At least funnywoman Marina Franklin gets it: tickling funny bones is no joke. Somehow the Chi-town native's managed to heckle crowds and keep jeers to a minimum for a record 11 years. In fact, she's busted enough guts that Jay Leno recruited her as one of his new correspondents. She makes her debut tonight on "The Jay Leno Show."

"I was performing in a small polish restaurant in Chicago and had no idea that Jay's producers were there," Franklin tells ESSENCE.com. "They'd seen me perform before at ‘The Last Comic Standing,' and I must say I was having a good night performing all-new material because I was in my relaxed self and had no idea I was being watched."

Afterwards the producers contacted Franklin and asked her to submit something even though she had no idea for what or whom. The Syracuse University fine arts grad found out that she landed the "Leno" gig the same day she had an audition for "Saturday Night Live."

"I was told that I did really well and that the judges were actually laughing and that they never laugh during those auditions," says Franklin, who appeared on "The Chapelle Show." "I found out I didn't get the gig when they made an announcement about the two women they hired. You'd think they'd want someone who could play Michelle Obama, right?"

Tonight Franklin will serve as Jay Leno's First Lady and will be live in the studios for her first segment, which tackles the issue of Harlem's gentrification. Franklin will visit Black-owned businesses such as hair salons and show the world how the area is changing.

"This whole experience has taught me a lot because I realize how many people are misinformed about what actually is happening in Harlem and that Black-owned businesses do exist," said Franklin. "There's an argument that we are being pushed out of our communities, but there are entrepreneurs who stay and want to see their neighborhood thrive and improve. It was important to me that we represented Harlem properly and I believe I succeeded."

Managed by Bob Wachs and Richie Tienken, cofounders of Comic Strip Live and producers of several of Eddie Murphy's hit films, Franklin has been staying on her grind, performing at New York's trendy Comedy Cellar and will return to do more segments in Harlem, her home away from home.