Kevin Eubanks Quickly Replaced By Rickey Minor

Rickey Minor Replaces Kevin Eubanks On Leno's "Tonight Show"


"American Idol" Music Director Rickey Minor is headed for "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Minor replaces longtime Music Director Kevin Eubanks, who on Monday's show made his May 28 exit date official.

In an announcement Tuesday, NBC said Minor is expected to debut at "Tonight" on June 7.

The current season of "American Idol" ends in late May, after which Minor will continue to consult with "Idol" creator Simon Fuller on various projects, NBC said.

Minor has also served as music director of the Super Bowl, the Grammy Awards and "The NAACP Image Awards."

His 2009 book, "There's No Traffic on the Extra Mile," shares his recollections of collaborating with such performing artists as Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Ray Charles and Beyonce.

"We couldn't be more excited," said Debbie Vickers, "Tonight" executive producer. She said the show "has a long tradition of acclaimed musicians in this role, and it's great to now include Rickey alongside Kevin and Branford (Marsalis)."

Eubanks has been aboard "Tonight" since Leno took over as host in 1992. He became music director when Marsalis left in 1995, with duties that included strumming the guitar and playing Leno's comic sidekick. In February, NBC said Eubanks had expressed interest in personal touring and recording.


Sources: AP, MSNBC, Youtube

Conan O'Brien's Last Show Viewed By 7 Million Fans

Conan O'Brien Ends Final NBC's "Tonight Show" With Over 7 million Viewers


In the last two weeks we've seen Conan O'Brien become himself again.

We saw him stand up to his bosses and win - sort of.

We also saw the guy be funny in ways he wasn't for most of the seven months he hosted "The Tonight Show."

Now that he's free from NBC, he's got to use that same intestinal fortitude - and comic genius - to create his next opportunity.

Armed with a load of cash, and the benefit of time, O'Brien needs to get back to what made him desirable in the first place - edgy comedy targeted at a younger audience.

Not the kind of stuff he did for most of his seven-month run on "Tonight," but what he did for nearly 17 years on NBC's "Late Night."

O'Brien was different at 11:35 p.m. than he was an hour later, and that's a downside to broadcast TV.

"That's the problem you always face," says analyst Bill Carroll of the Katz Media Group. "We want you for who you are and now we make you who we want you to be."

Reaching a mass audience means softening the edges, a bit, which O'Brien did.

"Every comedian dreams of hosting the 'Tonight Show' and, for seven months, I got to," O'Brien said near the end of his last show Friday night. "I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second."

Viewers, however, may argue that what they saw was somehow different, at least up until the end, when all bets were off - and O'Brien's ratings soared.

And his final show didn't disappoint. It attracted more than 7 million viewers, according to preliminary numbers released by Nielsen, clobbering David Letterman's 2.8 million viewers and Jimmy Kimmel's 1.4 million.

Part of O'Brien's exit talks with NBC centered on who gets the "intellectual property" rights to stuff he and his team created in his run there. One most often mentioned was the Masturbating Bear, a guy in a bear costume who, well, enough said.

The bear was a huge hit with O'Brien's "Late Night" crowd, yet, wasn't used on "Tonight" for the first time until Wednesday, when, frankly, it was too late.

The point is that while he's losing the bear in the $45 million divorce with NBC, O'Brien has a chance to get something bigger back - his sense of humor.

"The networks never really counter-program in late-night," Brad Adgate, a senior vice president at Horizon Media said of O'Brien's options now that he left NBC. "I would offer his 'Late Show' [the next time]. To do something that's exactly what Leno and Letterman are offering, I don't know if that's what viewers want."

Fox officials have said they're interested in O'Brien. And Fox, no doubt, can provide marketing muscle and reach. Anyone doubting that should look at the way Fox promotes "American Idol" to the point that you half-expect Simon Cowell to anchor the news alongside Ernie Anastos.

Going the broadcast route might provide the most money, and audience reach, but that could be a mistake.

O'Brien would be better off going to a cable network where he could push the boundaries of content and further unleash his creative spirit in ways broadcast networks could never provide.

O'Brien appropriately ended his last "Tonight Show" with an all-star rendition of "Freebird," a song that includes the line, "Cause I'm as free as a bird now, and this bird you cannot change."

