Late Night TV host, Jay Leno, will soon be heading down South to perform a benefit for some victims of that devastating Gulf Coast oil spill. The host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” will take to the stage in a theater at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi on the Mississippi Gulf Coast,  next month, on Saturday, August 21.

“It’s great to be able to do shows like this,” Leno said in a PR Newswire press release. “We did it for flood victims in Iowa; we did it for auto workers in Detroit; we did it for victims of Katrina and others. We tell a few jokes and help out people.”

Proceeds from ticket sales, which range from $40  to $150, will go to the Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s Mississippi Oil Spill Recovery Fund.

Meanwhile, work on the damaged BP oil well and other spill operations in the Gulf have been halted due to the approaching Tropical Storm, Bonnie. The April 20 explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which  killed 11 workers, unleashed a massive oil spill that has caused an environmental and economic disaster in the Gulf Coast region. The cost is in the billions of dollars. More on Bonnie and the Gulf Coast on CNN.

Photo: Lawrence Jackson/White House — President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama chat with guests, including Comedian Jay Leno, at the White House Press Dinner in Washington, DC,  May 1, 2010

A lot of chatter today about who was funnier last night at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner; “Tonight Show” Host Jay Leno or President Barack Obama. The zingers were flying, but who got off the best lines?

Leno was the headliner, but President Barack Obama stepped to the podium first at the Washington Hilton and declared: “I’m so glad that I’m speaking first. We’ve seen what happens when someone takes the time slot after Leno.” A reference to that NBC screw-up that resulted in Conan O’Brien walking away from “The Tonight Show” — and Leno taking over the program again in March.

Later when the comedian took his turn in the spotlight, Leno said the criticism of Obama being anti-social was all wrong.”He loves to socialize…health care, car companies, things of that nature.”

More of Leno, the President, the jokes, and that glitzy media event on CNN and Nikki Finke’s Deadline.com/Hollywood.  Both sites have photos of celebrity guests, among them the Jonas Brothers, Jessica Alba, Justin Bieber, Betty White, Steven Spielberg, and Michelle Pfeiffer.

File Photo: Jay Leno

Jay Leno returned to his old gig as host of “The Tonight Show” on Monday.  I guess it’s going to take a while before Leno and staff get their “Tonight Show” groove back.  Last night’s monologue seemed a bit stiff and light on the throw-down funny jokes. Still, there were a few smile-worthy zingers.

Jay Leno

”It’s good to be home.  I’m Jay Leno your host… at least for a while.  ”

“This is something you may have heard on ’60 Minutes.’  Blackwater Worldwide, the State Department’s largest contractor… those guys we hired as guards. Well, now they have been accused of hiring prostitutes with tax dollars and putting them on the company payroll. In fact, they say this is the first time tax money has ever been used to pay whores since that Wall Street bailout.”

“Speaking of getting screwed. The airlines are going to begin charging a fee for flying standby. They are going to charge you a fee to standby. In fact, they don’t even call it standby anymore. It’s now called ‘Stand and Bend Over.’” Leno’s Monday monologue, complete text and video, at The Wrap.

Oh, there’s a new website for “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” It’s got a lot of flash and things to check out. I found it all rather so-so. Let’s see if Leno and crew can bring back that old “Tonight Show” spark or maybe even something new and interesting. I could dig that.

Look who’s talking? Oprah interviewed Jay Leno yesterday about the much debated “Tonight Show” debacle. NBC executives jerked around both Leno and fellow talk show host Conan O’Brien. Last Friday, O’Brien gave up “The Tonight Show” rather than see it compromised. Oh, O’Brien walked away with a huge chunk of money and a ton of favorable publicity as well.

On the other hand, Leno did not come out the clear winner, either. He gets to host ”The Tonight Show” again, but has become the target of bad press and dissing from fans for not being a real stand-up guy. The reason: he didn’t call out the NBC executives over that tacky plan to shift “The Tonight Show” from its traditional 11:35 p.m. time period to 12:05 a.m., which would have allowed a half-hour version of “The Jay Leno Show” to start in the 11:35 p.m. slot.

In the interview on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Leno answered some tough questions, and in doing so, smoothed out a few dents in his public image. I encountered the comedian a number of times when I  worked as a news writer at NBC and on occasion, in the local Burbank community. I once bumped into Leno, with a staffer, making a food run for “The Tonight Show” crew at a McDonald’s in Burbank. Each time I met Leno, he came across as a great guy. Also, I’m a fan. However, I was quite disappointed with the way Leno handled himself in “The Tonight Show” mess.

