Rich Guys Club

Jay and Dave together? Could it be true?

It is, and there they were, Jay Leno and David Letterman sitting on a couch – with Oprah Winfrey between them — upstairs at the Ed Sullivan Theater, where Mr. Letterman tapes his show.

The spot was shot last Tuesday afternoon, under the strictest of secrecy which involved both Mr. Leno and Ms. Winfrey flying in surreptitiously to New York, and arriving incognito at the theater, while Mr. Letterman was in the midst of taping his show for that night. It also involved Jay wearing a disguise: hooded sweatshirt, glasses and faux mustache. If you happened to be on Broadway between 53rd and 54th street last Tuesday about 4:15, you might have seen a man fitting that description slip into the theater by a small entrance under the marquee.

Read More: – by Bill Carter, the New York Times

Jay Leno, the former king of late-night television who was pushed out as host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” last year and then struggled in his new prime-time slot, is in talks to return to 11:30 p.m. Conan O’Brien, who succeeded Leno, would either go back to following Leno or leave the network.

The reshuffle could happen as soon as March, after NBC finishes airing the 2010 Winter Olympics, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity. Although Leno is on board with the plan, O’Brien has not yet signed on and that needs to be resolved before the network can make it official, sources said.

The network’s flip-flop is being driven in large part by complaints from NBC affiliates across the country who have lost viewers and advertising revenue because of Leno’s performance in the 10 p.m. slot. The imminent move also highlights the fourth-place network’s difficulty in reviving its anemic prime-time lineup at a time when a majority stake of the company is in the process of being sold from parent General Electric Co. to cable giant Comcast Corp.

The leading scenario is for Leno’s late-night show to shrink to half an hour and then be followed by O’Brien at 12:05 a.m. Even though Leno’s workload would be cut in half, his estimated $30-million annual salary would not be, sources close to the comedian said.

Read More: – By Joe Flint, The Los Angeles Times