He had changed on "Tonight." And, in many ways, though he was leaving, in the end it was good to see an old friend emerge in O'Brien - the same one we'd like to see back in the fall.











Sources: NBC, NY Daily News, Youtube

Conan O'Brien's Swan Song Show

Conan O'Brien Thanks Fans, NBC On Final "Tonight Show"


On his final "Tonight" show, Conan O'Brien said walking away instead of accepting a demotion is the hardest thing he's ever had to do.

Despite the rancor that led to his $45 million buyout, the red-haired comic urged fans not to be cynical and said their support made a sad situation "joyous and inspirational." He thanked his viewers and even thanked NBC for more than 20 years of employment but not before getting in a few final jabs during an earlier monologue.

O'Brien will be replaced March 1 by the man he took over for seven months ago — Jay Leno. In the interim, reruns will fill the slot, followed by Winter Olympics programming next month.

Faced with the flop of its prime-time Leno experiment, NBC sought to move him back to 11:35 p.m. and asked O'Brien to move "Tonight" a half-hour later, past midnight. O'Brien refused, opening buyout negotiations that ended early Thursday, and triggering a remarkable period of late-night comics taking brutal shots at NBC and at each other.

Despite his sense of loss, O'Brien told fans Friday that "I really feel this should be a happy moment.

"Every comedian dreams of hosting the `Tonight' show and, for seven months, I got to," he said. "I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second. I've had more good fortune than anyone I know, and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-Eleven parking lot, we'll find a way to make it fun."

Tom Hanks, Will Ferrell and Neil Young joined O'Brien for his final show.

His future is uncertain. Fox has expressed interest in having him do a late-night show, but the network is checking with its affiliates to see if they would support it. Under his exit deal, O'Brien is free to start another show after Sept. 1. He's not allowed to give interviews or make other television appearances for three months.

During his monologue, O'Brien tossed around a few ideas about what NBC might do with the studio it constructed for him when he moved to California from New York in the middle of last year.

One suggestion: "Leave the studio cold and empty and rename it `the world's largest metaphor for NBC programming.'"

O'Brien told the audience that "we have exactly one hour to steal every single item in this studio."

As soon as fans had been let in the studio, workers walked around to unscrew and remove signs posted all over that said "Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Audience."

Although NBC had sought to keep O'Brien, who hosted the 12:35 a.m., New York-based "Late Night" for 15 years while waiting for his shot at "Tonight," executives said the network was losing money with his show. O'Brien had lost half the audience that Leno had drawn in the time slot, slipping behind CBS' David Letterman in the ratings. O'Brien's managers said he needed more time and blamed some of the ratings troubles on the sinking fortunes of Leno and the local news programs that preceded "Tonight."

Also: Where will Conan O'Brien go?

Fans waiting to see the final show expressed their support. Three fans from San Diego put up a tent and camped overnight in the rain to get in.

"He's just generally a likeable guy," said Lesley Vamous, a fan from Australia. "I think that's why I like him and I watch him. He seems like an approachable guy, and most of the things he does are kind of funny."

Juliet DiFranco of West Toluca Lake, Calif., said she couldn't watch Leno like she did before. "He just seems like such a jerk for not retiring," DiFranco said.

O'Brien didn't mention Leno in his closing statement, according to a transcript.

He asked his viewers not to be cynical.

"I hate cynicism," he said. "It's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."


Sources: MSNBC, Youtube

Conan O'Brien Sings "NBC Moron" Song

Conan Blasts NBC's "Incompetent Morons" In Song


Conan O'Brien ended rumors that he's not allowed to say anything negative about NBC on-air by calling people at the network "incompetent morons."

He began the "Tonight Show" on Monday with a creative work-around, then continued to blast his soon-to-be-former employer, which has reportedly agreed to a $40 million buyout. He also addressed the rallies held by "Team Coco" in New York, Chicago, Seattle, and, of course, at NBC in Los Angeles.

His monologue included pictures of items that fans have offered in exchange for the show, which he listed on Craigslist last week. Finally, Conan announced that he's putting himself for sale on the Casual Encounters section of the Website.


Sources: NBC, Huffington Post, Mediaite, Facebook

Jay Leno Explains His Side; Praises Conan O'Brien

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Leno: "Conan O’Brien Has Been a Gentleman"


Jay Leno turned serious on his show to discuss the late-night chaos at NBC, telling viewers that he'd been doubtful about launching a prime-time show but was prevented by NBC from going to another TV network instead.

Leno, in explaining events from his standpoint, also said Monday that he had told NBC he'd return to the "Tonight" slot only after Conan O'Brien rejected the network's plan to put both men on in late night.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

NBC continued negotiations Monday on an exit deal with O'Brien that would clear the way for Leno to reclaim the 11:35 p.m. EST slot occupied by "Tonight," which he hosted for 17 years before turning it over to O'Brien last spring. According to various reports, the deal with O'Brien could cost the network up to $40 million.

NBC is ending its prime-time experiment, "The Jay Leno Show," because of low ratings and affiliate station complaints.

When NBC told him they wanted to end his new show, Leno told viewers Monday, he asked to be released from his contract.

" 'No, you're still a valuable asset to this company,' " he said the network told him. His reply: "How valuable can I be? You fired me twice."

That was a reference to NBC's decision six years ago to ask him to eventually make way for O'Brien to take over "Tonight," which Leno kept atop the ratings until he left.

He and O'Brien have traded increasingly edgy monologue jokes as NBC tries to extricate itself from its scheduling mess, but Leno told viewers his attitude toward his colleague is unchanged.

"Through all of this, Conan O'Brien has been a gentleman. He's a good guy, I have no animosity toward him. This is all business," Leno said. "You know, folks, if you don't get the ratings, they take you off the air."

Neither of them was a ratings winner, he said, either with "The Jay Leno Show" at 10 p.m. EST or O'Brien's "Tonight."

O'Brien did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.

History lesson?

Leno gave his audience a history lesson, or what alternately might have seemed a skillfully timed effort to repair any damage to Leno's trademark heart-of-gold image before the deal is made official, as soon as Tuesday.

In his recitation, Leno opened with an NBC executive telling him in 2004 that he would have to surrender "Tonight" to O'Brien to keep the gangly, redheaded host of "Late Night" from going to a competitor.

"I said, 'Well, I've been No. 1 for 12 years.' They said, 'We know that. We don't think you can sustain it,' " Leno recounted the executive telling him. He joked that he asked if he could at least wait until his show fell to No. 2, but agreed to the hand-over plan.

"Don't blame Conan O'Brien. Nice guy, good family guy, great guy. He and I have talked, and not a problem since then," Leno said.

He told NBC he would retire " 'just to avoid what happened the last time,' " he recounted with a chuckle.

Like a repeat

What's happening now at NBC turned out to be reminiscent of the contest between Leno and David Letterman to win "Tonight" after Johnny Carson's retirement and NBC's similar dithering at the time.

With a plan in place for Leno to leave "Tonight" in May 2009, before his NBC contract ended, he would be prevented from starting at another network for at least a year, Leno said. He asked to be freed but NBC refused, instead suggesting that Leno could do well with a prime-time show that the network acknowledged would get "killed" against first-run episodes of shows like CBS' "CSI" but could get traction against summer reruns.

Leno said he agreed, in part, because it would allow him to keep his staff of about 175 people working. But the network's plan for patience was unraveled by affiliate TV stations, who said his low ratings were sinking their local late newscasts, which the show precedes.

O'Brien had his own ratings woes, which Leno said — pointedly — started in summer before they could be blamed on Leno's poor prime-time performance.

"Tonight" with O'Brien is drawing about half of the roughly 5 million viewers Leno attracted as its host, although O'Brien has gotten a significant ratings bump since the network flap started.

When NBC suggested a half-hour show, Leno told the network he wasn't crazy about doing it but said OK. He asked if O'Brien would agree to be moved to midnight and was told yes — it was almost guaranteed.

Leno may have been restrained with his comments, but he couldn't resist a hard-edged joke at NBC's expense.

"CBS is now developing a new sitcom about the troubles here at NBC," he said. "It's called 'Two Men and a Half-Assed Network.' "

O'Brien let loose on his show Monday, too.

"Last night at the Golden Globes, Julia Roberts said that NBC was in the toilet. NBC was upset and toilets were furious," he said.


Sources: MSNBC

NBC To Regret Conan's Departure? "I'm With CoCo!"...Last Show Friday

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"I'm With CoCo!" As Haggling Continues, Conan O'Brien Supporters Plan Protests, Promise Loyalty



As NBC and Conan O'Brien come close to reaching an agreement, fans of the late night host are planning protests.

A settlement that would let former "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno reclaim the job from O'Brien, and allow O'Brien to leave the network, could come as early as today, ABCNews.com reports.

NBC will reportedly pay the ousted host between $30 and $40 million, a source close to contract negotiations told ABC.

Other "Tonight Show" staffers - many who followed O'Brien from New York to Los Angeles when he left "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" to take over the "Tonight Show" from Leno – will reportedly receive severance and buy-out packages.

Negotiations began last Wednesday, a day after O'Brien announced his refusal to go along with NBC's proposal to move his "Tonight Show" later, so that "The Jay Leno Show" could occupy the 11:35 p.m. time slot.

The staff severance packages are an apparent sticking point in contract negotiations, says ABC, since O'Brien's team wants "to make sure everyone's treated really well," says their source.

O'Brien isn't the only one offended by NBC's move. Fans in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle were planning to hold rallies to "show love" for O'Brien, whom they call "CoCo."

"I don't think we're going to change NBC's stance on what they want to do with late night – I think that's already been inked," rally organizer Mike Mitchell told ABC. "I think hopefully we're going to show Conan's got a huge following and we're behind him no matter where he ends up."

Mitchell also runs the Facebook group, "I'm With COCO," which grew from 200 to more than 315,000 members in days.

"Now is just a good time to support him because he's kind of been put in a tough spot and people can relate to his situation," the 27-year-old freelance illustrator says. "Everybody's had a bad boss that has maybe put them in a position that they didn't want to be in."

Even O'Brien's crew members are part of the movement.

"Everybody on the show has 'I'm With Coco' avatars on Facebook," Mitchell says. "I know personally they want to follow Conan wherever he goes. . . They love him and they respect him."

Meanwhile, the last "Tonight Show" featuring O'Brien as host is set to air this Friday.


Sources: NBC, NY Daily News, MSNBC, Facebook, Youtube

Palin Trades Barbs With Shatner On Conan's Show

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin spars with William Shatner on 'Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'



"Going Rogue" author and former GOP VP hopeful Sarah Palin has a sense of humor after all - maybe.

The former Alaskan governor showed up on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" to trade barbs - of sorts - with actor William Shatner.

The iconic "Star Trek" captain has made several appearances on the late-night talker in recent months, mocking Palin's speeches and tweets via her Twitter page by reading them as beat poetry.

Friday night had the 78-year-old Emmy winner parodying Palin's recent tome, "Going Rogue."

"I looked down to see the moose's eyeballs lying in his palm, still warm from the critter's head," Shatner said, her book open in his hands.

Palin, who has been touring the country to promote her book, came out on stage and turned the tables - making poetry out of lines from the original Captain Kirk's 2008 autobiography, "Up Till Now."

"My whole being resonated with incredible feeling that I was going to go visit with an elephant, on a starless, moonlit night in Africa," Palin said, Shatner's book in her lap. "And I was going to visit that elephant in my underwear."

The gag scored laughs, and both Shatner and Palin departed the stage holding hands.

"It's good to finally see those two together," Conan quipped afterwards.


Sources: NY Daily News, NBC

Ed McMahon: TV Icon & Johnny Carson's Sidekick Dead At 86..."Heeeeeere's Johnny!"

MSNBC----

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

LOS ANGELES - Ed McMahon, the loyal “Tonight Show” sidekick who bolstered boss Johnny Carson with guffaws and a resounding “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s Johnny!” for 30 years, died early Tuesday. He was 86.

McMahon died shortly after midnight at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center surrounded by his wife, Pam, and other family members, said his publicist, Howard Bragman.

Bragman didn’t give a cause of death, saying only that McMahon had a “multitude of health problems the last few months.”

McMahon had bone cancer, among other illnesses, according to a person close to the entertainer, and had been hospitalized for several weeks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information.

McMahon broke his neck in a fall in March 2007, and battled a series of financial problems as his injuries prevented him from working.

Doc Severinson, “Tonight” bandleader during the Carson era, said McMahon was a man “full of life and joy and celebration.”

“He will be sorely missed. He was one of the greats in show business, but most of all he was a gentleman. I miss my friend,” Severinson said in a statement.