After reading the transcript of his interview with Oprah on Nikki Finke’s Deadline.com/Hollywood site, I better understand Leno’s position and perspective.

Leno admits NBC “broke his heart” when they told him in 2004, that despite being number one, he would get the boot from “The Tonight Show” five years down the road.

“…I was devastated. This is the job that I always wanted and it was the only job that ever mattered in show business to me. It’s the job every comic aspires to. And it was just like, “What’s–why–what is it?” “Well, we’re getting pressure here and Conan’s people want to make this announcement and to make sure you do leave we want to announce it right now, you know, prior to the five years.” And I said, “Can we at least wait and as I said the other night on my show, couldn’t we wait until I’m number two and then say, okay, he dropped to number two, that’s the reason we’re moving you.”

How did Leno feel when his prime time show failed?

“… I felt bad for everybody on the show and I felt bad for our affiliates. A couple weeks ago I called the head of the affiliate board and I said listen, they’re the ones that canceled us, and I said, “I’m sorry I let you guys down. I mean, you guys supported us, you went along with the decision. I’m sorry our show wasn’t successful for you.”

 Leno says that notorious late night talk show plan was a surprise to him, too.

“I never expected this to happen. People think you’re behind the scenes pulling strings. There’s no strings to pull. I have a show that’s been canceled. So why would I have any power to go, oh, I want that? What happened was NBC came to me and they said, “Look, your show was down 14%, Conan’s show was down 49%. We have a plan. We want to keep you both.”

 Why did he agree to return to “The Tonight Show?”

“You know, if you’re a gunfighter, you like to die in the street.”

Do you think you’re robbing O’Brien of his shot at the big time?

“No, because again, this is an affiliate decision. The affiliates felt the ratings were low. This was the first time in the 60-year history of “The Tonight Show” that “The Tonight Show” would have lost money and that’s what it comes down to. It’s really just a matter of dollars and cents. If the numbers had been there, they wouldn’t have asked me. And they only asked me after Conan turned down moving it back half an hour.”

What does Leno think about the way NBC handled the situation?

“Anything they did would have been better than this. Anything. Anything they did. If they’d come in and shot everybody, I mean, it would have been people murdered, but at least it would have been a two-day story. I mean, yes. NBC could not have handled it worse, from 2004 onward, this whole thing was a huge, a huge mess, yeah.”

Despite all that has happened, Leno thinks he can revive “The Tonight Show.”

“I hope so. I think so. Yeah. And I hope Conan gets a job somewhere else. I hope he gets on at Fox or somewhere and we all compete together. “Ooh, Conan’s back on,” and it raises the level of interest. And you know what happens? The best one wins. Maybe I’ll get my butt kicked, maybe we’ll win.”

If you didn’t get a chance to catch the interview on TV, check out the transcript on Finke’s site, it is well worth the read. Also, Talk Show Diva, Oprah, has more on the controversy on her website, too.

It’s a mess. That’s about the nicest way to describe the situation that NBC finds itself in right now with three of its talk show hosts, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, and Jimmy Fallon. Rumors of the demise of Jay Leno’s low rated prime time talk show have been swirling around for a while. Then last week, those rumors, all over the Internet and elsewhere, became a firestorm, fueled by leaks that Leno was headed back to late night.

Today, Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, made the announcement at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena. Gaspin spoke to the media and got right to the point: “… I can confirm what many of you have been reporting: starting February ’The Jay Leno Show’ will no longer air at 10 PM. While it was performing at acceptable levels for the network, it did not meet our affiliates’ needs and we realized we had to make a change.”

If he had his way, Gaspin would have “The Jay Leno Show” start at 11:35 p.m., followed by “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” at 12:05 a.m., and then “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” at 1:05 a.m. However, Gaspin admits nothing is confirmed and that the talks with the hosts and their reps are ongoing.  

“The Jay Leno Show” is expected to get the boot out of prime time by February 12,  when NBC begins airing the Winter Olympics. Let me just say here that Leno should have been allowed to stay on the “Tonight Show.” His ratings were high, even during the 2007-2008 writers strike. That’s right, folks were willing to watch Leno even without a great monologue and celebrity guests. It wasn’t broke, but NBC executives decided to fix it anyway. And look what happened!

