LATE SHOW NEWS #174 addendum to October 7 & 14 issue by Aaron Barnhart NOTE: This issue is rated R for revisions! Turns out I conserved a little too much mental energy with LSN #173. Several items were omitted that appear below. Also, since it's Thursday, I'm sending along my Leno piece which appeared in this morning's paper (and which for some reason did not show up at the Web site). See you Oct. 21, when I'll be in New York, Conan O'Brien will be in Cologne and Chuck Barris will still be in the south of France, blissfully out of reach. *** LENO UNFANGED [Note: A version of the following article appears in the Oct. 9 edition of The Kansas City Star.] Call a ceasefire in the late-night wars! Jay Leno has come to the defense of David Letterman. Since May, Leno has been regaling his "Tonight Show" audiences with joke after joke about Marv Albert, the disgraced sportscaster whose sexual practices became the stuff of tabloids following his arrest and trial on forcible sodomy charges. All the while his rival Letterman has refused to make Albert the butt of even a single joke. Albert is a friend and was a frequent guest on Letterman's NBC and CBS shows. Leno sympathizes. "Marv Albert -- I understand that perfectly," Leno said by phone this week from his office in Burbank, Calif. "Dave is a close friend of Marv's. He did exactly the right thing. "If it were Jerry Seinfeld or a close friend of mine, I wouldn't make jokes about him either." But in the weird logic of the entertainment world, it is the loyal Letterman, not the fickle Leno, who is to be judged more harshly. In newspapers and on radio talk shows, Letterman has been called a hypocrite. After all, he was willing to joke about O.J., Paula Jones and Frank Gifford -- so then, the reasoning goes, he should be willing to give his old pal Marv the third degree. Until last month Leno and Albert were both employed by NBC, but that didn't prevent Leno from sinking his teeth, so to speak, into Albert's hide the night after the sportscaster's arrest in May. Audiences responded immediately, and the jokes have just kept coming. Marv Albert jokes have proven such crowd pleasers, in fact, that NBC has used them in the nightly ads it airs in prime time promoting the "Tonight Show." As for Letterman, he came under fire last week from no less than Time magazine, which printed a "Harper's Index"-style comparison of the number of Albert jokes Leno had told (43) and the number Letterman had told (zero) -- and the number of appearances Albert made with Letterman (an estimated 100). Leno suggests that the media still keep taking shots at him and Letterman because they can't let go of the notion that the two are locked in mortal combat. Yet both hosts have contract extensions through 2001 and make tens of millions of dollars for their networks. "I don't know if I should be flattered or annoyed that this is still a story six years later," he said. "It's funny to see that it's still news." *** It was after the fact anyway, but I suppose I should've mentioned a hastily-arranged 500th show for Charles Grodin on CNBC Monday featuring Regis Philbin and the undisputed king of late night, Jack Paar. The highlight, at least according to the AP report, was when Paar revealed the day he first learned about Regis Philbin. Walter Winchell, who locked horns with Paar when the latter was host of "The Tonight Show," touted young Philbin as "the best there ever was," according to Paar. Grodin and Paar both live in Connecticut and were introduced to each other by Reege. *** A respected minister is accused of financial abuses which come to national attention after his wife is accused of arson. It sounds like a major tabloid story that would capture the attention of the major media. But the ongoing investigation of Reverend Henry J. Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention USA, has by and large avoided public scrutiny. But it was the primary focus of "BET Tonight" on September 30. Lyons has said that the charges against him were part of a white conspiracy which included the media. This placed host Tavis Smiley in a difficult spot: Questioning that was too aggressive might be perceived as an attack on Rev. Lyons; but the issues were so serious, a lack of tough questioning would've be irresponsible. The presence of Grady Irvin, Rev. Lyons' attorney, during the interview made Smiley's job more difficult (presence of counsel was a pre-condition of doing the interview). Smiley did a good job, but he could have been more aggressive, but there were no restraints on the callers to the live show. When one caller asked Rev. Lyons about the handling of over $200,000 of donations from the Anti-Defamation League that was supposed to help rebuild black churches burned down in the South last summer, Irvin prevented Rev. Lyons from answering. -- by Harrison Wyman *** Tom Heald's THIS NIGHT IN HISTORY Exclusive to LATE SHOW NEWS Tu 10/14: In 1995, executive producer Quincy Jones and the Fox network unleash "Mad TV" upon the world, with the best guest host available at the time, Kato Kaelin. Now in its third season, "MAD TV" has finally succeeded in being just as lame as "Saturday Night Live." We 10/15: In 1973, "Tomorrow" with Tom Snyder debuts on NBC. "From those of us working the late shift in Southern California, sweet dreams." Th 10/16: In 1992, "Late Night With David Letterman" airs show #1700: Tom Brokaw fries bacon with his eyes on Viewer Mail, Letterman visits a dream analyst, "Cooking with Yams," and actor/pianist Jeff Goldblum plays "Misty." You know, the usual. Fr 10/17: In 1981, Eddie Murphy character "Velvet Jones," leader of Velvet Jones School of Technology," makes the first of seven appearances on "SNL," this time promoting his new book "I Wanna Be A Ho." Sa 10/18: In 1986, Dana Carvey (Hans) and Kevin Nealon (Franz) declare for the very first time that "We are here to PUMP -- YOU UP!" on "SNL." Su 10/19: In 1970, Chris Kattan is born. You might recognize Kattan from as one of "The Roxbury Guys" on the last season and a half of "SNL." If you do, please seek immediate help. Mo 10/20: In 1974, "Weekend" premieres on NBC with host Lloyd Dobbins. An unusual mix of hard news, odd features ("The Pigeon Wars"), sarcastic commentary and running cartoons, this offbeat late-night newsmagazine airs once a month; after "Saturday Night Live" signs on, it alternates. [Thanks to Dave Tanny, Tim Brooks, Earl Marsh, Frank Serpas III, and Mike Cader. Special thanks to Donz5 - Is he not man? D-O-N-Z!] Lambaste Tom Heald at . THE *updated* LINEUPS with Sue Trowbridge LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS Th 10/9 Jim Belushi, Christina Ricci, Oasis Fr 10/10 Uma Thurman, Mark Wahlberg, Mitch Fatel Mo 10/13 David Duchovny, Yancy Butler, Todd Barry Tu 10/14 Master regurgitator Stevie Starr, Green Day We 10/15 Nathan Lane, Charlize Theron, Carly Simon Th 10/16 Mike Wallace, Christine Lahti, LL Cool J Fr 10/17 Harmony Korine, Smash Mouth Mo 10/20 Will Smith (R 6/30/97), Ellen DeGeneres (R 9/26/94), Chris Rock (R 6/13/94) Tu 10/21 Dennis Miller (R 8/8/96), Dennis Rodman (R 6/13/95), Denis Leary (R 3/4/94) Run for your lives -- Letterman's doing cut-and-paste repeats again!! THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, NBC Th 10/9 Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock, Duran Duran Fr 10/10 Alexandra Wentworth Mo 10/13 Goldie Hawn, Brett Favre, Barry White Tu 10/14 Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt We 10/15 Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Sorvino, Aerosmith