Will Jay Leno jump to another network?


Will Jay Leno jump to another network?

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Conan O’Brien will take over the “Tonight” Show next June — and what happens to deposed host Jay Leno after that is anybody’s guess. Leno’s last show will be Friday, May 29, and O’Brien will start the following Monday, June 1, NBC executives told a Television Critics Association meeting Monday.

NBC is angling to keep Leno with the network but the late-night king has indicated he’s ready to jump ship. Eager NBC competitors, including other networks and syndicators, are eager to help him make the leap. Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, NBC Entertainment co-chairmen, were asked about the specter of Leno being hired by ABC and overpowering O’Brien in the ratings.

“We really believe in the decisions we’ve made with our partners, including Jay” and are standing by them, Silverman replied.

Jimmy Fallon is poised to take over O’Brien’s “Late Night” in March or April of 2009, after honing his approach in brief Internet shows, Silverman and Graboff said. O’Brien will wrap his “Late Night” run sometime in the first quarter of the year, with exact dates to be determined, the executives said. O’Brien reruns will fill the gap until Fallon takes over.

’Bachelorette,’ boyfriend visit Cedar Point

SANDUSKY — ABC’s latest “Bachelorette” and her beloved put their relationship to the test in Ohio over the weekend and went through some highs and lows. DeAnna Pappas was taken on Cedar Point roller coasters by Jesse Csincsa, the snowboarder from Amherst, Ohio, she picked on the season finale of “The Bachelorette” earlier this month.

The couple went through some real bumps at the amusement park. Csincsak says his bride-to-be was “scared out of her mind” on the Maverick, screaming the entire time.

Later, Pappas reached her limit and refused to get on one coaster, telling her fiance she was “mad” and that he could ride alone and she’d pray for him. The couple will tie the knot on May 9, 2009. Amherst is about 30 miles west of Cleveland.

Winehouse’s husband gets 27 months in jail

LONDON — A judge on Monday sentenced Amy Winehouse’s husband to 27 months in jail for assault and obstructing justice. Blake Fielder-Civil has admitted beating up pub manager James King in a barroom fight in 2006 and then offering him $400,000 to keep quiet about it.

Passing sentence at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Judge David Radford told Fielder-Civil he had behaved in a “gratuitous, cowardly and disgraceful” way. Winehouse wasn’t in court.

The 24-year-old singer and Fielder-Civil, 26, married in Miami in May 2007. He was arrested in November and has been in jail ever since. Winehouse has become an international star since she released the Grammy-winning album, “Back to Black,” in 2006. But her music has been overshadowed by reports of drug use, her run-ins with the law and her tempestuous relationship with Fielder-Civil.

‘Greek’ star charged with drunken driving

LOS ANGELES — Scott Michael Foster, star of ABC Family’s frat-house series “Greek,” has been released on $5,000 bail following his arrest in Hollywood for misdemeanor drunken driving. Police say the 23-year-old Foster, who plays Kappa Tau President Cappie on “Greek,” was arrested at 12:20 a.m. Monday.

Los Angeles police Officer Sara Faden says Foster was arrested at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Cherokee Street in Hollywood. The circumstances of the arrest were not immediately available. Foster was released on bail around 5 a.m. He’s due back in court Aug.11.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Orson Bean (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”) is 80. Game show host Alex Trebek is 68. Singer George Clinton is 67. Singer-actor Bobby Sherman is 65. Singer Estelle Bennett of The Ronettes is 64. Singer Don Henley is 61. Actor Danny Glover is 61. Actor Willem Dafoe is 53. Singer Keith Sweat is 47. Singer Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls is 45. Actor-comedian David Spade is 44. Actor John Leguizamo is 44. Actor Rhys Ifans (“Notting Hill”) is 41. Singer Rufus Wainwright is 35.