Jen Edney / Special to The Star Ray Ziff, 95, and wife Irma, 92, stand before a younger photo of themselves during their recent 75th wedding anniversary party held at University Village in Thousand Oaks, where they now live.

Ray and Irma Ziff, a Ventura County couple who recently celebrated 75 years of marriage, will appear Tuesday on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

"We feel rather special about the whole event. We think it's going to be a lot of fun," said Ray, 95.

"We're just thrilled," added Irma, 92.

The self-proclaimed "soul mates" met in 1929. Irma was 14 and Ray was 17 when Irma's family moved into the house across the street from the Ziff family in Altadena.

Before retiring in 1989, they were in the supermarket business — Westward Ho, with six stores on the west side of Los Angeles that were bought out by Whole Foods or Bristol Farms.

Now residents of University Village of Thousand Oaks, the couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary at a ceremony with hundreds of fellow residents in attendance — an event highlighted in The Star that caught the eye of Leno's producers, Ray said.

"It's interesting how they happened to pick up the story about our anniversary," Ray continued. "From that they located us, and that's how the whole thing began."

On May 8, the couple spent a few hours at NBC doing a preliminary interview for the show, which also will feature guest star Sylvester Stallone.

"We'll probably be waiting in the greenroom together on the day of the show," said Ray.

During their pre-interview, the Ziffs had the chance to meet the host of the show.

"We were introduced to Jay and we took pictures together," Ray said.

"He's very tall," was Irma's first impression. "He's a very nice person."

A limousine from NBC will transport the couple to and from the Leno show on Tuesday afternoon, for the show to be aired that night.

"I presume we're going to be talking about the early days of our marriage," Ray said, "and how to live a healthy life up to the age that we are, and how to have a successful marriage."

Irma said she will drive home a point that she has always emphasized to those who ask.

"Never, never, never go to bed angry at each other. Always kiss and make up," she said. "Talk to your partner as you would have them talk to you. Sometimes you might snap at your partner, not even meaning it. Don't be too proud to say I'm sorry."

Though the tenure of their marriage is extremely rare, they aren't the only ones, Irma added.

"We saw someone on the air the other night who celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary," she said. "I don't want to pat ourselves on the back, but we look much younger."