01:30 AM EDT 10/08/2008

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Michael Phelps: These Are the 'Best Weeks of My Life'

Originally posted 09/09/2008 08:55AM


After a party-filled weekend in Las Vegas and schmoozing with the stars at the Video Music Awards, Michael Phelps appeared mellow and relaxed Monday night on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

He's certainly been keeping busy since his eight-gold-medal performance in Beijing. "I walked down the red carpet with Kid Rock and L'il Wayne was right in front of me," Phelps, 23, said of his MTV experience. "These have probably been the best weeks of my life."

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Credit: John P. Filo/CBS, Dave Bjerke/NBC, Timothy White/NBC
David Letterman Questions NBC's Replacing Leno | Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Jay Leno

TV News

David Letterman Questions NBC's Replacing Leno

Originally posted 09/03/2008 08:10AM

Despite their on-air rivalry for the past 15 years, David Letterman is displaying empathy for Jay Leno – given the way NBC is showing the Tonight Show host the door, to be replaced by Conan O'Brien on June 1, 2009.

"Unless I'm misunderstanding something, I don't know why, after the job Jay has done for them, why they would relinquish that," the CBS Late Show host, 61, tells Rolling Stone in excerpts made available to the Associated Press and The New York Times.

"I guess they thought it was a less messy way to handle what happened to me at NBC. I don't know."

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Ben Stiller, Jay Leno Pay Tribute to George Carlin | George Carlin

Tributes

Ben Stiller, Jay Leno Pay Tribute to George Carlin

Originally posted 06/23/2008 03:35PM

George Carlin – who once wryly wondered, "Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?" – is being mourned by fellow comedians such as Ben Stiller and Jay Leno, not only for being a groundbreaker in entertainment but an individual of great honor.

"George Carlin was a hugely influential force in stand-up comedy," Stiller, 42, said in a statement. "He had an amazing mind, and his humor was brave, and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining. He was one of the greats and he will be missed."

Carlin, 71, died Sunday of heart failure.

Staff members of Saturday Night Live and David Letterman's Late Show are said to devastated by the loss, a former associate of both programs tells PEOPLE.

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Leno & Phillippe Still 'Friends' After Remarks | Jay Leno

TV News

Jay Leno & Ryan Phillippe Still 'Friends' After Interview Controversy

Originally posted 04/11/2008 10:00AM

There's no hard feelings between Jay Leno and Ryan Philippe, the TV host insisted Thursday night – after the recent controversy in which Leno asked the actor for his "gayest look."

When asked if there's any tension now between him and Phillippe, he replied, "That's all silly, of course."

"He's terrific," Leno, 57, told reporters at Thursday's One, Two, Many premiere in Hollywood.

Credit: Margaret Norton/NBC
Jay Leno Apologizes for Remarks to Ryan Phillippe | Jay Leno

Jay Leno Apologizes for Remarks to Ryan Phillippe

Originally posted 04/01/2008 05:20PM

Jay Leno apologized Tuesday for on-air remarks he made during a chat with Ryan Phillippe that were then criticized by gay activists and others.

"In talking about Ryan's first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong," the host of NBC's Tonight Show said in a statement to PEOPLE. "I certainly didn't mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize."

Last week, while talking with Phillippe (whose appearance was keyed to his new movie Stop-Loss), Leno, 57, said to the actor, "Can you give me, like – say that camera is your gay lover ..." (Phillippe's first role was as a gay character on a soap opera).

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TV News

Jay Leno Criticized for Remarks to Ryan Phillippe

Originally posted 04/01/2008 12:15PM


Jay Leno's nice-guy reputation is taking a beating from the gay community and others after NBC's Tonight Show host made some recent on-air remarks deemed highly inappropriate.

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Credit: Margaret Norton/NBC
Writers Guild: Jay Leno Violated Rules | Jay Leno

Writers Guild: Jay Leno Violated Rules

Originally posted 01/03/2008 06:50PM

The Writers Guild is not laughing about Jay Leno's return to NBC's Tonight Show Wednesday night.

"A discussion took place today between Jay Leno and the Writers Guild to clarify to him that writing for The Tonight Show constitutes a violation of the Guilds' strike rules," the Guild said in a statement Thursday.

Although Leno isn't using any writers, he's listed as one of the show's scribes and is a member of the WGA.

David Letterman and his company, Worldwide Pants, struck a deal with the WGA to allow the writers to come back to work. Leno's show, which is owned by NBC, is subject to different negotiations.
Karen Salkin

Credit: Video courtesy CBS

TV News

Leno, Letterman Return to the Air

Originally posted 01/03/2008 09:25AM


It took two presidential candidates to help the two late-night kings of television return to the air Tuesday: Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee, with Jay Leno, and Democratic contender Hillary Clinton, with David Letterman.

"Dave has been off the air for eight long weeks," Senator Clinton, appearing via satellite from the campaign in Iowa, said at the outset of CBS's Late Show with David Letterman. "Tonight, he's back. Oh, well. All good things come to an end."

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Credit: Paul Drinkwater/NBC
Tonight Show Pondering Guest Hosts During Strike | Jay Leno

Tonight Show Pondering Guest Hosts During Strike

Originally posted 11/12/2007 05:00PM

With Jay Leno honoring the writers strike picket line, producers are pondering guest hosts

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David Letterman, Jay Leno Set to Go on Hold? | David Letterman

TV News

David Letterman, Jay Leno Set to Go on Hold?

Originally posted 11/03/2007 06:25PM

David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Conan O’Brien may have to button their lips come Monday – due to the proposed strike of the Writers Guild of America.

If the issues of money that divide the two sides – the writers on one side, producers on the other – do not get resolved by then, all talk shows will have to go into reruns or be taken off the air temporarily (as will any programming that requires newly-written material, such as sitcoms, dramas and made-for-TV movies).

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