Television Hosts

Phil Keoghan, he of the arched eyebrow and host of Emmy Award-winning "The Amazing Race," is a self-acknowledged creature of extremes. For his day job, the 41-year-old New Zealand native logs more than 400,000 air miles per year, mostly as he crisscrosses the globe with the CBS show's $1-million prize and adventure-hungry contestants. But that's nothing really.

As readers of this section probably already know, Barbara Walters and her cohorts from ABC's "The View" are coming to the Walt Disney lot to do a week's worth of shows starting today. This column spoke with Walters by phone last week and is pleased to report that she's a great interview. (Are you surprised?) We'll get to her answers in just a minute, but first -- er, we're still having trouble getting over that Hugh Jackman lap dance. Help us, Barbara!

Nadya Suleman told TV host "Dr. Phil" McGraw on Tuesday that she fears Kaiser Permanente Medical Center may not release her octuplets to her until she proves she can care for them. In an interview with The Times, McGraw said Suleman called him Tuesday afternoon, distressed after talking to Kaiser officials. Suleman has taped two episodes of McGraw's show, the first of which is scheduled to run today.

As was first announced five years ago, Conan O'Brien abdicated his position as the host of NBC's "Late Night" on Friday night, preparatory to taking up the scepter and mantle of "The Tonight Show." His investiture is scheduled for June 1. Such changes come rarely in network television -- O'Brien's 16-season run is not coincidentally matched by "Late Night" predecessor David Letterman's still-continuing stint on CBS' "Late Show" and by Leno's soon-to-end "Tonight Show" tenure.

Whoever believes there is nothing to fear but fear itself has never wet his pants onstage. It's an experience Hugh Jackman is hoping not to repeat when he hosts the 81st Academy Awards tonight, although a case of nerves is understandable: Along with producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, Jackman's been tapped to add pep and popularity to a show suffering from steadily declining ratings.

What makes consumption so easy is its focus on what makes it to the shelf; capitalism's byproducts are hidden away, necessary consequences best left unseen. Mike Rowe, who hosts the Discovery Channel immersion show "Dirty Jobs" (9 p.m.

Television network executives looking for new talent are accustomed to getting pleas from agents urging them to check out their clients. But in the last few weeks, MSNBC has experienced a different kind of onslaught: a flood of unsolicited endorsements from fans of liberal radio hosts touting them as the network's next potential big star. The grass-roots campaigns were triggered by the news that the cable channel is contemplating creating a new show for its 7 p.m.

A lovely teenager named Courtney Chou Lee wore the crown and rode down Colorado Boulevard. But for many people who watched at home Thursday, the real queen of the 120th Rose Parade was the 65-year-old with the brilliant red hair and the relentless smile who described the pageant from high above the parade route.

Conservative commentator Glenn Beck is leaving CNN Headline News for Fox News Channel, where he will host a weekday show at 5 p.m. starting next spring. His daily radio show is heard by nearly 7 million people, ranking him fifth in popularity behind Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Laura Schlessinger, according to Talkers magazine. Beck sensed growth opportunities at Fox, which appeals to a more conservative audience and has many more viewers than CNN Headline News.

Charles M. Runyon, who as Chucko the Birthday Clown was a popular Los Angeles children's TV show host in the 1950s and '60s, has died. He was 86. Runyon died Saturday of respiratory failure in an assisted-living facility in Grants Pass, Ore., said his son, Randy Runyon. On KABC-TV Channel 7 from 1955 to 1963 and on KTTV Channel 11 from 1963 to 1964, Runyon's Chucko the Clown was a familiar -- and welcome -- sight to thousands of young Southern California viewers.