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Jimmy Fallon
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==Early life== James Thomas Fallon was born in the [[Bay Ridge, Brooklyn|Bay Ridge]] neighborhood of [[New York City]]'s [[Brooklyn]] borough on September 19, 1974, the son of Gloria (née Feeley) and James W. Fallon.<!--- no evidence of "Sr." ---><ref name=MomObit/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qphYAAAAYAAJ&q=%22James+W%22+Fallon+GLORIA+Saugerties|title=Who's who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges|access-date=April 16, 2013|last1=Randall|first1=Henry Pettus|year=1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Smolenyak|first1=Megan|url=https://irishamerica.com/2014/01/jimmy-fallon-family-tree|title=Jimmy Fallon Family Tree|work=Irish America|date=January 27, 2014|access-date=February 10, 2014}}</ref> His paternal grandmother was a German immigrant from [[Osterholz-Scharmbeck]], while his matrilineal great-grandfather was a Norwegian immigrant from [[Fredrikstad]].<ref name=MomObit>{{cite news|title=Gloria Fallon|url=http://legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=gloria-fallon&pid=187216604|access-date=April 9, 2020|newspaper=The New York Times|via=Legacy.com|date=November 12, 2017}}</ref> One set of his great-great-grandparents were an Irish couple from [[County Galway]], with this great-great-grandmother herself being born to an Irish couple in France.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Eunice|last1=Oh|first2=Momo|last2=Zhou|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20415279,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830195915/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20415279,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 30, 2010|title=Jimmy Fallon's GTJ Emmy Prep: Gym, Tan, Jokes|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|publisher=[[Meredith Corporation]]|location=New York City|date=August 24, 2010|access-date=August 23, 2013}}</ref><ref name=irm1>{{cite web|first=Megan |last=Smolenyak|url=https://irishamerica.com/2014/01/jimmy-fallon-family-tree|title=Jimmy Fallon Family Tree|website=Irish America|date=February–March 2014|access-date= August 1, 2014}}</ref> Fallon's father spent his adolescence singing in street-corner [[doo-wop]] groups then served in the [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="NYMagazine">{{cite web|last=Levy|first=Ariel|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/2139|title=''Not'' Jerry Seinfeld|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|publisher=[[Vox Media]]|location=New York City|date=October 18, 1999|access-date=August 23, 2013|page=41}}</ref> Shortly after his son's birth, he started working as a machine repairman for [[IBM]] in [[Kingston, New York]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Debbie|last=McGoldrick|url=https://www.irishcentral.com/news/entertainment/late-nights-all-right-with-fallon-41094027-237630181.html|title='Night' right for Jimmy Fallon|website=IrishCentral.com|date=March 14, 2009|access-date=August 1, 2014}}</ref> In preparation, the family moved nearby to [[Saugerties (village), New York|Saugerties, New York]]. Fallon has described his childhood as idyllic, while his parents have been described as overprotective.<ref name="VF">{{cite magazine|first1=David|last1=Kamp|first2=Jessica|last2=Diehl|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/02/jimmy-fallon-the-tonight-show-new-york|title=Heeeeere's Jimmy!|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|publisher=[[Condé Nast]]|location=New York City|date=February 2014|access-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> He and his older sister, Gloria, were unable to leave their home<ref name=rs/> and had to ride their bicycles in the backyard.<ref name="spin02"/> Fallon attended the [[Roman Catholic]] school [[St. Mary of the Snow (school)|St. Mary of the Snow]]. He considered becoming a priest, inspired by his experiences as an [[altar boy]],<ref name="spin02"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sanctepater.com/2012/02/jimmy-fallon-on-his-catholicism.html|title=Jimmy Fallon on His Catholicism|publisher=Sancte Pater|date=February 4, 2012|access-date=August 1, 2014}}</ref> but became more interested in comedy instead. He spent many nights listening to the radio program ''[[Dr. Demento|The Dr. Demento Show]]'', which exposed him to both comedy and music; he often recorded it on a [[reel-to-reel]] recorder.<ref name="VF"/> As a teenager, Fallon developed an obsession with the late-night comedy program ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. He watched it religiously, although he was only allowed to see "the clean parts" that his parents taped for him. He and Gloria would re-enact sketches such as "The Festrunk Brothers" with friends.<ref name="spin00"/> In his teens, he impressed his parents with impersonations, including of actor [[James Cagney]]<ref name="Star Bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.tribute.ca/people/Jimmy+Fallon/10077|title=Jimmy Fallon star bio|publisher=Tribute Entertainment Media Group|access-date=May 10, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p532752/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=AMG Artist: Jimmy Fallon|last=Wilson|first=MacKenzie|publisher=[[TiVo Corporation|Macrovision Corporation]]|location=San Jose, California|access-date=May 10, 2009}}</ref> and comedian [[Dana Carvey]].<ref>{{cite interview|last=Fallon|first=Jimmy|interviewer=Jimmy Fallon|title=Late Night with Jimmy Fallon|last2=Carvey|first2=Dana|url=https://thecomicscomic.com/2011/09/21/jimmy-fallon-and-dana-carvey-trade-impersonations-for-an-evening|date=September 2011}}</ref> He was musically inclined and started playing guitar at age 13, going on to perform comedy and music in contests and shows.<ref name="Allmusic"/> By his junior high years, he was labeled a class clown but was also described as "nice and well-mannered".<ref name="usa04">{{cite news|first=Gary|last=Strauss|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2004-10-07-fallon_x.htm |title=Jimmy Fallon's pleasant tomorrow|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|location=Mclean, Virginia|date=October 7, 2004|access-date=May 5, 2015}}</ref> At [[Saugerties High School]], Fallon was a performer in most stage productions and was twice a class social director.<ref name="usa04"/> He won a young comedian's contest with an impression of [[Pee-wee Herman]].<ref name="spin00">{{cite magazine|first=Judd|last=Bloch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_SxSP63d7cC&q=jimmy+fallon&pg=PA137|title=Saturday Night Special|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|publisher=[[SpinMedia]]|location=San Francisco, California|pages=136–138|volume=16|issue=11 |date=November 2000|access-date=February 25, 2015}}</ref> He graduated in 1992 and then attended [[The College of Saint Rose]] in [[Albany, New York]], where he was a computer science major before switching to communications in his senior year. He was an average student who would perform stand-up comedy on weekends.<ref name="VF"/> He would often board buses from his aunt's house in [[Fort Hamilton]] to perform sets at [[Carolines on Broadway]] in [[Times Square]].<ref name="vul2014"/> He did not graduate, leaving college a semester early to pursue a comedy career. Fourteen years later, in May 2009, Fallon returned to receive a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in communications, awarded by Saint Rose officials who granted him experiential learning credits for his television work. He joined his classmates at the [[Saratoga Performing Arts Center]] to collect his degree, where along with his BA, he was also awarded an honorary [[Doctor of Humane Letters]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.strose.edu/good-to-know-jimmy-fallon-09-saint-rose-was-his-muse/|title=Good to Know: Jimmy Fallon '09, Saint Rose was his muse|date=February 13, 2014|website=Blogs.strose.edu|access-date=September 24, 2017|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107221851/http://blogs.strose.edu/good-to-know-jimmy-fallon-09-saint-rose-was-his-muse/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Jimmy Fallon Commencement Speech Part 1 | date=May 9, 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWXGR2jHF0o |access-date=September 8, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
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