Jimmy Fallon discussed the death of his mother, Gloria Fallon, during an emotional monologue on Monday night’s episode of The Tonight Show.
The talk show host cancelled his show for a week following the death of his 68-year-old mother, who passed away with her son by her side on Nov. 4.
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“It’s good to be back, guys,” Fallon began. “As some of you know my mother, Gloria, passed away recently. I cancelled our shows last week to be with my family and make arrangements. She was the best audience, she was the one I was always trying to make laugh, and she was such a fan of the show and everything I did.”
He continued, “When we were little, my mom would walk us to this store, me and my sister, and she would squeeze my hand three times and say, ‘I love you,’ and I would squeeze back, ‘I love you, too.’”
Fallon paused for a couple seconds to gather his composure and then continued, “And … last week I was in the hospital and I grabbed her and squeezed I love you. I just knew we were in trouble, you know? I feel so grateful to be able to do this every single night and I’m very appreciative of all the support from all of you that my family received over the past week.”
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Fallon added, “We’re going to continue to work really hard to bring some light and some laughter into the world. Thank you for watching, thank you for helping me and my family recover from this loss. Mom, I’ll never stop trying to make you laugh. I love you.”
Gloria Fallon died “peacefully” on Nov. 4 in hospital. At the time, Fallon issued a statement saying: “Today I lost my biggest fan.”
Fallon’s sister, also named Gloria, thanked fans for their messages, saying “it meant more than you’ll ever know.”
Watch Fallon’s emotional tribute to his mother in the video above.