Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004 | 10:46 a.m.
Live, from Las Vegas, it's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
The top-rated, late-night talker starring Jay Leno will be broadcast from the Paris Las Vegas hotel the week of May 10, NBC confirmed Wednesday.
VegasBeat first reported the possibility of the Vegas broadcast on Nov. 10.
The broadcast occurs during the networks sweeps month, when ratings are used to set advertising rates for the rest of the year. The Peacock Network obviously feels that viewership will spike with the exciting new setting.
A Paris Las Vegas spokesman was modest about the Leno coup.
"When the word 'entertainment' is in the name of your company, it goes without saying that you need to excel in that area," said Michael Coldwell of the newly named Caesars Entertainment (formerly Park Place Entertainment). "And that is what we are humbly trying to do."
Tickets for the weeklong engagement are not yet available, Coldwell said, but they are likely to be in demand.
Leno is a regular Vegas headliner who always sells out. He plays the Danny Gans Theatre at The Mirage this Friday and Saturday.
Leno last brought "The Tonight Show" to Las Vegas in 1997. He has also broadcast from New York (in 1994) and Chicago (1996).
Luxury extended
The first big announcement out of the National Association of Television Programming Executives show that opens Sunday will be that ABC has picked up Robin Leach's "Life of Luxury" for at least four additional specials in 2004.
Leach, who is an opening-day speaker at the industry fest, let the cat out of the bag this morning when he was a guest on "Vegas Live! With Clint Holmes and Sheena Easton."
Leach's show, a voyeuristic look at the lives of the unimaginably wealthy, was a ratings winner when it first aired Dec. 29.
"There is life for a 60-year-old on television," Leach told us. "When I created the original show ("Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous") 20 years ago, I knew the formula of telling incredible stories and showcasing unbelievable success about the American dream would last forever.
"I am also glad that Las Vegas played a part in the show's national success, and I look forward to doing far more for the city on all future TV projects."
Always the civic booster, Leach insisted that the show open and close with aerial shots of the Strip and include tight views of The Venetian, Palms, Caesars Palace, MGM Grand and Bellagio when the show fades into and out of commercial breaks.
Undressed
Mr. Blackwell, Hollywood's acid-tongued, self-appointed fashion guru, is back with his annual list of Top 10 fashion disasters.
Topping his worst-dressed list for 2003 is Vegas regular Paris Hilton. No explanation needed.
Britney Spears and Madonna -- "kissin' cousins of couture crime" -- were tied for second.
They were followed by Shania "Calamity" Twain, Diane Keaton, Jessica Simpson, Celine Dion ("half-sequined scarecrow, half-gaudy acrobat"), Missy Elliot, Courtney Love and Lara Flynn Boyle.
Some of his perennial victims, such as Cher, Barbra Streisand and most of the British royal family, failed to make the cut.
"If someone like (Britian's) Duchess of York (aka Fergie) can look fit and fabulous, hope springs eternal for us all," Blackwell told the Associated Press.
VegasBits
Choice: Game show host, eye drops pitchman and former Richard Nixon speechwriter Ben Stein, presumably scouting dinner locations, stopped to look at the menu at 3950, the Mandalay Bay restaurant, on Wednesday afternoon ...
Snack: Lily Tomlin was spotted having lunch Wednesday at The Verandah at The Four Seasons. She is in town to speak at the Promotional Products Association International expo ...
Congrats: Mr. Las Vegas -- Wayne Newton -- was Mr. Proud on Saturday. He was in Hawaii for the marriage of his daughter Erin Newton, 26. She is a Chicago-based designer ...
Sing: The monthly celebrity impersonator karaoke contest -- where the winner gets $500 and a "Legends in Concert" tryout -- takes place tonight at the Imperial Palace. Singer Michael Cagle will perform during breaks and KXNT Channel 13 morning anchor Ron Futrell will emcee the 7 p.m. event, which is open to the public ...
Visit: Fox television's national morning talker, "Good Day Live" with host Jillian Barberie, is scheduled to be broadcast live from Mandalay Bay for a few days next week as part of the NATPE gathering ...
Art: Funnyman Jonathan Winters is also an artist. He'll show some of his paintings and drawings and sign autographs for fans at Barbara Lee Woollen's Art de Vignettes gallery at the Fashion Show mall on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 ...
Names: The Parker Seminars, the largest event in the chiropractic profession, kicks off a three-day stay Friday at the Las Vegas Hilton. Among the famous faces scheduled to appear at some of its events are Dana Carvey, Naomi Judd and game-show fixture Bob Eubanks.
From Sun wires
Ready for show: Dennis Miller, the liberal-turned-conservative comedian and defender of President Bush and the war in Iraq, is less than two weeks away from being the host of a new talk show on CNBC. His new hourlong show, "Dennis Miller," at 9 p.m. weeknights (with a repeat of one show on Sundays), will premiere Jan. 26. It will include his usual venting on current issues, as well as interviews with political figures, journalists and others and a nightly "right-left" debate among figures at different points on the political spectrum.
'Taboo' closing: Less than three months after it opened on Broadway, "Taboo," the new musical produced by Rosie O'Donnell that features songs by the 1980s pop star Boy George, will close on Feb. 8, its producer said Tuesday. It is estimated to have lost at least $10 million.
The closing was announced to the show's cast at the Plymouth Theater just before Tuesday's performance.
" 'Taboo' was by far the most fulfilling experience of my career," O'Donnell said in a statement. "Many lessons were learned, and so it goes." "Taboo" was the first Broadway show produced by O'Donnell, who financed it with $10 million of the fortune she had made on her television talk show, which ran from 1996 to 2002.
Grammy performers: Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and The White Stripes are among the first performers to be announced for the 46th annual Grammy Awards telecast.
The Grammy Awards ceremony will air live Feb. 8 on CBS (Channel 8) from the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles.
archive
