TUBE TALK Oprah Winfrey is calling it a day -- four years from now. She's announced that she'll end production of her daytime talk show at the end of the 2005-06 season, two years after the end of her current contract. That date will mark ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'''s 20th anniversary in national syndication.
After three weeks away from the set of ''Malcolm in the Middle,'' Jane Kaczmarek's migraines are over, though it's not clear if they were cured by time, medication, or a raise in her salary. The actress' publicist had denied she was staging a sickout in order to get a salary boost -- as she apparently did with some success for two days last fall, and as her husband Bradley Whitford and several of his ''The West Wing'' castmates did successfully last summer. The New York Post reported that Kaczmarek returned to work Thursday without a raise but with the promise of one next time her contract is renewed, but Fox hasn't commented on that report. Meantime, her absence forced producers to scrap two episodes, while already-shot footage of her was used to complete two other episodes....
With David Letterman having spent the last week on vacation in St. Bart's, it's not known what he thinks of the battle ABC and CBS are waging over him, or whether he'll comment on it when he returns to work tonight. But if you want some idea of his thoughts on the prospect of moving to ABC, check out what he said in a rare interview six years ago, as recalled in Variety. On ''Larry King Live'' in 1996, three years after Dave left NBC for CBS, King asked him if he'd ever switch networks again. ''No,'' he said. ''I will do this show on CBS for as long as I want to, and for as long as the network wants me to, and as long as the vast North American viewing public will stand for it.'' Letterman also said he could ''never repay his gratitude'' to CBS and dissed ABC for airing an episode of ''Good Morning America'' from a Disney Store. (Disney owns ABC.) ''They devoted the entire two-hour show to the opening of a Disney merchandising outlet!'' he said. ''Now is that a two-hour news story? Absolutely.''
As for the possibility that Jon Stewart might step in at CBS if Letterman leaves, the ''Daily Show'' star addressed such talk during his monologue as the host of ''Saturday Night Live'' over the weekend. ''I just want to clarify about those rumors: Yes, I would -- I would do anything: I would do Dave, Leno, Conan, anybody who wants to leave.'' he said. ''Willard Scott -- you tired of waving at old people? I'll take that. I work on basic cable. Do you understand what I'm saying?''...
Mark Wahlberg knows fake showbiz, having impersonated a porn star in ''Boogie Nights'' and a metal band frontman (actually, a fake metal band frontman) in ''Rock Star.'' So it's no surprise that he's developing a pilot called ''Entourage,'' a series about the assistants and hangers-on of an A-list movie star. It'll be an HBO comedy in the vein of ''The Larry Sanders Show,'' though it's not clear if the fake hangers-on will work for a real star (who will be spotted only in occasional glimpses) or a fake one. Wahlberg will produce but not act in the show.
SOUND BITES The Hip-Hop Hall of Fame will induct its first class on Wednesday during this week's Hip-Hop Super Conference & Expo in New York. Leading the list of honorees, as chosen by online voters at the Hall of Fame's website, is the Notorious B.I.G., named by 60 percent of the voters. Along with Biggie and karmic double Tupac Shakur, the inducted rappers include Afrika Bambaataa, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Run DMC, KRS-One, Salt-N-Pepa, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh. Also named were DJs Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, impresario Russell Simmons, breakdancer Crazy Legs, and graffiti artist Dondi. The conference, which runs Tuesday through Friday, features more than 100 panels on industry topics, with such speakers as RZA, Mos Def, Rah Digga, and new Hall of Fame members KRS-One and Doug E. Fresh.
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