People: Colbert scores nearly 7 million viewers on ‘Late Show’ debut
Nearly 7 million viewers watched Stephen Colbert make his debut Tuesday night as the new host of CBS’ “The Late Show.”
According to Nielsen, the former Comedy Central star averaged 6.6 million as he stepped onto the Ed Sullivan Theater stage to succeed David Letterman on the late-night program. Among viewers in the 18-to-49 age group, which is the most sought-after by advertisers, Colbert scored a 1.4 rating.
Colbert topped the usual late-night leader, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” which averaged 2.9 million viewers total and a 0.9 rating among 18- to-49-year-olds. ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” averaged 1.7 million viewers and a 0.4 among 18- to 49-year-olds.
MoMA displays Picasso sculptures
New York’s Museum of Modern Art is devoting an entire floor to the sculptures of Pablo Picasso in the first major U.S. museum survey of his three-dimensional work in nearly 50 years.
“Picasso Sculpture” features more than 140 sculptures on loan from private and public collections. It showcases the scope, range and variety of his sculptures. They include his familiar bronze “She-Goat” from 1950 and the 1914 sheet metal “Guitar” from MoMA’s own collection.
MoMA is the only U.S. venue that will host the exhibition. It opens Monday and runs through Feb. 7.
The show includes works from 1902 through 1964. Picasso died in 1973.
Stewart lobbies for 9/11 victims
Jon Stewart, the recently retired host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, will come to Washington next week to lobby Congress to permanently extend the expiring 9/11 Zadroga Health and Compensation Act.
Stewart will join about 100 first responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the Capitol on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to approve extending the benefits of the law, said organizers of the lobbying day and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., the bill’s chief Senate sponsor.
Stewart was “instrumental” in passing the original act in 2010, Gillibrand said, by dedicating his last show of that year on Dec. 16 to urge lawmakers to vote for it. They did pass it, a week later on the last day of Congress.
The 9/11 Zadroga Act’s $1.6 billion health and monitoring effort, which has enrolled 72,000 first responders, will expire in October if not extended.
The act’s $2.75 billion victims’ compensation fund ends in October 2016.
The birthday bunch
World Golf Hall of Famer Arnold Palmer is 86. Singer Jose Feliciano is 70. Rock musician Joe Perry (Aerosmith) is 65. Actor Colin Firth is 55. Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson is 52. Movie director Guy Ritchie is 47. Actor Ryan Phillippe is 41. Ballerina Misty Copeland is 33.