In 1998, Thomas appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, where he told the story of when he was a young disc jockey in Charlotte, North Carolina and he had an unexpected adventure involving marijuana, a car chase, and the original Lone Ranger.
Letterman was so delighted with the story that he brought Thomas back every year at Christmas to tell the story again, creating a Late Show holiday tradition.
All of this said, some may know Jay Thomas for something that has nothing to do with a sitcom or a feature film.