Heeeere's Miserable Johnny!

Launch a Fox rival? Return to SNL ? Reality TV?

(NEWSER) - NBC's shabby treatment of Conan O'Brien has been a recurring theme of the Jay Leno-centric late-night shuffle, but "he-who-rocks-the-dopest-pompadour-on-TV" has more options than you might think. MTV ponders his options.

• Defect to Fox: The network is apparently interested, and it would be a great way to tick off NBC. But Fox has a terrible track record with late-night talk shows.
• Saturday Night Live: O'Brien's writing tenure at SNL coincided with a memorably strong run for the show, but Tonight Show host to "Cheeto-dusted anonymity" is a major step down.

(NEWSER) - Fred Travalena, a master impressionist whose catalog of voices ranged from US presidents to Frank Sinatra doing Boy George, has died at 66 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the Los Angeles Times reports. The actor-singer-mimic, known as the "Man of a Thousand Faces," opened for the likes of Shirley Maclaine and Wayne Newton and was a frequent guest on the Johnny Carson-era Tonight Show. More»

Former Tonight Show sidekick fought cancer

(NEWSER) - Ed McMahon died last night in Los Angeles. The former Johnny Carson sidekick, 86, had long fought cancer and was recently admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, WAPT reports. Besides his Tonight Show role, McMahon was known for hosting Star Search and appearing on commercials handing giant checks to American Family Publishers sweepstakes winners. More»

$200K suit adds to McMahon's financial woes

(NEWSER) - Citibank has filed suit against former Johnny Carson sidekick Ed McMahon to recover $200,000 it loaned to the struggling actor, the AP reports. McMahon, 85, who has not worked since falling 18 months ago, also faces foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home. “If you spend more money than you make,” McMahon recently told Larry King, “you know what happens.” More»

Late night star unhappy with 2009 departure, NBC mulls options

(NEWSER) - Jay Leno isn't laughing about his Tonight Show departure, and neither are his bosses. The late-night king is scheduled to step aside in 2009 to make way for Conan O'Brien, but he's having second thoughts, and NBC worries he'll Jaywalk to another network, the LA Times reports. “It’s 1992 all over again,” says ex-NBC exec Warren Littlefield. More»