TORONTO - Jimmy Fallon showed Canadians why NBC has chosen him to take over the reins from Conan O'Brien on the "Late Night" talk show as he hosted one of Canada's best-known comedy festivals.
The comic took to the stage Saturday night as the host of the Just For Laughs Gala in Toronto, where he gave the audience a taste of what landed him on "Saturday Night Live" and kept his fans laughing during his six years on the show - spot-on impressions.
Fallon got a rousing reception with a monologue about the comedy stars who have performed at the festival over the years. Without a break, he changed voices more than two dozen times, morphing into such funny men as Jerry Seinfeld, Norm MacDonald, Bill Mar, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock and Bill Cosby.
Fallon got a much better reception than "Seinfeld" alum Jason Alexander, who hosted the Gala event the previous night, and whose jokes about Jews and homosexuality, while not offensive, drew few laughs.
Canadian comedian Gerry Dee earned more audience approval. Dee, who finished third place on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" last year, had the audience in stitches with insights about his aging parents - such as his father's request for an "e-mail number", which he kept mistakenly telling his friends was johnyippy.com instead of yahoo.com.
He was followed by comedy veteran Robert Klein who started his set with a Broadway-type musical skit about an uncomfortable medical procedure.
"Colonoscopy", he sang, "it stirs such feelings inside of me."
The weekend Gala event, now in its 26th year - and where Fallon said he got his comedy break - also brought out John Oliver of the "Daily Show," Craig Robison, otherwise known as Darryl from "The Office," Wendy Liebman, Robert Schimmel, Kevin Hart, Larry Miller and Mike Birbiglia.
An ethnically themed show Friday, "Asian Invasion," included American comedians Jo Koy, KT Tatara and Paul Varghese, and Canadian host Sugar Sammy, all of whom drew from their experiences of growing up in Western countries with immigrant parents.
Just for Laughs has teamed with TBS to launch Just For Laughs: A Very Funny Festival in Chicago next year, which will be hosted by Ellen Degeneres. The festival also performs annually in France.
