Seacrest returning as NYE show host
Ryan Seacrest will be in Times Square once again to rock in the new year.
For the 18th consecutive year, the TV personality will help America wave goodbye to the old and say hello to the new as the ringleader of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” airing Dec. 31 on ABC.
The five-hour-plus broadcast’s lineup, announced Thursday by ABC, will also include YouTube star Liza Koshy returning as a co-host. Country music chanteuse Jessie James Decker is back again for the fourth year to crown the first Powerball winner of 2023.
Actor Billy Porter will helm the Central time zone countdown from New Orleans. DJ D-Nice will serve as the LA co-host.
Singer Ciara has been added to the mix this year, hosting the bash from Disneyland in California, which will also kick off Disney’s 100 Years of Wonderful celebration.
Details of additional performers and other guests are forthcoming.
Elsewhere on New Year’s Eve ... CNN sobering up:
CNN chairman Chris
Licht informed employees during a recent town-hall meeting that the company intends to scale back the alcohol-induced chaos that has become a hallmark of its New Year’s
Eve coverage. Licht told staffers that drinking on camera undermines CNN’s credibility and “respectability.” Its prime-time New Year’s Eve special has been hosted by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, while Don Lemon coanchored its post-midnight coverage.
Roker treated for blood clots:
Al Roker says he’s “on the way to recovery” after being hospitalized for blood clots. The “Today”
weatherman shared the information Friday in posts on social media.
“Last week I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs,” he wrote on Instagram, explaining why he has been absent from the show. Roker typically does the weather daily and co-hosts the third hour of the NBC morning show.
“I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery,” Roker said.
Composer Rorem dies:
Ned Rorem, the Pulitzerand Grammy-winning musician known for his vast output of compositions and for his barbed and sometimes scandalous prose, died Friday at age 99. A publicist for his music publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, said he died of natural causes at his New York home.
The artist produced a
thousand-work catalog ranging from symphonies and operas to solo instrumental, chamber and vocal music, in addition to 16 books. Rorem was also notable for his hundreds of compositions for the solo human voice.
Rorem won the 1976 Pulitzer for his “Air
Music: Ten Etudes for Orchestra.” The 1989 Grammy for outstanding orchestral recording went to the Atlanta Symphony for Rorem’s “String Symphony, Sunday Morning, and Eagles.”
Nov. 21 birthdays: Actor Marlo Thomas is 85. Actor Goldie Hawn is
77. Keyboardist Lonnie Jordan is 74. Actor Cherry Jones is 66. Singer Steven Curtis Chapman is 60. Singer Bjork is 57. TV host Michael Strahan is 51. Actor Marina de Tavira is 48. Actor Jena Malone is 38. Singer Carly Rae Jepsen is 37.