Nikki Finke has an extensive report on Gaspin’s comments and the NBC debacle on her Deadline Hollywood site.

Photo: NBC

After 17 years, Jay Leno hosted his last official ”Tonight Show” taping this evening with laughs, gags, memories, and some favorite guests. Some of the entertainer’s fans in the audience had spent hours in line to make sure they got a chance to watch the taping of Leno’s finale.

Leno is not heading off into the sunset for retirement, at least not yet anyway. Actually, Leno and his crew are moving into new digs on the NBC lot in Burbank and will soon be gearing up for a new program. “The Jay Leno Show” is a five-nights a week prime time variety program scheduled to get underway this fall. Oh, Conan O’Brien is taking over the “Tonight Show” hosting job.

 This fall when both shows are on the air, we’ll see who delivers the best program with the highest ratings. You know, a little healthy competition might be good for both shows. 

Photo: NBC

Time is running out, if you plan to attend a “Tonight Show” taping hosted by Jay Leno. In two weeks, after 17 years,  the veteran comic will host his last “Tonight Show,” on Friday, May 29. Leno told CNN he’s planning some surprises for his finale and he revealed the guests will include singer James Taylor and new “Tonight Show” host Conan O’Brien.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove —Winter 2009, folks wait outside NBC Studios for a taping of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Long lines near ”The Tonight Show” studio is a very common sight in Burbank.  More than likely those lines will be even longer as Leno count downs to his final appearance as the official host of “The Tonight Show.”  Leno and his staff will be moving out of their old digs, but they’re not going far.  Only across the lot to some production offices for “The Jay Leno Show” scheduled for this September.

Leno’s new comedy talk-variety show is slated for the 10-to-11 p.m. slot five nights a week. It’s a major challenge, but Leno plans to offer what he does best; comedy and jokes. The way he sees it “… 10 o’clock is like the new 11:30…”

Photo: NBC

Funny guy Jay Leno will be back cracking jokes and talking to guests at “The Tonight Show” desk come Monday. Leno was reportedly released from Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank yesterday. The late-night show host started feeling badly on Thursday and drove himself to the hospital. Leno’s personal representative told the People website: “They had him overnight. It was for observation. It was symptomatic of nothing serious. I think it was a dehydration.”

“Tonight Show” tapings were canceled for Thursday and Friday, reruns aired instead. Leno, who turns 58 on Tuesday, is preparing to switch shows. A major move for the comic and NBC. Leno will host his last “Tonight Show” on Friday, May 29, 2009. In September, Leno is scheduled to kick off a new weekly prime-time one hour show at 10 p.m. 

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove

There will be a rerun in “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” television slot tonight, because the taping this afternoon had to be canceled. The host, Jay Leno, reportedly became ill and drove himself to  Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. KNX 1070 newsradio is reporting Leno may be suffering from a bout of food poisoning. The veteran entertainer is said to be resting in a hospital bed and writing jokes! Still, there’s a good chance Leno will not be back on the “Tonight Show” until Monday.

Folks waiting in line for this afternoon’s taping at the NBC Studios here in Burbank were given some parting souvenirs and rain checks. Leno took over the popular late night talker when Johnny Carson retired in 1992. Over three million people have watched a taping of the show as part of the audience, according to the “Tonight Show” ticket and information website.

However, time is running out to see Leno behind “The Tonight Show” desk. Leno is scheduled to step aside as the show host on Friday, May 29, 2009. Conan O’Brien is taking over the “Tonight Show” and Leno is set to get his own new weekly show in the 10-to-11 p.m. slot this September.

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove

President Barack Obama is back in Washington, D.C. today after a whirlwind visit to the Southland. President Obama wrapped up two days of events with a trip to Burbank to tape a guest appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” late yesterday.

This is the first time a  U.S. President has sat down for a chat on the ”Tonight Show.” However, Obama has been on the late night show twice before: December of 2006 and October of 2007. So the president was quite comfortable with the routine of trading quips with Leno in front of a studio audience.

