BEN THERE, DONE THAT
Hby a hair. was so close to getting cohost “Live! Wth Kelly” that he even got a haircut for the gig. “He said that they ‘strung’ him along and he thought he had it,” according to a source who chatted with the Queens-bred funnyman (photo inset) about the close call. According to that source, Leguizamo claimed, “They even made me get a haircut!” before deciding to seat alongside instead. Whether it was ABC or his handlers that suggested the trim was unclear, but fans who tuned into watch the 52-year-old star guest-host mutiple episodes of the hit ABC talk show earlier this year saw a clean-cut Leguizamo on their TV screens. Days after renewing “Live!” through 2020, ABC announced on May 1 that the yearlong search to replace had come to a close and that Seacrest would be the 34-year-old program’s seventh host. He started the job immediately. This news came a week after Leguizamo co-hosted a hard-towatch episode of the show in which former Olympian
interrupted both “Live!” hosts repeatedly while promoting her memoir. But Leguizamo’s chats on-air with
and much more conversational.
He hosted the show on multiple occasions during ABC’s search, including a back-to-back stint that included a Valentine’s Day special. Other runnerups for the gig were CNN’s NY1’s Bravo’s Andy Cohen and “Candy Crush” host Dozens of guest co-hosts auditioned for the “Live!” job.
Leguizamo was ready, willing and able to do the “Live!” gig when he found out Seacrest got the gig. His oneman show “Latin History for Morons” wrapped up its two-month run on April 28 and his Netflix show “Bloodlines” had just been canceled. He was also slated to finish filming on “Waco,” in Santa Fe, N.M., right around the time ABC kicked off “Live! With Kelly and Ryan.”
ABC declined to comment and reps for Leguizamo did not respond to a request for comment. were Broadway great was in the audience at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, where 74 talented teens from around the U.S. vied for top honors and cheered as one contestant performed as the Leading Player from “Pippin,” the role that won Vereen his Tony Award. The 70-year-old star (inset) is working on a new club show. “I’m dedicating it to all of the waiters,” he told the Daily News’ “They never get any credit.”