Craig Kilborn Speaks in a Talk Show News Exclusive: He's Retired

After asking "Whatever happened to Craig Kilborn?" in a post that's become the #1 most viewed on this blog, I finally succeeded in tracking down Kilby's representatives so I could ask them for a statement on what the former "Late Late Show" and "Daily Show" host is up to these days. Here's the news, and it's not looking good for fans hoping for a comeback.

When Craig Kilborn gracefully exited late night he referred to it as "early retirement" and he wasn't bluffing. Mr. Kilborn spends his days restoring his 1927 Spanish home in the hills, listening to Miles Davis, and drinking moderately priced red wine. "Is $70 a bottle expensive?" asked Craig. "I've kinda lost touch."

Conan O'Brien's Head Injury: a "cautionary tale"

One of the problems with writing this blog from the West Coast is that the late night shows have already aired hours before we Californians get to see 'em. But as East Coast Conan-watchers already know, O'Brien showed clips of his accident, calling it a "cautionary tale" for kids, and, writes the Associated Press, joked about it in his monologue: "As many of you may know, on this past Friday's show I was doing a stunt and I hit my head and suffered a slight concussion. And I promise, if you're a good audience, I'll do it again tonight." He also suggested that he's going to try a similar exercise with another "Desperate Housewives" star: "So tune in tomorrow when Eva Longoria pushes me down an elevator shaft."

Here's a clip (note that Andy Richter is back on the couch!):



TV MoJoe blogger Joe Adalian Twitters that Jay Leno cracked a couple of jokes about the incident: "Kevin, we were almost back at 11:30" and "Since he works at NBC, it was a suicide attempt."

Jay Leno Show: "The saddest of carnivals"

The New Yorker's Nancy Franklin watched the first several episodes of "The Jay Leno Show" and penned a scathing review. "NBC’s attitude toward 'The Jay Leno Show' signals a whole new level of indifference, resignation, and laziness," writes Franklin. "Leno calls himself 'a big-tent guy,' but this isn’t big-tent show business; this is the saddest of carnivals."

Meanwhile, a company called Empower MediaMarketing commissioned a study to find out what the people, as opposed to those snooty East Coast media elites, think of Leno's program: "Reviewing a sample of 500 tweets mentioning Leno during the first week of his show makes it clear that, for the most part, consumers on Twitter do not like 'The Jay Leno Show.' While 18 percent of the sample offered an opinion of the show, 75 percent of the Twitter-based reviews were negative." (Of course, a bunch of those Twitterers may have been TV critics.) In the offline world, "Sixty-five percent of adult viewers say they expect to watch the show at least twice a week in the future, while 27 percent of viewers say they expect to watch four or more shows a week," according to a public opinion study of 1,000 adults 18 and older.

An important audience, NBC affiliates, is cautiously optimistic about the show's performance so far. "Affiliates board chairman Michael Fiorile says reaction was 'mixed,'" writes Broadcasting and Cable's Michael Malone. "'Some like it, and some would like to see changes,' he says. 'It's early on, and a lot will change as the network fine-tunes the show.'"

Conan O'Brien's Injury: New Details

ETonline.com has the freshest scoop on Conan O'Brien's head injury, which forced the cancellation of last night's "Tonight Show." Teri Hatcher, who was one of the guests on the aborted broadcast, said in an interview that she and Conan were taping a segment inspired by a triathalon the actress had recently finished.

"We did this bit and at the very end... he slipped as he was crossing the finish line and hit his head," Teri told "The Insider"'s Lara Spencer. "And the thing was, I was in front of him so I didn't see it initially.

"He didn't get off floor right away, but then he [seemed] like he recovered and [pulled] it together, and they did an instant replay, and you could really see his head hit the floor. He did go to the hospital and he does have a concussion."

Conan is recovering and should be back in the studio for Monday night's show, which is scheduled to feature Drew Barrymore, jockey Joe Talamo and the rock band Paramore.

Late night highlight: Jimmy Kimmel and the world's largest meatball

While catching up on some TiVo'd episodes of "Jimmy Kimmel Live," I got a kick out of Kimmel's efforts to break the world record for the World's Largest Meatball -- and bring the glory back to America (apparently, Mexico set the record last month, in a Cancun-based promotion for the film "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"). U.S.A.!! U.S.A.!!!



The enormous ball was cooked up at the annual Feast of San Gennaro, a Kimmel-founded celebration of Italian food and culture. The feast benefits the San Gennaro Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, established to aid children and families in need in the Los Angeles area. If I lived closer to L.A., I'd so be there right now eating pizza and cannoli.

Conan O'Brien: Head injury brings on a rerun

Why was tonight's new episode of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" abruptly replaced by an August rerun with guest Jeremy Piven? Turns out O'Brien was rushed to the hospital via ambulance after injuring himself while doing a stunt.

E! Online reports that "O'Brien was running down a flight of stairs when he slipped and banged his head, possibly sustaining a concussion."

A statement from the host indicates that he's recovered enough to joke around. "Last thing I remember I was enjoying the play with Mrs. Lincoln, and the next thing I knew I was in bed being served cookies and juice," O'Brien said.

Tonight's scheduled guests were Teri Hatcher, Seth MacFarlane and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

David Letterman scores another big guest: Madonna

Wednesday's "Late Show" will feature the guest who "loves to shock us": Madonna.

The appearance will be her eighth on the CBS show; her last visit to the Ed Sullivan Theater was on Jan. 11, 2007.

No idea yet whether or not Madonna will just be interviewed or if she'll perform a song from her latest release, Hard Candy. Also unknown: whether or not one or both of the night's previously scheduled guests, Woody Harrelson and Harry Connick Jr., will be bumped.