Johnny Carson Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Hank Bradford, head writer for “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers,” died Jan. 18 in Los Angeles, his family said. He was 88 and the cause was congestive heart failure.

William Earl administrator Indie horror hit “Late Night With the Devil” follows the real-time Halloween episode of a fictional ’70s talk show, which quickly descends into madness. The film’s writers and directors, Australian brothers Cameron and Colin Cairne, were inspired by the sense of excitement and danger from the after-hours talk shows of their youth. “Those late-night shows were very exciting for us as young boys,” Cameron Cairne says.

Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, is about to celebrate his 10th anniversary fronting a franchise that first began with Steve Allen behind the desk in 1954, followed by Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien (and Jay Leno again) — and he’s keen to keep it going.

J. Kim Murphy Conan O’Brien has set a return to “The Tonight Show,” slotting a guest appearance for next week’s April 9 broadcast. The occasion will mark the comedian and former late night host’s first time back on the program since his acrimonious exit from NBC in 2010, in which he was replaced by Jay Leno as the show’s host following a six-month tenure.

Shrek star Jean-Paul Vignon has died at the age of 89.

Jaden Thompson Jean-Paul Vignon, a French actor and vocalist who frequently lent his Gallic accent to Hollywood productions, died of liver cancer on March 22 in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 89. Among his notable work, Vignon lent his voice to Marc Webb’s romantic comedy “(500) Days of Summer” as the French narrator.

The 2025 Oscars ceremony is months away, but we already know some things about the show, the potential nominees and who may host it.

Film fans are in for a treat tonight (Sunday) as the glam and glitz of Hollywood spills into millions of homes across the world direct from LA. The long-awaited 96th Academy Awards are screening this evening, with celebrities galore and the chance of some memorable moments.

“The Tonight Show” once Johnny Carson took over in 1962 through the end of his run 30 years later.Lawrence was a top-selling recording artist with hits including “Go Away Little Girl,” which reached No. 1 on the US charts and was awarded a gold record, “Party Doll,” “Footsteps,” “Pretty Blue Eyes,” “I’ve Gotta Be Me” and “Portrait of My Love.”Over the course of their long career, Lawrence and Gormé won a Grammy (for their 1960 album “We Got Us”) and an Emmy in 1979 for “Steve & Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin.”Lawrence also snared a Tony nomination in 1964 for his role as Sammy Glick in “What Makes Sammy Run.”Lawrence hosted “The Steve Lawrence Show” in 1965 — which ran for 13 weeks on CBS — and was a regular panelist on “What’s My Line?”He also appeared many times on “The Carol Burnett Show” (solo and with Gormé) and in dozens of episodic TV shows through the years including “Hot in Cleveland, “Night Gallery,” “CSI,” “Diagnosis: Murder,” “Frasier” and “Sanford and Son.”He also appeared on the big screen in “The Blues Brothers” and its sequel, “Blues Brothers 2000” and “Stand Up and Be Counted.”Later in his career, Lawrence played Morty Fine, the father of Fran Fine (Fran Drescher), on “The Nanny” in the CBS series’ final season.Lawrence went public with his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2019 and issued a statement that said, “I have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and it’s in the early stages.“I am being treated with medications under the supervision of some of the finest doctors in the field.

The 2024 Oscars ceremony is days away, and details about the show, the nominees and who may win are coming into focus.

Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the Oscars this year for the fourth time. Other than Bob Hope (19 times), Billy Crystal (nine) and Johnny Carson (five), no solo host has done it more. (Whoopi did it 4 times as well.) But it is a good bet that among those hosts, no one has seen as many of the nominated films. Kimmel is a self-described movie fan, and as I learned from our conversation he not only spends weeks, months even, prepping his monologue, but he also might be one of the few in the room at the Dolby Theater who actually has seen everything. And I mean everything.

NBC has set a two-hour primetime special to celebrate the 10th anniverary of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Fallon announced the special on his show Monday night, saying the past week was officially the show’s 10-year anniversary. The special will air May 14.

Jackie Loughery, the first Miss USA who segued from the pageant world to a career in film and television in the 1950s and ’60s, died Friday in Los Angeles. She was 93.

It was a career year in 2023 for character actor David Dastmalchian. He had six onscreen film roles last year, including voice work on a DTV DC animated movie.

Shecky Greene, a legendary stand-up comedian who became one of Las Vegas’ top headliners in the 1950s and ’60s has died. Greene died Sunday morning of natural causes at his home in Las Vegas, his wife Miriam Musso Greene confirmed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He was 97.

Actor and comedian Jon Lovitz took aim at the politicization of late-night comedy, calling out liberal hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers during an exclusive interview with FOX News Digital.Lovitz, who’s been a comedy icon for nearly 40 years since his days as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member, was asked about the transformation of comedy over the years and drew attention to how polarizing late-night shows have become since the Trump era. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it,” Lovitz said.

