Jay Leno's Utah doppelganger

AMERICAN FORK — Keep your eyes open tonight for D.J. Adamson.

The Utah County used-car salesman has been picked to be on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" because he looks exactly like, well, Jay Leno.

Adamson, the Alpine native with the lantern-shaped jaw and silver hair with the signature shock of black in the middle, is a few pounds lighter than Leno — but put him next to a classy car and you'll think you've been transported to Leno's own garage.

Adamson looks so much like the host of "The Tonight Show" he's already won $200 in a local contest sponsored by Utah Valley Magazine. His picture is on "The Tonight Show" Web site that's been advertising the Jay Leno Look-alike contest for the past six months.

Adamson lives with his wife and children in Cedar Hills when he's not taking calls from NBC officials and prepping for an appearance with Leno.

He flew to Los Angeles on Saturday and is scheduled to tape a skit today.

Before he left — the trip was paid for by NBC— he had little in the way of details.

"I know I'll get to meet Leno. I don't know if they'll use my videotape. I hope they do," Adamson said. "I'm interested to see what they do."

Adamson, 40, has long been told he looks like Leno, even when he worked as a police officer in Alpine and Highland and as a guard at the Utah State Prison.

Customers at Doug Smith Auto will routinely ask for "the salesman who looks like Leno."

And he's slightly famous with his co-workers for his ability to mimic other people — including his boss.

As a teenager, he was popular as the Caveman mascot at American Fork High School, and he's been getting paid gigs entertaining at the annual company Christmas parties.

"D.J.'s funnier than Jay Leno," said Rich Green, a fellow salesman. "When he gets going, he's so funny, he has us all laughing. I keep telling him he should do stand-up."

Adamson's videotape that included "a clip" of Grandpa Leno and a number of comic bits that would do Leno proud, stood out, said his NBC contact Jolee Ancel.

Adamson said he feels like he owes Leno a steak dinner because he once dined for free at a steak house where the waitress mistook him for Leno.

"I told her, 'I'm not Jay Leno, I'm Dave Leno, Jay's brother,' " Adamson said. "And she said, 'This one's on the house, then.' That's the only time I've ever made money in Leno's name."

He's not certain if his appearance Leno's show will lead to anything in show business. He doesn't really care, however.

"Am I planning to be a professional look-alike? No, I'm not. I'm a used-car salesman," he says. "It's not as prestigious as some jobs, but it's right up there with attorneys and late-night talk show hosts."

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