Live from New York, it’s LeBron! Cavaliers All-Star forward LeBron James, fresh off co-hosting the ESPY Awards earlier this month, will host the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live” in September.
The 22-year-old James will be the latest prominent athlete to host “SNL.” His boyhood idol, NBA superstar Michael Jordan, hosted the show in 1991. Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning appeared last season.
Merv Griffin has been hospitalized for a recurrence of prostate cancer, a spokeswoman said last week. He was being treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for cancer discovered during a routine examination a few weeks ago, said Marcia Newberger, spokeswoman for The Griffin Group/Merv Griffin Entertainment.
“I’d rather play Jeopardy! than live it,” the 82-year-old game show impresario and former talk show host said in a statement. “I was ready for a vacation; however, this wasn’t the destination I had in mind.”
Oprah Winfrey is mourning the death of her 2-year-old golden retriever, Gracie. “Weeks have passed,” Winfrey says in the August issue of O, the Oprah Magazine. “And the pain has not subsided. Every time I think about it, my heart starts racing and I feel like I just got stabbed in the chest.” Gracie choked to death on a plastic ball that belonged to Sophie, Winfrey’s 12-year-old cocker spaniel, while out with her dog walker and two other goldens.
Phyllis Diller was still cracking jokes as she turned 90 – even after cracking her back. “I still take the pill ’cause I don’t want any more grandchildren,” Diller joked. It’s one of the jokes the comedian planned to dish out Tuesday in an appearance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” beforeDiller fractured her back.
Compiled by Lori Smith from wire and Internet reports.
