Fallon: 'Nauseous' But Ready

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.”

As Tonight Show saga continues, Leno and O'Brien face off

(NEWSER) - As the late-night shakedown gets messier, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien seem to be turning against each other—and David Letterman is clearly on Team Conan. The Late Show host wants O’Brien to appear on his show “not to rub NBC's noses into their huge mistake, but to welcome Conan with open arms and show him that despite the way his old network has treated him, America loves him,” a source tells PopEater . More: More»

(NEWSER) - Things are not going well lately for Conan O’Brien. The Tonight Show’s fall to the bottom of its timeslot ratings was punctuated Wednesday when David Letterman pulled in 4.4 million viewers while Conan drew just 2.5 million, the Baltimore Sun reports. That’s the worst number for the Tonight Show since measuring started. To be fair, the Late Show featured Paul McCartney's first performance at the Ed Sullivan Theater since 1964, but the disparity wasn't atypical, reports the New York Times. More»

(NEWSER) - Jimmy Fallon has a daunting task before him tonight: He’s got to forge a Late Night identity that can compete with the likes of David Letterman and Conan O'Brien. But he has one major advantage: Twitter. Dispatches descend regularly from @jimmyfallon (including the announcement of first guests Robert De Niro, Justin Timberlake, and Van Morrison), the Chicago Tribune reports, and yes, it’s actually the SNL alum typing them out. More»

Show features old clips, special guests

(NEWSER) - Conan O’Brien took the stage for the final episode of Late Night yesterday, reminiscing about 16 years on the air with clips and big-time guests, E! Online reports. The 2,725th episode featured John Mayer singing to Conan, Will Ferrell appearing as George W. Bush, and the first White Stripes performance since 2007. Longtime sidekick Andy Richter joined Conan to share the memories. Conan moves to Leno's 11:35 slot on June 1. More»