Fallon Returns To Late Night After Tragedy
Late night talk show sensation Jimmy Fallon went on a week long hiatus following the sudden death of his mother, Gloria. While his first show back had no shortage of laughs and a great set of guests to welcome Jimmy back, it was the tender moments that grabbed viewers and refused to let go as Fallon started the show by thanking everyone for their prayers and kind words and publicly acknowledging his loss for the first time.
Moments later, this celebration of Gloria Fallon’s life turned to tears as Jimmy recalled a story from his youth – one that Tonight Show guest Taylor Swift unknowingly referred back to during her performance of “New Year’s Day” from her latest album Reputation:
“When we were little, my mom would walk us to the store – me and my sister – and we would hold hands. She would squeeze my hands three times and say, ‘I love you’ and I would squeeze back, ‘I love you too.’ Last week I was in the hospital at her side and I grabbed her hand and squeezed ‘I love you’…I just knew we were in trouble.”
Swift, who wasn’t even scheduled to appear on the Tonight Show, did so as a personal favor to the show in honor of the first episode after Mrs. Fallon’s death. She’d never heard Jimmy tell the story about his mother squeezing his hand as a child, so when she sang “New Year’s Day” and got to the line “Squeeze my hand 3 times in the back of the taxi,” everyone in the room burst into tears – a beautiful coincidence when Jimmy Fallon really, really needed it.
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Through his tears and grief, Jimmy Fallon made it through this powerful tribute to his mother’s legacy with the promise that not only would he do his best to continue to bring light and laughter into the world, but that he’d keep striving to make his mom – his first and biggest fan – laugh before signing off with three hand squeezes and an “I love you” for good measure.
After watching this, one thing is clear: there’s nothing cooler as a parent than watching your kids work hard and get to live out their dreams and in that regard, Jimmy Fallon did more than make his mother laugh – he made her proud. Check it out in the video below and while you’re at it, make sure you send a little love Jimmy’s way.