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Jimmy Fallon‘s kindergarten yearbook at St. Mary of the Snow in Saugerties, N.Y., listed him as “most likely to take over for David Letterman.”
Letterman’s going nowhere, but Fallon will succeed Conan O’Brien as the host of NBC’s “Late Night” next year, the network announced Monday.
“I’ve been doing a monologue in my living room the last three years, and it was embarrassing,” the former “Saturday Night Live” player joked. However, he added, “My wife seemed to like it.”
NBC’s plan is to have O’Brien move west to take over for Jay Leno at the “Tonight” show sometime next year.
The Fallon transition is being managed by “Saturday Night Live” impresario Lorne Michaels, who picked former “SNL” writer O’Brien out of obscurity to fill Letterman’s old slot at NBC, then stuck with him despite savage early reviews.
Fallon quipped that unlike O’Brien, who famously was on 13-week contracts when he started, “I have the same contract as Willard Scott, so … 150 years.”
Elder Archuleta idled
The father of “American Idol” favorite David Archuleta reportedly has been banned from rehearsals because of backstage meddling.
The last straw apparently came when Jeff Archuleta insisted altering the lyrics to “Stand By Me,” one of two songs his 17-year-old son sang last week.
By adding a verse from Sean Kingston‘s “Beautiful Girls,” he incurred additional royalty costs for the show.
Grand young talent
Carrie Underwood is the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.
The former “American Idol” winner, who comes to the Spokane Arena on May 24, joined the cast of the long-running country music show Saturday. Garth Brooks handled her induction, and Vince Gill sang a duet with her.
Underwood, 25, is the latest young addition to the Opry cast in recent years, joining Brad Paisley, Josh Turner and Dierks Bentley.
Long and winding road
A London judge granted a preliminary divorce Monday to former Beatle Paul McCartney and Heather Mills.
If no one objects, the decree will become final in six weeks.
Mills will emerge from the rancorous proceedings with a settlement of $47.5 million – a fraction of McCartney’s estimated $880 million fortune – and custody of the couple’s 4-year-old daughter, Beatrice.
Spinning a few tunes?
An East Carolina University biologist has named a newly discovered spider after his favorite musician: Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi.
Venerable rocker Neil Young is “worthy of that honor” because of his activism for social and political issues, said Jason Bond.
He previously named one species after South African civil rights leader Nelson Mandela, and another after his wife, Kristen.
The birthday bunch
Actress Bea Arthur is 86. Actor Harvey Keitel is 69. Singer Stevie Wonder is 58. Comedian Stephen Colbert is 44. Singer Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish) is 42.