

"When you see her, you like her and you want to laugh"
One night, as a 27-year-old Ellen DeGeneres was performing at The Improv in Los Angeles, a few supporters -- including Jay Leno, whom she had opened for a handful of times -- turned to Johnny Carson's booker and suggested he pay attention. "There are comedians who people laugh at but don't like. That's not Ellen. When you see her, you like her and you want to laugh," says Leno, adding, "She understands that being a good comic is about making people happy, and that's what she does." Weeks later, DeGeneres was booked on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.