Michelle Obama on Jay Leno

Michelle ObamaAmerica’s first lady will appear via satellite from Washington this Friday in a comedy sketch on NBC’s The Jay Leno Show, BBC News reports.

Obama will answer ten quick questions from Leno on various subjects during the prime time segment.

Her last appearance with Jay Leno was last year on his Tonight Show when he questioned the high cost of her clothing, which turned out to be a moderately priced outfit from J-crew.

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West And Gaga Release Provocative ‘Fame Kills’ Promo

Kanye WestWhile Kanye West may have claimed to Jay Leno to be keeping a low profile on things after his Taylor Swift-MTV Video Music Awards debacle, the new video clip he posted on his blog begs to differ.

The promo video released on Wednesday, Sept. 23 for his new “Fame Kills” tour with Lady Gaga is anything but low profile, according to MTV News.

The video clip, posted by West under the headline, “What Happened to All the Rock Stars? Fame Killed Them!” is a slow motion film featuring a topless Gaga covering herself and wrapped in the arms of a black man while soft, moody music plays in the background. When 30 seconds of this pass, the name of the tour appears on the screen along with a voice that says, “Fame Kills!” and then “West + Gaga” flashes across.

West first made an announcement about the tour earlier this summer at an appearance on “The View,” but it wasn’t a sealed deal until last week. The “Fame Kills” tour is set to begin on Nov. 10 in Phoenix and wrap up Jan. 24 in Dallas.

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Jay Leno’s Premiere Line-Up Finalized

Jerry SeinfeldThe first guest on Jay Leno’s new primetime show will be Jerry Seinfeld, reports Perez Hilton. Seinfeld will likely be promoting his new NBC reality series The Marriage Ref.

The Jay Leno Showwill debut September 14 on NBC. It has previously been reported that Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West will be the musical guests for that first episode.

Leno makes the switch to primetime after Conan O’Brien took over for him in June as host of The Tonight Show.


Jay-Z to Perform on Leno’s Opening Night

Jay-ZJay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West are all scheduled to perform on the first episode of Jay Leno’s primetime talk show, reports Perez Hilton. The show will premiere on NBC September 14.

Leno, who hosted The Tonight Show for 17 years, was replaced in June by Conan O’Brien.


Jay Leno Out Of Hospital To Resume Show On Monday

Jay LenoJay Leno is set to return to “The Tonight Show” after an overnight stay at a hospital last week.

According to NBC, the talk-show host was discharged from Providence St. Joseph Medical Centre in Burbank, Calif., on Friday and is “anxious to return to work Monday.”  Leno had checked himself into the hospital on Thursday after feeling ill at his office.

“Tonight Show” spokesperson Tracy St. Pierre told the New York Daily News that the 58-year-old entertainer had not suffered a heart attack or food poisoning, contrary to Internet speculation.

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U.S. President Barack Obama Books ‘Tonight Show’ Appearance

Barack ObamaLate-night television is set to welcome one of its biggest guests yet: U.S. President Barack Obama.

The commander-in-chief will drop by “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on Thursday as part of his trip to California, which also includes two town hall meeting and a factory visit.

Obama will discuss his economic plan and other topics with Leno over three segments, according to a “Tonight Show” spokesperson.

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Jay Leno’s Departure Date Set

Jay Leno will make his final appearance on “The Tonight Show” on May 29, 2009, with replacement Conan O’Brien making his official debut the following Monday, June 1.

Amid speculation that Leno may be hired by ABC, NBC execs also say they are still talking with the comedian about staying at their network in a different role, but no agreement has yet been reached.

Leno himself was on hand to help NBC executives make the announcement about his departure date at a meeting of the Television Critics Association in Beverly Hills Monday.

The network seated Leno, disguised in a bald cap, glasses and goatee, among reporters, where he got right to the point by asking when he would leave the show.

ABC’s late-night host Jimmy Kimmel played a similar joke at a TCA meeting last week, where he posed as a reporter and asked ABC Entertainment boss Steve McPherson about the network’s potential interest in Leno, wondering if he was “afraid that if you replace Jimmy Kimmel he might do something crazy to you or your car?”

McPherson told critics he thought Kimmel, who is under contract at ABC until 2010, and Leno would be compatible, though he said he couldn’t believe NBC would let Leno go “at the top of his game.”

Leno’s successor O’Brien currently hosts NBC’s “Late Night” program, which airs immediately after “The Tonight Show.”

As previously announced, Jimmy Fallon of “Saturday Night Live” fame will take over “Late Night” hosting duties when O’Brien leaves.


Jimmy Fallon Officially Taking Conan’s Seat

It’s official: Jimmy Fallon has a steady job again.

The 33-year-old SNL alum has finalized talks to take over as host of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” O’Brien will be moving into Jay Leno’s old digs when he retires next year.

At a news conference in New York on Monday, Fallon claimed that “It’s a comedian’s dream to get this job.” He also said that he had missed performing for a live audience.

Fallon will be right at home at the NBC talk show, with SNL creator Lorne Michaels as his boss again.

It’s been a good year for Fallon. He recently married Nancy Juvonen, Drew Barrymore’s producing partner.


Late Night Hosts Head Back to Work

As the never-ending writer’s strike surges on, the kings of late-night, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, will be back on the small screen come January.

NBC announced Monday that both shows will be back on the air with new episodes in the New Year without their striking writers.

Leno and O’Brien are following in the footsteps of former late night legend Johnny Carson, who returned to work two months into the 1988 writers’ strike, CBC News reports.

“Both Jay and Conan have supported their writers during the first two months of this WGA strike and will continue to support them,” Rick Ludwin, NBC?s executive vice-president said in a statement according to CBC.

“However, there are hundreds of people who will be able to return to work as a result of Jay’s and Conan’s decision.”

Both hosts were previously paying out-of-work crew members out of their own pockets during the drawn out strike.

This decision comes after recent talks between the Writers Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke down on Dec. 8.


Tonight Show Lays Off Staff, Leno Reaches Into Pockets

Avid TV watchers aren’t the only ones feeling the affects of the ongoing Hollywood Writer’s strike.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno faced massive layoffs this weekend as non-writing staff members were put out of work as of Friday.

NBC announced that the network “regretfully informed the people who work on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O’Brien that their services are not needed at this time due to our inability to continue production of the shows.”

People Magazine confirmed that the Tonight Show staff were kept on the payroll until Friday and were given their usual Christmas bonus early this year.

Sources close to the late-night comedian have said that starting Monday Leno will begin paying employees out of his own pocket.

The Tonight Show has been in reruns because Leno is honouring the writers’ picket lines. Several Tonight Show employees reportedly told the Hollywood Reporter that Jay made promises early on in the strike to his staff. Leno held a conference call and said, “I can’t get into details, but nobody will miss a car payment or lose their house. We’re family. Trust me. I’m going to take care of this.”


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