Johnny Carson News

'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' will make its broadcast debut on Monday, March 2, 2009 at 12:35/11:35c. The New York Post is reporting that acting icon Robert De Niro will be Jimmy Fallon's first guest on the revamped 'Late Night', will be joined by Van Morrison, who'll perform on Fallon's inaugural telecast.

Comedy icon Joan Rivers met her fans at the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Square, as she signed copies of her two newly published titles. BWW TV was there to spend the evening with the entertainment legend!

BWW TV STAGE TUBE brings you the official Oscar night preview trailer courtesy of the fine folks over at ABC!

ABC's Barbara Walters, who interviewed Hugh Jackman for her annual Oscar-night special, says the actor's role as host of Sunday's Oscar broadcast has given him a trace of pre-show jitters. Walters revealed, 'He's nervous about it. He's never done it before!' She added, 'I said, 'What would REALLY make you nervous?' And he said, 'Looking in the front row and seeing Jack Nicholson.'

E! Online is reporting that stage and screen star (and Oscars' host) Hugh Jackman won't be the only one singing and dancing at this Sunday's Academy Awards. They report that he'll be joined on stage by stars including Beyonce, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Amanda Seyfriend, Dominic Cooper & more.

Hugh Jackman tell the Associated Press he knows the Oscars ceremony isn't about him, but he's looking forward to enjoying it all the same. The screen and stage superstar chatted with the AP in a phone interview yesterday, Friday, February 13th, less than two weeks before the Feb. 22 ceremony which will be airing on ABC.

Super Ensemble Saves the Day: True, it's not a great musical. True, they used a television show to pick the leads for Broadway. True, you've probably seen the 1978 movie and perhaps some incarnation of the musical somewhere since its debut in 1971. True, Taylor Hicks will not appear anymore in Baltimore. So...why see this production at the Hippodrome which runs through Sunday, Feb. 15?

Sharing the stage to sing their chart topping hits, Jay Black, former lead singer of Jay and The Americans, and 60s teen idol Lou Christie come to the St. George Theatre on Saturday, May 9th.

On February 7, 2009, the Lyric Stage League presents CABARET '09: THE LEGENDARY DAYS OF LAS VEGAS, the annual fund-raising event for Lyric Stage. Marilyn Maye, fresh from her latest New York City triumph, will headline this year's gala at the beautiful Four Seasons Resort and Club. Billy Stritch, direct from his engagement with Liza Minnelli on Broadway at the Palace Theater, will accompany Ms. Maye. Call 972-594-1904 for tickets or more info. Marilyn Maye was one of the brightest lights of television, supper clubs and the recording industry during the 1960's. She became a fixture on THE TONIGHT SHOW with Steve Allen and Johnny Carson and enjoyed a great recording career with RCA. After an absence of over 15 years, she made a triumphant return to New York City last fall. THE NEW YORK OBSERVER's Rex Reed proclaimed 'This woman has everything. She can belt, and she can sing ballads with the kind of warmth that makes your heart smile. She has a theatrical flair that captivates and enthralls, and jazz-spiced chops that can reach notes most singers one-third her age can't even hit in their dreams. The standing ovations were unlike anything I've seen since the halcyon days of Lena Horne at the Waldorf. She's the real deal.'

February 3rd, 2009 was a very special day at the Music Box Theatre because August: Osage County celebrated its 500th performance (that's a lot of drugs, fights, fish and smashed plates!), BroadwayWorld sent in the cameras to capture all the 'family fun'! Original cast members Kimberly Guerrero, Sally Murphy, Troy West and Mariann Mayberry returned to their roles direct from their recent smash-hit limited engagement in London. And, to top things off, Tony winner Elizabeth Ashley joined the cast in the role of 'Mattie Fae'.

The New York Times has reported that Tony winner Rob Ashford will lend his talents to director Baz Luhrmann's staging for Hugh Jackman's opening number for the 81st Annual Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on December 12th, 2008, that Hugh Jackman will host this year's Oscar telecast. Previous hosts have usually been TV or film comedians including Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, John Stewart, Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres and others

With the closing of The Cutting Room, legendary comedian JOAN RIVERS brings her her live stand-up act to The Lower East Side. Beginning February 3rd, Rivers presents an evening of her newest and most outrageous riffs on Hollywood, pop culture, celebrities, and award show fashions at The Slipper Room, 167 Orchard Street (on the corner of Orchard and Stanton Streets, one block below Houston -- accessible from the F&V trains at 2nd Avenue). Rivers performs live every Tuesday at 7:30pm from February 3 - 24. Tickets are $30 with a portion of the proceeds going to Joan Rivers' favorite charities: God's Love We Deliver and Guide Dogs for the Blind. For reservations call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com. Doors open one hour before showtime, with food and a full bar available.

August: Osage County, winner of five 2008 Tony Awards as well as the 2008 Pulitzer Prize, is proud to welcome Tony Award winner, ELIZABETH ASHLEY who joins the cast beginning Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 7:00 pm. ASHLEY, celebrating her fifth decade on Broadway, will play the role of 'Mattie Fae Aiken.'

