Jay Leno hospitalized with illness, cancels taping

Jay Leno was checked into a hospital with an undisclosed illness Thursday and canceled the taping of the �Tonight� show.  All reports are he is doing well and worked throughout the day before checking into the hospital for observation.
�Jay Leno is doing just fine,� read a statement from NBC spokeswoman Tracy St. Pierre. �He was kidding around with the hospital staff and running his monologue jokes by the doctors and the nurses. He�s expected back to work on Monday.�

The network planned to air a rerun, the first time it had to cover for a sick Leno since he took over �Tonight� in 1992, St. Pierre said. Guests scheduled for Thursday included "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" actor Ryan Reynolds, celebrity animal trainer Jules Sylvester and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
Leno, who turns 59 on Tuesday, will leave the �Tonight� show May 29 after 17 years. But he will continue on NBC, with a Monday-through-Friday program at 10 p.m., starting in the fall.