Paul Drinkwater/NBCThis isn't the type of headline that floats Jay Leno's boat.
The Tonight Show host canceled Thursday's taping of the NBC late-night staple—a rarity—after he felt sick and voluntarily opted to go to the hospital.
Leno's spokesman, Dick Guttman, said that the comedian was in his office at NBC's Burbank, Calif., studios at the time and left for nearby Providence St. Joseph Medical Center around midday. He characterized Leno's condition as "mild."
"Jay Leno is doing just fine," NBC spokeswoman Tracy St. Pierre told E! News this afternoon. "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 incoming prime-time player turns 59 next Tuesday.
Audiences will miss out on scheduled guests Ryan Reynolds, reptile trainer Jules Sylvester and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. A rerun will air in their place.
Leno also scratched two weekend standup gigs in Las Vegas.
No further information was available about Leno's condition, but Access Hollywood, which first reported the situation, mentioned possible food poisoning.
Meanwhile, this is the first sick day Leno has taken in 17 years on the Tonight Show. The veteran workhorse has not missed a single episode since he replaced Johnny Carson in 1992, minus once in 2003 when he traded places with then-NBC colleague Katie Couric during sweeps and joined Matt Lauer on Today.
His last show before moving to 10 p.m. in September is May 29.
(Originally published April 23, 2009, at 3:25 p.m. PT)