Fallon's emotional return to 'The Tonight Show' after his mom's death

Caitlin George Parker

Jimmy Fallon returned to The Tonight Show with a heavy heart after the loss of his mother, Gloria Fallon. After taking a week off to spend time with his family, he shared a heartwarming memory of his beloved mom. “When we were little, my mom would walk us to the store, me and my sister, and we would hold hands, you know, and she would squeeze my hand three times to say, ‘I love you,’ and I would squeeze back, ‘I love you too.'”

In a statement shared with USA Today, Fallon wrote, “Today I lost my biggest fan.” When Fallon started hosting The Tonight Show in 2014, his biggest fan was in attendance along with his dad to support their son.

The Roots remembered Fallon’s mom through music, playing Laura Branigan’s song “Gloria.” Fallon thanked his fans for all their support, saying, “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, and we’re going to continue to work really hard to bring some light and 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.”

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on NBC. Watch clips and full episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon free on Yahoo View.

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