington and the Delaware River,” he said. “It was a long time ago.”