EXCLUSIVE: Jay Leno-hosted Tonight Show will air its last episode on February 6, and, per terms of his show exit deal with NBC, the cast and crew will be paid until his contract expires in September. Tonight EP Debbie Vickers made the announcement today to staffers at the show, informed sources report. It’s unclear how many crew and staff were at the meeting on the show’s Burbank lot. At one point it was reported Tonight had about 170 total staffers, including some contract workers. NBC declined comment on today’s news. 
 
 The announcement isn’t a total surprise. At NBC’s Upfront presentation to advertisers in May, the network officially announced that Jay Leno would end his 22-year run on Tonight Show during the week leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympics — which start February 7. NBC also announced Jimmy Fallon would replace him on Monday, February 24, the night after the closing ceremony, followed by the debut of Late Night With Seth Meyers at 12:30 AM. Fallon’s Tonight Show will be broadcast from New York City; Lorne Michaels is exec producing, and Fallon’s Late Night writer Amy Ozols has been named producer. 
 
 Vickers’ announcement was made one week after NBC Entertainment chief Bob Greenblatt confirmed the network is having talks with Leno about “various ideas” for Leno after he ends his run on the late night show in February. “Nothing would make us happier for Jay, a la Bob Hope, to have presence at the network, we’re really hoping to do that, post February,” he told TV critics at Summer TV Press Tour 2013. Talks to replace Leno – this time – started when Greenblatt joined NBC at the beginning of 2011, Greenblatt said, adding that the timing after the 2014 Winter Olympics was decided “to give Jimmy Fallon the best chance of succeeding. We really believe in Jimmy Fallon.” 
 
 Leno has continued to dominate late night TV ratings — he clocked his biggest numbers with President Obama’s Tonight Show visit last night since his last visit to the show nine months ago. And, in his final May sweep before handing over the Tonight Show anchor desk to Fallon, Leno won the key ratings period from April 25-May 22. Tonight bettered time-slot rivals Late Show With David Letterman at CBS and Jimmy Kimmel Live at ABC in every key sales category, and matched its highest margin of victory over Letterman in the 18-49 viewers in nine years. Against Kimmel, Leno grew its 18-49 lead compared with the February sweeps from 12% to 30% in 18-49 and from 39% to 42% in total viewers. But, NBC is having no second thoughts about the transition, according to Greenblatt, who dismissed the numbers as something NBC predicted it would se when the network announced it would be Jay’s final year. “The same happened with Johnny Carson — and Jay’s previous final year,” Greenblatt said. ||||| Thursday night is the end for "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." 
 
 After 22 years, the 63-year-old host is leaving NBC's legendary late-night talk show and handing over the reins to Jimmy Fallon. 
 
 The Times recently spoke with Leno backstage at "Tonight" about his departure, his thoughts on comedy and the Conan O'Brien fiasco of four years ago, and what he'll do next. Here are some excerpts from the conversation: 
 
 You've said that leaving "Tonight" now feels "about right." But I can't imagine you're happy. 
 
 I'm not unhappy. This is a great franchise, and you like to keep it No. 1. I'm real proud we've been able to keep it No. 1. You know, there are people who like you and people who don't like you. "You suck, you stink." Whatever it is. But like baseball scores, like football scores, at the end here's the results. We've kept the show No. 1 for 20 years straight. And we've won every demographic group, all this kind of stuff. And eventually you hit diminishing returns. 
 
 Look, if NBC didn't have Jimmy Fallon in the wings, would I be here a little longer? Probably. But you know, he's really good. I really like him. He's a true couple of generations away from me. When I see him do his musical numbers and stuff, I say, "I can't do that. That music is not my music." 
 
 PHOTOS: A day on set with Jay Leno 
 
 He also plays games on the show, like "Egg Russian Roulette." 
 
 It is a different show. But I think he's closer to what Johnny [Carson] was when he started. 
 
 So what are you going to do? 
 
 I've always been a stand-up comedian that had a day job. This is my day job. I've always been on the road every single weekend — and the week too — since I got this job. So I'm back on the road. We leave here on the 6th. The 7th I'm in Sarasota. The 8th I'm in Clearwater. The 9th I'm in Naples, Fla. The 10th I'm in Miami ... 
 
 It's what you have to do if you want to do comedy. You can't take a year off and come back. No one's ever taken time off as a comedian and come back and been better. It doesn't work that way. It atrophies. You have to do it all the time. 
 
 What about doing another late-night TV show? 
 
 No, I don't think so. I mean, the ground has to lie fallow for awhile, I think. I've been doing this a long time. I have no plans to go up against anybody else. People go, "Oh, Jay's waiting in the wings." It's so stupid. 
 
 If you come back and you're not No. 1 the first night, people are like, "Jay sucks!" The whole thing starts all over again. It all gets silly. 
 
 PHOTOS: Classic 'Tonight Show' moments 
 
 Do you worry about getting older? 
 
 No, actually. I am in better shape against other 63-year-olds than I ever was against other 25-year-olds. I am not an athlete. I don't drink, I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. I run a couple miles every day and I work out every day. If I was a tennis player or something like that, it'd be, "Oh my God, I'm getting older, I can't swing as much." But you're telling jokes. It's not that hard. Comedy is like golf. You can do it into your elderly years. 
 
 Several years ago, NBC had the idea to put you on at 10 p.m. The show bombed. Why? 
 
 NBC came up with this idea, "Listen, we'll do a show at 10 o'clock and you can keep all your people, everybody in the same offices, everyone still gets a paycheck." I was like, "Eh, let's give it a try." It seemed like an interesting idea at the time. The idea was that we would not do well during sweeps and then when everyone else was in reruns we would be an original program. So the idea was, when everyone else was down, we'd be up and vice versa. Well, we never got to the point where everyone else was down.
– The worst-kept secret in Hollywood is secret no more. NBC and Jay Leno confirmed today that Leno will leave his Tonight Show in 2014 after 22 years and turn over hosting duties to Jimmy Fallon, says the Hollywood Reporter. As part of the move, Fallon will indeed bring the show back from the West Coast to 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. Fallon will take over in February, reports the New York Times. The pair had goofed on the controversy a few days ago, and Leno sounds upbeat, at least publicly. "Congratulations Jimmy," he said in a statement. "I hope you're as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you're the old guy. If you need me, I'll be at the garage.” THR thinks Seth Meyers is the frontrunner to replace Fallon on Late Night. Click for more.