By Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals
When one of us was a young boy, his mother often mentioned that actor and singer Pat Boone was the celebrity she most admired. The reason? "He's genuinely a nice guy," she said. More than thirty years later, one of our daughters, at age 14, became a great fan of actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon. The reason was a familiar one: "He's genuinely a nice guy," she said.
In an age when celebrities routinely make the news for their bad behavior, it is refreshing to find examples of decency and virtue. These rare shining lights in the entertainment industry are heroes to many young fans who are thirsty for good healthy role models. In an earlier blog, we described the uncommon integrity of actress and producer Tina Fey. Perhaps not coincidentally, we now turn our attention to one of Fey's former sidekicks on television, Jimmy Fallon.
Fallon began his career doing stand-up comedy, but he achieved his fame during a five-year stint as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. While on SNL, Fallon showcased great versatility: He could sing, play the guitar, do impersonations, and perform in skits. Well-liked by both his fans and fellow co-stars, Fallon began to cultivate a reputation for being a genuinely good guy, almost generous to a fault, a person who always made himself available to fans. Fallon eventually left SNL appeared in a few successful movies, and was then given his own show on NBC, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.
All along his professional climb upward, Fallon has remained a modest, likeable person. He recently appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine with the caption, "The eternal sunshine of Jimmy Fallon: Can anyone really be this nice?" When he hosted the Emmy Awards, headlines roared, "Jimmy Fallon brings nice guy image to the Emmys". 
One reviewer wrote, "Fallon was puppy-dog eager, a nice guy who wants to please his guests and his audience. He’s a TV star who never pulls rank, a celebrity who seems to see himself as an equal to his fans."
With celebrity narcissism running rampant these days, Fallon's humility is inspiring. “The fact that I get to work in TV is beyond belief,” he said. During NBC's snafu involving Jay Leno's and Conan O'Brien's talk-show time-slots last year, Fallon wisely steered clear of the clash of egos. "I'll do my show at 3 in the morning," he said. "I'm just happy to have a show." When Fallon was named one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People, he described the honor as quite "embarrassing."
On his Late Night show, Fallon always shows great respect for his guests and genuinely wants to have fun with them. “When I write jokes about people, I do it in the nicest way, because I don’t dislike anybody,” Fallon says. “I love everybody, and I love the whole business that we’re in.” He prefers the style of taking “a little playful jab here and there,” and he wants his guest stars to be in on the joke, rather than being the butt of the joke.
As befitting a hero, Jimmy Fallon has devoted his time and money to many worthwhile charitable causes, including the Food Bank for New York City, Stand Up To Cancer, AIDS research, Robin Hood's anti-poverty programs. To millions of people, Fallon sets a great example for how to treat people, conduct oneself, and handle success. Our daughter, who once adored him as a young teen, is very grateful to have had Jimmy Fallon as a role model during her impressionable years. She's still a big fan, and so are we.
Below is an amusing interview of Jimmy Fallon.
What’s your best advice? “I’m going to make us some tea.” That’s always my advice. 😀
Well, more power to Jimmy Fallon. The world needs more genuinely nice guys. That’s really all we need. Not superheroes or great leaders. Just genuinely nice guys. Unfortunately, our culture has become so cynical that nobody believes in niceness anymore. It’s cheesy. It’s weak. It’s a lie. I’ve actually had people be suspicious of me for being nice. It must be a trick, right? Nobody’s really that nice.
I hope Jimmy Fallon is really that nice.
He is a great guys I think..
It truly is inspiring these days to see celebrities who use their public image to make positive impressions on the young minds that are consistently being shaped by what they see in today’s media. Jimmy Fallon is certainly a hero because he is in a position as a late night talk show host where he could be making fun of other celebrities left and right, and could essentially use his show to do whatever he wants, positive or negative. His insistence on remaining an excellent role model for his viewers is quite admirable. It shows that one of the most important qualities a hero can have is to leave a lasting, positive impression on the people that they encounter. Fallon definitely does this, and thus rightly deserves the title of hero.
Jimmy Fallon is a great contemporary hero. Not only is he a comedic genius, but he also has a strong moral compass. I think his career will continue to grow in a positive direction.
I have always admired Jimmy Fallon for his ability to make anyone laugh. After reading this blog post, however, I researched him a lot more and have found nothing but positive things written about him. Comedians are usually said to be in their profession because they are hiding internal pain and are deeply cynical, sometimes nasty people. This is not the case at all with Jimmy Fallon, and I admire him greatly for his ability to not let his fame (and the fact that people find him to be hilarious) get to his head. He is a humble, caring person despite being a public figure.
I love Jimmy Fallon. He’s a great comedian and the best part about him is that you know that he means no harm through his jokes. WHen he picks on someone, or point out a funny occurrence, he does so simply for the light-hearted humor of it, not to put the person down. The fact that he is a “genuinely nice guy” is inspirational and comforting. In a society where celebrities often don’t know how to handle the power and influence that they acquire, it’s refreshing to know that there are still people like Jimmy Fallon out there who are grounded and sincere. We definitely need more Jimmy’s in the world!
Jimmy Fallon is one of my favorite comedians! Even with all the fame he is still so grounded. Its nice to find out that he gives back as well.