SEACREST, OUT As expected, Ryan Seacrest shoots down those rumors that he’s replacing Larry King. But the pre-show buzz was almost enough to get you to tune in, wasn’t it? [HP]
Ryan Seacrest on rumors he’s taking over for Larry King: “I will be on Larry’s show Thursday night. We will talk more about it with Larry. Larry is going to be on CNN as long as Larry wants to be but I am going to be Larry’s guest Thursday night and Larry and I are going to talk about everything.” [AH]
It’s unclear if The Scoop’s Courtney Hazlett knows Larry King renewed his contract with CNN through 2010 or whether she just chose to overlook it in favor of the deal’s loophole, which doesn’t guarantee King his 9pm timeslot, but she’s pushing rumors that Ryan Seacrest is planning to take over for King, supposedly, in 2009. Which, um, would be impossible? Not according to a CNN source, who claims the American Idol host is in “serious negotiations” to assume hosting duties by year’s end.
Either way, the gossip mill chum isn’t good news for Katie Couric, whose camp has been putting out feelers for the King slot for months.
Update: Worth noting: This isn’t the first time MSNBC gossip Hazlett has run into trouble with her reporting (but when haven’t us gossips?). As the Observer notes, she had to have her story about James Frey pulled from the website on Thursday because it was based on false info.
Even though Larry King just reupped his deal with CNN to keep his game of softball on the air until at least 2011, his contract did not guarantee him the 9pm slot, effectively leaving open the possibility that they could still install ratings-loser Katie Couric there post-CBS. When word arrived that a King takeover was a possible Couric career move, the Time Warner network quickly re-signed its star; but without giving him the 9pm slot, they kept King under contract while maintaining the option of transitioning Couric into the primetime post. Sneaky sneaky!
Sorry, Katie Couric, but your best post-CBS job prospect just got taken off the table. Larry King is re-signing with CNN, keeping his farting on the air until at least 2010.
“And so it is / Just like you said it would be / Life goes easy on me / Most of the time / And so it is.” Not even halfway through her five-year, $15 million/year contract with CBS News, and Katie Couric is already said to be in talks with CBS chief Les Moonves and CBS News head Sean McManus to shape her exit. It’ll likely come after November’s presidential election or January’s inauguration, and nobody’s entirely sure where Katie will end up, or who will take over the Evening News. Two plausible scenarios: Katie will wait out CNN’s Capt. Fartypants, Larry King, to replace him (his deal expires in 2009), or she’ll grab her own talk show on CBS, or a full-time gig on 60 Minutes, or they’d let her go free to run through the meadows in search of a better deal. Though CBS brass continue to think she’s doing an excellent job with her 22 minutes a night, she hasn’t been able to pull the show’s ratings up to a competitive level; CBS Evening News draws an average 5.9 million viewers to NBC’s 8.3m and ABC’s 8m. All this, and just when Howard Kurtz started rolling out the sympathy red carpet.
Jenny McCarthy believes common medical vaccinations cause autism in children. And you know what she thinks of your opinions if you disagree? Bullshit! At least that’s what she yelled last night while berating three doctors trying to reason with her on Larry King Live.
Making his way up from Baja, former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura headed to Los Angeles to chat with baseball daemon Larry King about his new acting gig, and how skin pigmentation shouldn’t frighten a certain CNN colleague. CONTINUED »
Cranky farty pants and professional background dancer Larry King couldn’t keep his emotions in check at his son’s Little League game — so he was thrown out. Or maybe he wasn’t. Differing accounts of King’s behavior during Chance Armstrong King’s March baseball game confirm that he was given a “talking to” by the umpire, but whether he erupted after being told to “regroup” and calm down, and was forced off the field and behind the fences after refusing to, isn’t clear.
So, um, this is awkward. When Janet Jackson visited Larry King last night to hawk her album to the septuagenarian set, she also tried to teach him a few of the dance moves from her video for “Feedback,” a song with the lyrics, “Something heavy like a first day period.” If anything positive can be said for King’s choreography, well, he didn’t fart. (As he does in the video after the jump.)
Watch as Larry King relives the most exciting thing to happen on his show since he farted on air. [CNN]
Although this video’s been making the rounds for some time now, we strongly encourage those of you who haven’t seen it to take a look. The subject? Jerry Seinfeld, megalomaniac. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Rejoice belatedly, Harry Potter fans! For your beloved Dumbledore has finally received the SNL treatment.
Sure, it’s not nearly as funny/nuanced as Brian Williams’ “behind-the-scenes” testimonial (or, for that matter, Bill Clinton’s “Mystery” costume) but it’s worth noting if only for the fact that Fred Armisen’s Larry King is almost as spot-on as his Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
And for the fact that, this time, the award for “Beating A Dead Horse” will not be going to the New York Times.
After hitting up MSNBC’s Countdown and CNN’s Larry King Live, Valerie Plame’s Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House has jumped from No. 23 on Amazon’s best-seller list to No. 13 14 as of today.
Meanwhile, between pulling up Amazon when this post began and refreshing it when we were about to hit “Publish,” Valerie lost a ranking point.
Just a few minutes into her Larry King Live interview last night and book-touring Jenna Bush’s gaffe made us unable to concentrate on the rest of it, even when she coyly avoided a declaration that she disagrees with her father’s foreign policy.
Discussing the pros and cons of having a White House wedding, Jenna’s slip-up and off-camera gaze has us imagining her book publicist and Secret Service agent cringing in unison.
Last night, Dan Rather took to Larry King Live to defend his $70 million lawsuit against CBS. Perhaps he hit up CNN because his own show on HDNet, you know, doesn’t have any viewers. Or perhaps because he knew Larry King would let him veritably read from his court filing to make his argument — which was the most surprising part. Larry King actually furthered the debate! Asked follow up questions! Made subtle efforts to challenge Dan’s rhetoric!
The second part after the jump. CONTINUED »
For those of you who missed Larry King Live last night [Ed: What were you thinking??] everyone’s favorite suspender-wearing womanizer grilled Kathy Griffin about her controversial Emmy awards acceptance speech. And by “grilled” Kathy, we actually mean “spoke softly about her premeditated publicity stunt and gave her an opportunity to generate even more free press.” [Queerty]
“Larry King and his seventh wife, Shawn, celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary over the weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival. At an event for his eponymous Cardiac Foundation, she joked to the crowd: ‘I’m the only wife to make it into double digits, and I’ll be the last wife!’”
Oh, honey. That’s what they all say. [NYDN]
Good morning! How did you sleep? Have you had breakfast? Care for an iced coffee, a yogurt with fruit and granola or a whole wheat bagel with non-fat cream cheese?
How about just a healthy dose of reality? Like, for instance, the realization that 3.2 million people tuned in to CNN on Wednesday night to watch an unemployed rich person lie her ass off on national television.
Editorial Director
