‘Tonight Show’ Host Jimmy Fallon Goes Viral With Tearful, Powerful Tribute To His First And Biggest Fan
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon / YouTube
Fallon Returns To Late Night After Tragedy
Late night talk show sensation Jimmy Fallon is back at it after a week long hiatus following the sudden death of his mother, Gloria. While last night’s show 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.”
Among those rooting for Jimmy was former Saturday Night Live castmate Chris Kattan who took to Twitter to hail Fallon’s strength, telling him he had “the heart of a lion”:
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.
