Jay Leno ended his long stint as Tonight Show host on Thursday the same way he began it in May 1992: with Billy Crystal as a guest. But what stood out the most during the celebrity-studded finale episode was Leno's heartfelt goodbye speech.
"Boy, this is the hard part," said Leno, fighting back tears. "I want to thank you the audience. You folks have just been incredibly loyal. This is tricky. We wouldn't be on the air. Secondly, this has been the greatest 22 years of my life."
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Leno went on to remind viewers that his mother and father both passed away during his first two seasons in the hosting chair, followed by the death of his brother.
"After that I was pretty much out of family; the folks here became my family," he said.
The finale episode on Thursday featured Crystal, Sheryl Crow, Carol Burnett, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Chris Paul, Jim Parsons, Jack Black and a performance by country behemoth Garth Brooks.
One of the highlights of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno took place in March 2009, when Barack Obama appeared, becoming the only sitting president to appear on late night TV.
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Jimmy Fallon will take over the hosting gig on Feb. 17. Watch Fallon's trailer below: