03:47 PM EDT 05/25/2012
David Letterman
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POLL: Which Late-Night Host Would You Rather Watch?
Originally posted 01/12/2010 07:30PM
If NBC is choreographing the late-night shuffle, then Conan O'Brien doesn't want to dance.
The host of NBC's Tonight Show made it clear on Tuesday that moving his program to 12:05 a.m. in order to make way for The Jay Leno Show at 11:35 p.m. is no laughing matter. "Delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," he said in a statement.
Although O'Brien says, "I currently have no other offer," speculation is rampant that he could leave NBC and go to another network. If he did that, he could end up going head-to-head with Jay Leno and David Letterman, who is currently on top of the late-night ratings heap.
Tell us: Who would you tune in to see?
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David Letterman Jumps into Late-Night Fray
Originally posted 01/12/2010 07:20PM
Late-night TV can usually be counted on for a steady diet of jokes. Now it is the joke.
David Letterman joined in the skirmish Tuesday by making jokes about NBC's late-night host shuffle on the Late Show, according to a transcript of his opening monologue.
NBC vowed Sunday to push Conan O'Brien and the Tonight Show back to 12:05 a.m. to make room for The Jay Leno Show at 11:35 p.m. O'Brien balked at the idea, saying he refused to take part in the "destruction" of the Tonight Show brand and blasted the network for trying to patch up its ratings problems in prime-time by toying with its late-night lineup.
Letterman gleefully called the back-and-forth "chaos and craziness and mayhem" and quipped that an O'Brien departure would be good for his show on CBS. "You know what this means – that's right, I knocked off another competitor," Letterman said.
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INSIDE STORY: How Celebs Thwart Their Blackmailers
Originally posted 12/20/2009 10:00AM
In an industry where privacy is hard to come by, celebrities prefer to keep their dirty laundry behind closed doors. But a recent string of extortion plots against Hollywood players has them coming out swinging – no matter the risks of humiliation or hardship.
Larry Stein, an attorney who represented actor Rob Lowe and his wife in an alleged extortion plot by their former nannies, says, in fact, more celebrities are willing to face down their blackmailers.
"Celebrities have to let people know that they’re not going to be extorted, or that they’re not going to be threatened," Stein says. "It’s important to distance yourselves from these people and tell them you’re not going to be bullied by them … People are prepared to stand up to it now."
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The Cheating Poll: Who's the Year's Worst?
Originally posted 12/11/2009 01:45PM
When it came to ending the decade with a bang, 2009 blessed us with a bumper crop of cads. Besides Tiger Woods and his full course of alleged mistresses, there was ...
Reality sleaze Jon Gosselin, who publicly caroused with a number of younger women right after his separation ...
David Letterman, whose affair with a woman who worked on his show led to blackmail ...
Former presidential candidate John Edwards, who cheated on his cancer-stricken wife with a campaign staffer, a union that reportedly resulted in a lovechild ...
And South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who is alleged to have misappropriated public funds to visit his mistress in Argentina and whose wife plans to file for divorce.
Which cad takes the cake?
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David Letterman Suspect Seeks Dismissal of Case
Originally posted 11/10/2009 02:55PM
Suspended CBS producer Robert Joel "Joe" Halderman – accused of attempting to extort $2 million from David Letterman – appeared in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday, where his attorney sought to have the indictment against him dismissed.
Defense attorney Gerald Shargel told reporters outside the courtroom, "There was no extortion. This was a commercial transaction, nothing more. [Letterman's] celebrity is why we are here today."
Also speaking with reporters, Letterman's attorney, Daniel Horowitz, said he rejects the notion of a "transaction," terming this a case of "classic blackmail … Dave Letterman is not on trial," he said. "He is the victim in this case."
Horowitz added, "Mr. Letterman is fully prepared to see this through to the end – including testifying at trial."
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Ex-Staffer: Letterman Show a Hostile Work Environment
Originally posted 10/27/2009 07:00PM
A former female writer for David Letterman has provided a behind-the-scenes portrait of the show that is anything but funny.
In an essay published on the Vanity Fair Web site, Nell Scovell, who worked for Late Night with David Letterman for five months in 1990, says that, though she wasn't personally hit on by Letterman, the sexual shenanigans at the show eventually caused her to leave.
"I walked away from my dream job," she says. "I'd seen enough to know that I was not going to thrive professionally in that workplace. And although there were various reasons for that, sexual politics did play a major part."
Kate Gosselin Wigs Selling Out for Halloween
Originally posted 10/21/2009 09:00AM
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
If you feel compelled to snatch the hair off of Kate Gosselin's head, better act fast: Kate blonde wigs for Halloween are selling out in New York stores, according to Wednesday's Today show.
One of the replicas of the Gosselin 'do – described as "a reverse mullet" – made it onto the morning program's set, and then on to the crown of guest anchor Erin Burnett's head.
Also on display were two other best-sellers in the costume department: a mask of David Letterman, currently embroiled in an alleged extortion plot against him, and a mask of imprisoned Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff.
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Inside David Letterman's Love Life
Originally posted 10/15/2009 02:00PM
Nearly two weeks after David Letterman first revealed that he was the victim of an alleged $2 million blackmail plot – and shocked fans with his on-air confession that he had had sex with women who work for him – the veil over the Late Show host's previously super-private love life has lifted.
And, as friends and other sources reveal, that love life has always been both idiosyncratic – and messy.
While one source close to Letterman tells PEOPLE that Letterman's affairs – including an alleged liaison with his longtime assistant, Stephanie Birkitt – "pre-existed his marriage" to Regina Lasko last March, it is his marriage that Letterman will be working to shore up as he heads on vacation in the coming week.
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University to Letterman: Hands Off Our Interns!
Originally posted 10/13/2009 08:10AM
David Letterman's days of frolicking with interns are over – at least as far as one Connecticut university is concerned.
Quinnipiac University says it will tell staff in charge of placing interns to be extra careful when sending students to the studio to work for Letterman, 62, who is currently at the center of a blackmail scandal over his alleged affair with one of his former interns.
"Due to recent circumstances we will have a discussion with those in charge of placing our interns at the David Letterman show in the future," the Hamden, Conn., school tells TMZ. "We will diligently oversee this internship program to ensure that our interns are out of harm's way."
So far, there has been no comment from the Letterman camp.
– Michael Y. Park
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Alleged David Letterman Blackmailer Spurred on by Jealousy
Originally posted 10/08/2009 12:00PM
It wasn't the $2 million he allegedly sought that prompted Joe Halderman to try to blackmail David Letterman – it was jealousy, according to a source.
In August, Halderman, 51, caught the talk-show host and his then-girlfriend, Letterman's onetime assistant Stephanie Birkitt, passionately kissing in a car in the driveway of the Norwalk, Conn., home Halderman shared with her, a source tells PEOPLE.
Letterman and Birkitt "were seen making out in the driveway in August," the source says. "He drove her home once a week. The interesting thing was he lives in North Salem, N.Y. Driving her home to Norwalk wasn't exactly the next town."
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