Fallon Welcomes De Niro as First Guest for LATE NIGHT Hosting Debut 3/2

"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" will make its broadcast debut on Monday, March 2, 2009 at 12:35/11:35c. The New York Post is reporting that acting icon Robert De Niro will be Jimmy Fallon's first guest on the revamped "Late Night", will be joined by Van Morrison, who'll perform on Fallon's inaugural telecast. To read the entire post report click here.

Critically-acclaimed, Grammy-winning band The Roots will be Fallon's house band when "Late Night" makes its broadcast debut. Named one of the "20 Greatest Live Acts in the World" by Rolling Stone, The Roots will bring their eclectic hip-hop sound to the new "Late Night."

Fallon's "Late Night" will depart from David Letterman and Conan O'Brien's Studio 6A and cross the hall to Studio 6B in NBC's 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in New York. Studio 6B has a long history of comedy within its walls. It was the New York home of the first 10 years of Johnny Carson's unprecedented "Tonight Show" tenure, as well as the home of "The Tonight Show" for Carson's predecessor, Jack Paar (who made television history in 6B by quitting his own show on the air after NBC censored a joke the night before). In 1950 it housed the first late night show in television history, "Broadway Open House," and it was also the home of the legendary "Texaco Star Theater" starring Milton Berle. In addition, it was from Studio 6B that the infamous game show "Twenty One" (the basis of the film "Quiz Show") originated, as well as where the legendary Ernie Kovacs created innovative comedy on his groundbreaking daytime show. In its days as a studio for NBC Radio, Stuido 6B hosted such comedy legends as Bob Hope as well as Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

On December 8, 2008, Fallon began posting nightly video blogs on www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com. A new video blog will go live each weeknight at 12:35 a.m. (ET) until the "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" broadcast premiere, Each night, the video blogs will give viewers behind-the-scenes access to Fallon as he prepares to take over on "Late Night."

Fallon is the third host of "Late Night," which has dominated the 12:35 a.m. timeslot since its inception in 1982 with then-host David Letterman.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.