Th 10/16 Keanu Reeves, Rowan Atkinson, Aaron Neville Fr 10/17 Ethan Hawke, Kim Delaney, Top Finishers In Singing Dog Contest Mo 10/20 Michael Jordan, Elizabeth Hurley (R 9/24/96 TSwJL #1,000) Tu 10/21 Dustin Hoffman, Martin Page (R 3/8/95) LATE LATE SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER, CBS Th 10/9 TBA Fr 10/10 Robert Urich Mo 10/13 Tom Bodett Tu 10/14 TBA We 10/15 Joan Collins LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC Th 10/9 John Lithgow, Penelope Ann Miller, Paul Tompkins Fr 10/10 John Larroquette Mo 10/13 Martin Sheen, Judith Martin, Curtis Salgado with Steve Miller (R 7/30/97) Tu 10/14 David Duchovny, Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts We 10/15 Penn & Teller, Jill Hennessy, Powerman 5000 Th 10/16 Tori Spelling, Ice-T, Evel Kneivel LATER, NBC Th 10/9 Cory Miller with LL Cool J Mo 10/13 - Th 10/16 Harland Williams with guests TBA CHARLIE ROSE, PBS Th 10/9 Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks, Vera Wang, Mark Wahlberg Fr 10/10 Nat Hentoff, Janeane Garofalo Mo 10/13 Parker Posey, Carolina Herrera, Doris Kearns Goodwin Tu 10/14 Panel On "Where Have You Gone Joe Dimaggio?"; Ang Lee We 10/15 Twyla Tharp, R. Michael Mondavi Th 10/16 "Everest" Panel, Patti Smith, Jim Hoge Fr 10/17 TBA Mo 10/21 TBA Tu 10/22 Stansfield Turner We 10/22 Caleb Carr, Stephen Jay Gould Th 10/23 Anne Rice Fr 10/24 TBA Mo 10/27 Joseph H. Nye Jr. Tu 10/28 Tommy Tune We 10/29 Johnny Cash Th 10/30 TBA Fr 10/31 TBA Mo 11/3 David Mamet, David Shipler Tu 11/4 Ken Burns POLITICALLY INCORRECT WITH BILL MAHER, ABC Th 10/9 Dr. William Schulz, Elizabeth Perkins, Ken Osmond Fr 10/10 Chris Rock, Parker Posey, Kellyanne Fitzpatrick VIBE TV, syndicated Th 10/9 Heather Paige Kent, Tonic Fr 10/10 Rolanda Watts, James Brown KEENEN IVORY WAYANS, syndicated Th 10/9 Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Joan Hart Fr 10/10 Chris Rock, Daphne Zuniga Mo 10/13 Whitney Houston, Kelsey Grammer Tu 10/14 Jim Belushi We 10/15 Dr. Drew Pinsky, Adam Carolla Th 10/16 Bobby Brown SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, NBC Sa 10/11 Rob Lowe, Spice Girls, Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci (R) DIE HARALD SCHMIDT SHOW, SAT.1 Mi 8/10 Boxer Ralf Rocchigiani, Gabriele Krone Schmalz Do 9/10 Sandra Schwarzhaupt, Marlene Lufen Fr 10/10 Minh Khai Phan Thi, Tom Gerhardt Di 14/10 Klaus Wennemann, Claudia Jung Mi 15/10 Anouschka Renzi, Rainer Hunold Do 16/10 Christian Ulmen Fr 17/10 Verona Feldbusch, Sandra Maischberger ... and guesting on 21 October: Conan O'Brien And sorry to report but it appears E!'s Web site is reverting to the same cluelessness of E!'s old telephone hotline. Not only were Howard Stern's lineups not updated when I checked earlier this week, today, using a different computer that didn't have my Web bookmarks on it, I couldn't even *find* Stern lineups on E! Online's needlessly over-complicated site. (Just try the Howard Stern page at www.eonline.com and tell me if any of the 27 links there points you to his guest lineups.) Also on late nights: NIGHTLINE and WORLD NEWS NOW, ABC CHARLES GRODIN, CNBC CARSON'S COMEDY CLASSICS, Family Channel MAD TV, Fox SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, NBC (this season) and Comedy Central (classics) THE RUPAUL SHOW, VH1 LOVELINE and ODDVILLE MTV, MTV UP TO THE MINUTE, CBS NIGHTSIDE, NBC Copyright 1997 by Aaron Barnhart. Portions Copyright 1997 The Kansas City Star Co. All rights reserved. Distributed by e-mail and BBS to over 10,000 readers weekly. Guest lineups are updated throughout the week by Sue Trowbridge at LATE SHOW NEWS is made possible with the generous assistance of ECHO, New York City's premiere online service. Send news for and comments about this newsletter to aaron@tvbarn.com