Jerry Digney, who was McMahon’s longtime publicist, said McMahon was the most “courtly, good-natured person you could ever meet” and that he brought “elegance, humor and a new sense of importance” to the role of second banana.

McMahon and Carson had worked together for nearly five years on the game show “Who Do You Trust?” when Carson took over NBC’s late-night show from Jack Paar in October 1962. McMahon played second banana on “Tonight” until Carson retired in 1992.

“You can’t imagine hooking up with a guy like Carson,” McMahon said in an interview with The Associated Press in 1993. “There’s the old phrase, hook your wagon to a star. I hitched my wagon to a great star.”

McMahon, who never failed to laugh at his Carson’s quips, kept his supporting role in perspective.

“It’s like a pitcher who has a favorite catcher,” he said. “The pitcher gets a little help from the catcher, but the pitcher’s got to throw the ball. Well, Johnny Carson had to throw the ball, but I could give him a little help.”

Nightly ‘free-for all’ with Carson:

“And now h-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s Johnny!” was McMahon’s trademark opener for each “Tonight” show, followed by a small, respectful bow toward the star. McMahon’s style was honed during his youthful days as a carnival hawker.

The highlight for McMahon came just after the monologue, when he and Carson would chat before the guests took the stage.

“We would just have a free-for-all,” he said in the AP interview. “Now to sit there, with one of the brightest, most well-read men I’ve ever met, the funniest, and just to hold your own in that conversation. ... I loved that.”

When Carson died in 2005, McMahon said he was “like a brother to me,” and recalled bantering with him on the phone a few months earlier.

“We could have gone on (television) that night and done a ’Carnac’ skit. We were that crisp and hot.”

His medical and financial problems kept him in the headlines in his last years. It was reported in June 2008 that he was facing possible foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home.

By year’s end, a deal was worked out allowing him to stay in his home, but legal action involving other alleged debts continued.

Among those who had stepped up with offers of help was Donald Trump.

“When I was at the Wharton School of Business I’d watch him every night,” Trump told the Los Angeles Times in August. “How could this happen?”

McMahon even spoofed his own problems with a spot that aired during the 2009 Super Bowl promoting a cash-for-gold business. Pairing up with rap artist MC Hammer, he explained how easy it is to turn gold items into cash, jokingly saying “Goodbye, old friend” to a gold toilet and rolling out a convincing “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s money!”

Born Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. on March 6, 1923, in Detroit, McMahon grew up in Lowell, Mass. He got his start on television playing a circus clown on the 1950-51 variety series “Big Top.” But the World War II Marine veteran interrupted his career to serve as a fighter pilot in Korea.

He joined “Who Do You Trust?” in 1958, its second year, the start of his long association with Carson. It was a partnership that outlasted their multiple marriages, which provided regular on-air fodder for jokes.

Career beyond "Tonight":

While Carson built his career around “Tonight” and withdrew from the limelight after his retirement, McMahon took a different path. He was host of several shows over the years, including “The Kraft Music Hall” (1968) and the amateur talent contest “Star Search.”

He was a longtime co-host of the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, a Labor Day weekend institution, and was co-host with Dick Clark of “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes.”

McMahon and Clark also teamed up as pitchmen for American Family Publishers’ sweepstakes, with their faces a familiar sight on contest entry forms and in TV commercials. McMahon was known for his ongoing commercials for Budweiser as well.

He had supporting roles in several movies, including “Fun With Dick and Jane” (1977) and “Just Write” (1997). He took on his first regular TV series job in the 1997 WB sitcom “The Tom Show” with Tom Arnold.

McMahon released his autobiography, “For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times,” in 1998. In it, he recounts the birth of “Tonight.”

“Let’s just go down there and entertain the hell out of them,” Carson told him before the first show. Wrote McMahon: “That was the only advice I ever got from him.”

In 1993, he recalled his first meeting with Carson after they left “Tonight.”

“The first thing he said was, ‘I really miss you. You know, it was fun, wasn’t it?”’ McMahon recalled. “I said, ‘It was great.’ And it was. It was just great.”

Besides his wife, Pam, McMahon is survived by children Claudia, Katherine, Linda, Jeffrey and Lex.

Bragman said no funeral arrangements have been made.

Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps