Jane Lynch pays tribute to Cory Monteit-Jane Lynch has payed an emotional tribute to her late Glee co-star, Cory Montieth, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

The actress sat down with Leno and as her voice wavered, she spoke of the loss of her co-star publically for the first time:”Cory’s one of the biggest hearts, was a real bright light,” she says.

“He was one of those guys that … he knew he was breathing rarefied air. The gifts that this wonderful show gave us. He was always aware that it was a gift and he was quite generous.

“He was one of those adventurous types of people,’ she added. ‘I always admired how he would get up… you know, he would fly to Mexico, he’d throw parties for his friends. I don’t think he left one day unlived. He was a real bright light in our family. We’ve lost a really great guy.”

Monteith, 31, was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room only a week ago; an autopsy has revealed the star overdosed on a combination of alcohol and heroin.

Lynch says she wants people to remember Monteith for the caring man he was: “He once flew across the country on his own nickel to meet with a sick kid whose last wish was to meet him. That’s the kind of guy he was. He was just a real giver.”