Brian Williams lobbied to replace Leno on ‘Tonight Show': report

Brian Williams lobbied to replace Leno on ‘Tonight Show': report

By Joe Tacopino

February 11, 2015 | 12:41am

http://pagesix.com/2015/02/11/brian-williams-lobbied-to-replace-leno-on-tonight-show-report/?_ga=1.130782671.1393850251.1414414382

If only he had Ed McMahon to tell him his war stories were “correct, sir.”

Disgraced NBC News anchor Brian Williams made a bizarre bid to quit the serious world of mainstream journalism to try his hand at late-night comedy by replacing Jay Leno as host of “The ­Tonight Show.”

Before Leno stepped down last year, Williams lobbied NBC execs for the legendary funnyman’s job, according to New York magazine.

“Brian wants to be a late-night comedian,” said a former colleague. “He traded on being ‘Nightly News’ anchorman-war reporter to ingratiate himself with Jimmy Fallon, Lorne Michaels and Jon Stewart.”

The job helming “Tonight” — made most famous by host Johnny Carson — eventually went to former “Late Night” host and “Saturday Night Live” alum Jimmy Fallon.

Critics said Williams had taken on too much of a celebrity role recently, appearing in regular “Tonight” sketches with Fallon, including “Slow Jam the News.”

“You can’t escape Brian Williams. He’s showing up in prime time,” another former colleague told New York magazine. “He’s hosting ‘SNL,’ his daughter [Allison Williams] is Peter Pan. She’s on HBO” in the hit series “Girls.”

In 2006, Williams upset a delegation at a Congressional Medal of Honor Society event in Boston when he ducked out early to appear on “SNL,” according to the Boston Herald.

Williams agreed to be the master of ceremonies at the Boston event but told members when he arrived that he had a “pressing engagement.”

Brian Williams

Brian Williams is Allison Williams’s father, the anchor (suspended) for the NBC Nightly News, a director at the Robin Hood Foundation, and was an anchor for WCBS-TV.

Note: Allison Williams is Brian Williams’s daughter, and an actor in Girls.

Lena Dunham is an actor & creator for Girls, and her Godfather is Jerry Saltz.

Jerry Saltz is Lena Dunham’s Godfather, and an art critic for the New York magazine.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Robin Hood Foundation, and the International Rescue Committee.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and his sister-in-law is Daisy M. Soros.

Tom Brokaw was a director at the Robin Hood Foundation, an anchor for the NBC Nightly News, is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and a trustee at the American Museum of Natural History.

Lorne Michaels is a trustee at the American Museum of Natural History, the producer for The Tonight Show, and the creator of Saturday Night Live (SNL), and the producer of Late Night.

Jimmy Fallon is the host for The Tonight Show, was a cast member for Saturday Night Live (SNL), and the host of Late Night.

Gilda Radner was a cast member for Saturday Night Live (SNL), and an impersonator for Barbara Walters.

Barbara Walters was impersonated by Gilda Radner, a trustee at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, a writer for the CBS News, and is a leader’s council member for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Gary Littrell was a trustee at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, and the president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Bill O'Reilly was a reporter for the CBS News, a columnist for the Boston Herald, and a reporter for WCBS-TV.

Brian Williams was an anchor for WCBS-TV, is Allison Williams’s father, the anchor (suspended) for the NBC Nightly News, and a director at the Robin Hood Foundation.

Daisy M. Soros is a leader’s council member for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and George Soros’s sister-in-law.