David Letterman visited Manhattan’s Ed Sullivan Theater last night for the first time since he retired from CBS’ The Late Show eight years ago, chatting comfortably with his successor Stephen Colbert as if he’d never left.

After a slight uptick in ratings for the 95th Academy Awards, it wasn’t a surprise when The Academy announced this afternoon that Jimmy Kimmel will return to host the 96th ceremony. Kimmel will join an impressive group of at least four-time emcees including Bob Hope (19 times), Billy Crystal (9 times), Johnny Carson (5 times), Whoopi Goldberg (4 times), and Jack Lemmon (4 times).

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Emmy Award winner Jimmy Kimmel is back as the host for the upcoming 2024 Oscars ceremony, marking the late-night star’s fourth time fronting the show. Emmy nominee Molly McNearney will also return to serve as an executive producer for the second consecutive year in a row. The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host previously led the 2017, 2018 and 2023 telecasts.

‘Elvis is still alive at Graceland, according to his ex-wife Priscilla Presley. The 78-year-old actress is dealing with a lot of intense emotions lately. Some fans believe the release of the new Sophia Coppala film “Priscilla” appears to have opened up a lot of powerful and painful memories for her.Elvis Presley’s spirit is still very much alive at Graceland Mansion, according to Priscilla Presley.

Stuart Miller In days of yore, the best opportunity for a stand-up comedian to break out was to be tapped by Johnny Carson’s team for a “Tonight Show” slot. Getting invited to the couch afterward was a whole other level. By the 1990s, Carson was done and while there were other coveted late-night slots (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien), another star-maker had emerged: the Just for Laughs Montréal Festival. The comedy fest — which takes place July 14-29 and features solo shows by Ali Wong, Ronny Chieng and Anthony Jeselnik — was born 40 years ago and for decades it has been the place to be seen, with its New Faces showcase attracting a swarm of industry executives and acting as a launching pad for up-and-coming talent. 

Jack Hanna, who hosted several television shows on animals and was a regular presence on late night talk shows, is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, his family has revealed in an interview with his hometown media outlet.

Anthony Anderson has dreams of taking his career in a whole new direction.

Dana Carvey!The “Saturday Night Live” funnyman and “Fly On The Wall” podcast host is embarking on his brief ‘The Faces. The Characters.

Todd Gilchrist editor In a Season 9 episode of “Seinfeld,” Kramer reconstructs the remnants of the “The Merv Griffin Show” in his apartment so he can host his own talk show. As far as “hipster doofus” fantasies go, it’s a pretty good one — what TV lover hasn’t fantasized about sitting down behind Johnny Carson’s desk from “The Tonight Show,” or wished they could post up for a pint next to Norm and Cliff at the bar from “Cheers”? Thanks to James Comisar, curator of the Comisar Collection, you can now do just that — and unlike Kramer, you don’t have to fish it out of a dumpster to do it. Starting on June 2, Comisar is selling almost 1,000 items from his personal collection of television memorabilia, from the 1050s to present day, that fans and collectors can win for as little as a dollar, if they’re lucky.

More than 1,000 artifacts from decades of television will hit the auction block on June 2-4.

Paul Anka has been in the music biz for quite some time.In the mid-50s, the pop star started recording songs at 14. Hits like “Put Your Head On My Shoulder” and “Diana” quickly followed.

Angelique Jackson SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the series finale of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. More than half a decade ago, Rachel Brosnahan stepped in front of a vintage microphone to deliver a standup routine as 1950s Upper West Side housewife-turned-comic Miriam “Midge” Maisel. It was early on in production for the first season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and she was terrified. “I remember turning to Alex [Borstein, who plays Maisel’s no-nonsense manager Susie Myerson] and going, ‘Please don’t let me suck,’” Brosnahan tells Variety. “’If you see something, say something; like, please, any advice at all, I’ll take it.’ She looked at me and said, ‘I can’t help you. Take up your space, and ask for what you need. And bring this character into the world. Nobody knows who she is but you.’”

Ed Ames, whose long career included hit recordings, TV stardom, and Broadway roles, died May 21 in Los Angeles at 95. No cause was given.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Ed Ames, a member of the Ames Brothers singing quartet who starred in TV series “Daniel Boone” in the 1960s, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 95. Ed Ames and his brothers Vic, Joe and Gene had a hit with their version of “Rag Mop” in 1950. As a solo artist, he had hits with “Who Will Answer?,” “My Cup Runneth Over” and “Try to Remember.” In the 1950s, they had a syndicated TV program “The Ames Brothers Show” and had 49 songs that charted before they broke up in 1963. He then launched an acting career, which included off-Broadway performances in “The Crucible” and “The Fantasticks,” as well as a starring role on Broadway in “Carnival!” He starred with Kirk Douglas, Gene Wilder and William Daniels in the Broadway production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”