Taking Names

Jay wanted to stay

Jay Leno is perched in prime time, but says he would have rather stayed put at “The Tonight Show” — and if NBC offered him that late-night job again, he says he’d take it, Associated Press reports.

In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable magazine, Mr. Leno hastily adds that such a decision isn’t his to make. Conan O’Brien, his successor as “Tonight” host after 17 years, is “doing fine,” Mr. Leno says.

“Conan is in the same position I was in when I took over. It takes a while. Some will like it; some will leave forever and not come back,” he says.

“The Jay Leno Show” began on NBC in September, airing Monday through Friday at 10 p.m., where it has displaced scripted prime-time dramas. For that, and for his less-than-stellar ratings thus far, Mr. Leno has taken heat within the TV industry as well as from critics.

It’s just part of the battle, says Mr. Leno, who insists he enjoys it.

“I get a certain amount of satisfaction from pounding my head against the wall,” he says. “I’m not having a bad time at 10 o’clock now. I look at this as a job, and now I’m faced with a challenge, and it’s a challenge I find difficult but interesting.”

Spielberg lauded

The Anti-Defamation League will honor Steven Spielberg at its annual Los Angeles fundraiser Dec. 9, Variety.com reports.

Mr. Spielberg will receive the group’s top kudo, dubbed America’s Democratic Legacy Award, at the dinner gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

ADL hailed Mr. Spielberg as a “true champion of human rights,” as evidenced by his film and TV work as well as his broad range of philanthropic endeavors. ADL national Executive Director Abraham Foxman will present the award to Mr. Spielberg.

“American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert and Israeli singer Noa Dori are among the performers set for the event.

Composer bilked

A man has been jailed for 18 months for embezzling more than $850,000 from the official composer to Queen Elizabeth II, Associated Press reports.

Michael Arnold was the agent and manager of musician Peter Maxwell Davies for more than 30 years.

Prosecutors say he stole from Mr. Maxwell Davies for 16 years. The fraud was discovered when the composer was unable to withdraw 40 pounds — about $65 — from a bank machine because of insufficient funds.

Arnold pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to false accounting involving $853,000. Judge Nicholas Jones said Monday he had taken the 76-year-old defendant’s age and ill-health into account, but that the serious crime deserved a jail sentence.

Mr. Maxwell Davies is considered among the world’s most eminent composers.

• Compiled by Dianne Lash from Web and wire reports