Letterman to Return, With Writers

Jimmy Fallon tops Craig Ferguson in ratings race

(NEWSER) - Jay Leno owned the 11:35 time slot last night, smashing both David Letterman and ABC’s combination of Nightline and Jimmy Kimmel as curious viewers tuned in to see Leno take back the Tonight Show gig. Leno scored a 5.7 rating, compared to 3.0 for Letterman, 3.4 for Nightline, and 1.8 for Kimmel, Entertainment Weekly reports. More»

David Letterman still wins, but he's in a class of his own

(NEWSER) - Despite all the publicity heaped upon them in recent weeks, there are more late night hosts than just Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. After years of following the major late night shows, Michael Giltz decided the time has come to declare a new king. His final verdict? Craig Ferguson, but only if you take David Letterman out of the running. Check out his thoughts, from the Huffington Post :

• David Letterman: “He's already ascended to the pantheon, alongside Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Dick Cavett, and just a few others. His legacy is assured, so he doesn't get ranked alongside the others.”
• Craig Ferguson: “He's been charming the pants off us for some 1000 shows now and doing it effortlessly,” and last night’s show—during which he eschewed the audience and simply talked to Stephen Fry for an hour—“was an arresting, wonderful hour akin to the glory days of Dick Cavett.”

Late-night hosts can shape opinion for networks and their viewers

(NEWSER) - John McCain is playing with fire if he thinks he can stand up David Letterman and get away with it. "The middle-of-the-road personalities who've dominated network television since its inception do retain one singular power," Gawker Media head honcho Nick Denton, writing for his flagship blog, warns the wayward candidate. "When they finally get off the fence, the mass of similar-minded voters take notice." More»

Leno, Letterman, and others contemplate January return

(NEWSER) - Late-night talk-show hosts are considering getting back on the air even as the writers' strike continues, Variety reports. Although Jay Leno, David Letterman, and others initially supported the strike, network sources say a breakdown in negotiations between writers and producers and late-night shows’ plunging ratings have the hosts planning a return to the airwaves Jan. 7 or earlier. More»

Genevieve Sabourin arrested at actor's home

(NEWSER) - Alec Baldwin met Canadian actress Genevieve Sabourin back in 2002 while filming The Adventures of Pluto Nash, on which she was working as a publicist, and apparently he made such an impression on her that she's been stalking him ever since. Sabourin, 40, was arrested yesterday at Baldwin's New York home, the Daily News reports; she had reportedly also followed him to various places around the city and shown up at his home in the Hamptons in the past. Baldwin joins these other stalked celebs:

• Madonna: The Material Girl has had more than her fair share of stalkers. One, Robert Dewey Hoskins, escaped from the mental health facility where he was being held in February. Fortunately, cops found him a week later.
• Dr. Drew: The celebrity physician had a particularly creepy stalker, who was arrested after threatening to kill the doctor's kids and force his wife to eat them.
• David Letterman: His stalker referred to herself as "Mrs. David Letterman," and was arrested after breaking into his home a minimum of seven times. (Oddly, another woman accused Letterman of stalking her … via code.)