Dr. Art Ulene Leaves NBC to Join ABC’s ‘Home’

Dr. Art Ulene, medical correspondent for NBC’s “Today” show for the past 15 years, made his last appearance on the morning program Friday--and announced on the air that he is starting a new job Tuesday as a regular contributor to ABC’s “Home” show. Ulene will contribute health and medical stories three times a week on “Home.” He will join financial expert Jane Bryant Quinn and other new contributors on the daytime series, which is being revamped and expanded to 90 minutes a day by Marty Ryan, the former executive producer of “Today.”

Although the competitive TV business is not known for generosity towards departing TV personalities, “Today” show producers said that they knew that Ulene intended to mention his new job and did not mind his on-air announcement.

Ulene had been working on “Today” without a contract for the past two months. He had been notified by NBC executives last April that his pact would not be renewed because they wanted a TV doctor who would be based in New York and could interact with the “Today” show cast on the set there. (Sources at NBC said that “Today” also is interested in hiring a female physician.)

Ulene, who lives in Bel-Air and has been a contributor on KABC Channel 7 in Los Angeles, was unwilling to move to New York. ABC’s “Home” is produced in Los Angeles.