Comedy icon Joan Rivers met her fans on Thursday, January 29th at the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Square, as she signed copies of her two newly published titles. BroadwayWorld.com's cameras were there to spend the evening with the entertainment legend! Rivers' books are MEN ARE STUPID...AND THEY LIKE BIG BOOBS...A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO BEAUTY THROUGH PLASTIC SURGERY and MURDER AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS...A RED CARPET MURDER MYSTERY.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on December 12th, 2008, that Hugh Jackman will host the 81st annual Academy Awards. The film and stage superstar spoke to Entertainment Weekly about hosting the legendary telecast, including his sure-fire secret to television success, 'nudity'.

The Academy of Magical Arts is proud to annouce that Neil Patrick Harris is both co-producing and hosting the Academy of Magical Arts Awards (The Oscars of Magic) on March 8th. Neil is giving the traditional event a face lift and bringing an entirely restructured format for the program to a new venue. Also, although not common knowledge, Neal is also an amature magician.

The Magic Castle announces a special engagement of 'The First 80 Years are the Hardest,' an intimate evening with Carol Channing on March 2nd & 3rd at 8pm. Miss Channing will be launching Cabaret at the Castle which is being developed as additional theatre space (currently boasting five theatres from the Parlour of Prestidigitation to the Palace of Mystery) in the Magic Castle's lower level, known as The Inner Circle (7001 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90028).

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Joan Rivers 'made the rounds' in New York during the '50s, appearing in a few off-off Broadway plays (including one where she played a lesbian opposite an equally unknown Barbra Streisand), surviving sleazy agents, tawdry clubs, and hostile audiences. A 1965 booking on 'The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson' led to her hosting one of the first syndicated talk shows on daytime TV, 'That Show with Joan Rivers' in 1968. In the '70s Joan wrote the TV-movie The Girl Most Likely To (starring Stockard Channing) and then wrote and directed her first feature film Rabbit Test, casting Billy Crystal in the lead. In 1983 Joan became the permanent guest host on 'The Tonight Show.' Later, she headlined in Las Vegas, sold out Carnegie Hall, produced a Grammy nominated comedy album, and wrote two best-selling books. In 1989 the Tribune Corporation launched Joan in her own syndicated daytime talk show. She won an Emmy and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1994 she wrote and starred on Broadway in Sally Marr and Her Escorts, for which she received a Best Actress Tony nomination. Since then, Joan has written three more best-selling books, maintains her own jewelry line on QVC, provided fashion commentaries for E! and The TV Guide Channel, and filmed a special for Bravo. Currently, she has two new books on sale (Men Are Stupid . . . And They Like Big Boobs: A Woman's Guide to Beauty Through Plastic Surgery and Murder at the Academy Awards). She will be a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice 2 beginning March 1st. Later this year, she will also host the new reality TV series How'd You Get So Rich? on TV Land.

On February 7, 2009, the Lyric Stage League presents CABARET '09: THE LEGENDARY DAYS OF LAS VEGAS, the annual fund-raising event for Lyric Stage. Marilyn Maye, fresh from her latest New York City triumph, will headline this year's gala at the beautiful Four Seasons Resort and Club. Billy Stritch, direct from his engagement with Liza Minnelli on Broadway at the Palace Theater, will accompany Ms. Maye. Call 972-594-1904 for tickets or more info. Marilyn Maye was one of the brightest lights of television, supper clubs and the recording industry during the 1960's. She became a fixture on THE TONIGHT SHOW with Steve Allen and Johnny Carson and enjoyed a great recording career with RCA. After an absence of over 15 years, she made a triumphant return to New York City last fall. THE NEW YORK OBSERVER's Rex Reed proclaimed 'This woman has everything. She can belt, and she can sing ballads with the kind of warmth that makes your heart smile. She has a theatrical flair that captivates and enthralls, and jazz-spiced chops that can reach notes most singers one-third her age can't even hit in their dreams. The standing ovations were unlike anything I've seen since the halcyon days of Lena Horne at the Waldorf. She's the real deal.'

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Joan Rivers 'made the rounds' in New York during the '50s, appearing in a few off-off Broadway plays (including one where she played a lesbian opposite an equally unknown Barbra Streisand), surviving sleazy agents, tawdry clubs, and hostile audiences. A 1965 booking on 'The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson' led to her hosting one of the first syndicated talk shows on daytime TV, 'That Show with Joan Rivers' in 1968. In the '70s Joan wrote the TV-movie The Girl Most Likely To (starring Stockard Channing) and then wrote and directed her first feature film Rabbit Test, casting Billy Crystal in the lead. In 1983 Joan became the permanent guest host on 'The Tonight Show.' Later, she headlined in Las Vegas, sold out Carnegie Hall, produced a Grammy nominated comedy album, and wrote two best-selling books. In 1989 the Tribune Corporation launched Joan in her own syndicated daytime talk show. She won an Emmy and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1994 she wrote and starred on Broadway in Sally Marr and Her Escorts, for which she received a Best Actress Tony nomination. Since then, Joan has written three more best-selling books, maintains her own jewelry line on QVC, provided fashion commentaries for E! and The TV Guide Channel, and filmed a special for Bravo. Currently, she has two new books on sale (Men Are Stupid . . . And They Like Big Boobs: A Woman's Guide to Beauty Through Plastic Surgery and Murder at the Academy Awards). She will be a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice 2 beginning March 1st. Later this year, she will also host the new reality TV series How'd You Get So Rich? on TV Land.