The president joked about the tight security that goes with the highest office in the land, getting a dog for his daughters, and sports. Also, Obama admitted “it’s pretty cool” flying on Air Force One. Nevertheless, he did talk about serious concerns like the struggling economy and those controversial AIG bonuses: “… the immediate bonuses that went to AIG are a problem. But the larger problem is we’ve got to get back to an attitude where people know enough is enough, and people have a sense of responsibility and they understand that their actions are going to have an impact on everybody. And if we can get back to those values that built America, then I think we’re going to be okay.”

 The president hit his mark on the important issues, however, he became a little too relaxed during the lighter moments and that resulted in a gaffe. It is well known that the Commander-in-Chief is better at shooting basketball hoops than bowling. While discussing his recent bowling efforts the president said: “…it was like Special Olympics or something.”

The president and the White House realized his misstep pretty quickly. On the flight back to Washington, DC last night, the president reportedly phoned Tim Shriver, the chairman of the Special Olympics, to apologize for the remark and explain he did not intend to disparage those with special needs.

In 1968, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, founded Special Olympics to benefit those with intellectual disabilities. Senator Kennedy is one of Obama’s strongest political supporters. The White House released a transcript of the ”Tonight Show” interview of the president by Leno and its on the www.whitehouse.gov website.

Earlier in the day, the president stood before another enthusiastic crowd of more than a thousand people at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex near Downtown Los Angeles. Just like the day before in OC, during this town hall meeting the president fielded questions on a variety of subjects, most dealing with the weak economy, jobs, and his stimulus plan.

Thursday morning, President Obama went out to Pomona to visit the Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center. Also, the president met with some Village Academy High School students who made a video about the painful effects the economic crisis has had on their families.

Today NBC revealed some details of that new primetime gig for ”The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno. Hollywood and the media have been buzzing about the new Leno show since yesterday. NBC Entertainment/Universal Media Studios co-heads, Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, joined Leno to make the official announcement at a news conference in Universal City.

Leno will vacate “The Tonight Show” desk on Friday, May 29, 2009. NBC decided to boot Leno out of the chair so that late night talker Conan O’Brien could take over. Interestingly, Leno said he will be taking many of the popular elements of “The Tonight Show” with him to his new 10.p.m show.

Leno could draw an even bigger audience for his new primetime show than ”The Tonight Show,” which airs at 11:30 p.m. NBC is getting some good press for the deal. It accomplishes two things: it keeps Leno from jumping to another network and the new one-hour talk show will be cheaper to produce at 10 p.m. than dramas or other types of programming.

Still, I can’t help wondering why the NBC bigwigs didn’t just move “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno to 10.p.m. and create a new show for Conan O’Brien at 11:30p.m. O’Brien will be handing over his 12:30 a.m. show hosting duties to Jimmy Fallon. 

Meanwhile, Leno has a very loyal audience. During the Writers Guild strike last winter, Leno fans kept watching ”The Tonight Show” even though it lacked writers and high-profile guests. More than likely, that same audience will gladly tune in an hour and a half earlier to catch Leno’s monologue and other familiar bits from “The Tonight Show.” First, it looked like NBC was treating Leno pretty shabby by throwing him over for O’Brien. Now it appears Leno may have come out of all of this with the best deal.

        Google Image

It’s official.  NBC Executives announced today that long-time “Tonight Show” host and funnyman, Jay Leno will be signing off on Friday, May 29, 2009. Leno’s replacement, “Late Night” talker Conan O’Brien will take over the “Tonight Show” desk the following Monday, June first.

NBC has made no secret of its plans to dump Leno for O’Brien. Industry watchers as well as “Tonight Show” fans have debated the move for sometime. No one really knows what will happen. We will have to wait and see if the “Tonight Show” audience will embrace O’Brien like they did Leno when Johnny Carson retired in May of 1992.

Unlike Carson’s departure, Leno’s is not voluntary. Leno reportedly is being courted by other networks and syndicators to start-up a new show of his own. NBC is said to be making offers in hopes Leno will stay. Meanwhile, comedian Jimmy Fallon is waiting in the wings to be the next “Late Night” host.

NBC co-chairmen Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff made the big announcement at a Television Critics Association meeting in Beverly Hills today.

Do they have a good plan? The NBC Executives are convinced they do. However, it will be up to the TV fans of those shows to determine if the switching of the talk show hosts is a turn-off or a turn-on.

In about 10 months, TV fans will vote their pleasure by continuing to watch those shows or flipping the channel. It’s as simple as that.