Leno has surgery for car fire burns
Jay Leno underwent surgery for serious burns suffered when flames erupted as he worked on a vintage car and remains hospitalized for further treatment, the physician overseeing his care said Wednesday.
The former “Tonight Show” host was in good condition, and his wife, Mavis, is with him at the Grossman Burn Center north of Los Angeles, said Peter H. Grossman, medical director of the center at West Hills Hospital.
“He is in good spirits today,” Grossman told a televised news conference. Last weekend, Leno suffered burns to his face, hands and chest that the plastic surgeon categorized as second-degree or verging on more severe.
Some of the facial wounds “are a little bit deeper and a little more concerning” because they’re showing signs of progressing to thirddegree, as can happen with burns, Grossman said.
Leno came through one surgery well, and a second is planned this week, Grossman said. The comedian is up and walking, telling jokes and is a hit with the staff, even giving out cookies to young patients.
The fire occurred at the Burbank, California, garage where Leno stores his famed collection of cars and other motor vehicles.
Man charged with arranging rapper Young Dolph’s killing:
A man charged with arranging the slaying of Young Dolph pleaded not guilty Thursday — one year after the rapper and record label owner was ambushed and shot to death while buying cookies at a bakery in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.
Hernandez Govan, 43, appeared briefly in Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis. He was arrested
last week after he was indicted on charges including first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the killing of the rapper at age 36. The judge set Govan’s next hearing for Dec. 16.
Govan is the third man charged in the Nov. 17,
2021, slaying of Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton
Jr. The killing stunned Memphis and shocked the entertainment world. Police said two men exited a white Mercedes-Benz and fired shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies.
Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith Jr. have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges in the shooting and are being held in jail. They are scheduled to appear Jan. 20 in court.
Chastain returning to Broadway:
Oscar winner Jessica Chastain’s return to Broadway will breathe new life into an old classic.
The actor, known for film roles such as “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” “The Help” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” will star in Jamie Lloyd’s upcoming revival of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 drama “A Doll’s House,” it was announced Wednesday.
The three-act play about Norwegian housewife Nora Helmer — who leaves her overbearing husband and family — will be modernized by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog.
Chastain, 45, made her Broadway debut in the 2012 revival of “The Heiress.”
Nov. 18 birthdays: Actor Brenda Vaccaro is 83. Actor Delroy Lindo is 70. Comedian Kevin Nealon is 69. Actor Oscar Nunez is 64. Guitarist Kirk Hammett is 60. Actor Owen Wilson is 54. Actor Mike Epps is 52. Actor Mekia Cox is 41. Actor Nasim Pedrad is 41. Singer TJ Osborne is 38. Designer Christian Siriano is 37.