Tim Allen gave the public an update on Jay Leno’s condition on Thursday, November 17, after visiting the hospital where the former Tonight Show host was recovering from burns sustained in a gasoline fire four days prior.
“Jay is good,” Allen told TMZ on his way out of the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills, CA. “It’s wonderful because he’s feeling better. … I took him some car magazines. We did some jokes, which is what we do. We commiserated. We just connected as friends.”
Allen, the star of The Santa Clauses on Disney+, also said that Leno’s face “looked great” and joked that the comedian’s face “didn’t look all that good to begin with.”
“He’s going for the George Clooney look. You’re gonna be surprised,” Allen added. “He’s handsome, and he’s happy, and the hospital is doing a great job taking care of him.”
Leno and Allen appeared together in multiple episodes of Allen’s sitcoms Home Improvement and Last Man Standing, and Allen has twice been a guest on Jay Leno’s Garage.
According to TMZ, Leno suffered severe burns to his face, hands, and chest in a car fire while working on his 1907 White Steam Car in his garage in Burbank, CA, on Sunday, November 13. In a statement after the incident, Leno said, “I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire. I am OK. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet.”
Dr. Peter Grossman, the plastic surgeon who’s the medical director at the center, also gave an update on Leno on Thursday. “All things considered, he’s doing pretty well,” the doctor said on CNN This Morning. “He’s got some serious injuries, but he’s got a very positive attitude, and hopefully, with a little bit of time, he’ll be home and back to work at some point soon.”
Grossman also addressed the video he released Leno inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a video that the doctor himself allowed to be released. The video doesn’t show Leno’s face, but it does show his bandaged arms and hands gesticulating animatedly as he chats with a woman operating the chamber.
“He goes in there a couple times a day,” Grossman said. “The purpose of the oxygen chamber is to decrease some of the swelling that occurs with injury. It also increases the oxygenation to the tissue, which is helpful in the healing process, and decreases bacteria that can occur in all types of different wounds and particularly in burn wounds as well.”
Grossman said on CNN that it’s too early to know how much scarring Leno will have. “We’re hoping to get him as close to the pre-injury status as we can, but his injuries are serious,” he said.