Quick Takes: Jay Leno’s ratings rise

David Letterman made a run at “The Tonight Show” in October and early November, but in recent weeks Jay Leno has reclaimed his No. 1 spot in the late-night rankings. Last week his program registered its largest audience in more than eight months, figures from the Nielsen Co. showed Thursday.

NBC’s “The Tonight Show” averaged 4.2 million viewers for the week of Dec. 13-17, while CBS’ “Late Show” drew 3.6 million. NBC said Leno’s show also had a 22% advantage over Letterman’s among viewers in the 18-to-49 age bracket that many advertisers covet.

Elsewhere in the late-night arena last week, “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” averaged 1.9 million viewers, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” 1.6 million, “The Daily Show” 1.6 million, “Conan” 1.3 million, “The Colbert Report” 1.2 million and “Lopez Tonight” 700,000.

—Lee Margulies

Dudamel set for ‘Tonight Show’

Gustavo Dudamel will make his first appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on Jan. 4.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced Thursday that its maestro will hobnob with Leno to talk about the orchestra’s “L.A. Phil Live” series, which will beam performances from Walt Disney Concert Hall to more than 450 movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada.

No word on whether Dudamel will take the baton for a turn in front of the “Tonight Show” band.

The Venezuelan music director will kick off 2011 with his regular band with concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Jan. 6-9, which will feature mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor singing in Hebrew in Leonard Bernstein’s First Symphony, which is based on the prophet Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations. Also on the

program are John Adams’ “Slonimsky’s Earbox” and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.

Dudamel and the Phil will tour Europe Jan. 21-Feb. 5.

—Mike Boehm

Life achievers to be honored

Dolly Parton, the Ramones, Julie Andrews, the Kingston Trio, the Juilliard String Quartet, jazz musician and bandleader Roy Haynes and gospel singer-composer George Beverly Shea will be recognized by the Recording Academy with Lifetime Achievement Awards on the eve of the Feb. 13 Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

“These influential performers and brilliant innovators have been of great inspiration to our culture and industry,” academy President and Chief Executive Neil Portnow said in a statement with the announcement of the new recipients.

Among other Special Merit Award honorees announced this week, Trustees Awards, which recognize contributions to the music industry by non-performers, will go to veteran record label executive Bruce Lundvall, former Stax Records vice president and Bellmark Records founder Al Bell and classical music producer Wilma Cozart Fine.

—Randy Lewis

Forgiveness for Chris Brown

Keri Hilson called her new album “No Boys Allowed,” but a collaboration with one young man has been drawing attention.

The pop-R&B singer has become the most prominent female artist to collaborate with Chris Brown since his arrest last year for attacking his then-girlfriend Rihanna. The album cut “One Night Stand” is her second duet with Brown, following “Superhuman,” recorded in 2008.

“I didn’t want to be one of those women who is so unforgiving and be yet another person who is slapping him on his hand and crucifying him,” Hilson said in an interview. “You have to be allowed back into good graces, meaning, ‘Let me earn my trust back to you, let me earn my respect back.’ And Chris has done that. He’s crawled back into the public eye.… Women were so unforgiving. And I understand why. I don’t condone what he did. But I also believe in second chances.”

Hilson, 28, calls the 21-year-old Brown a friend and said she wants the public to separate his mistakes from his music.

—Associated Press

Fantastic Four member to die

The Fantastic Four — superheroes whose creation nearly 50 years ago helped usher in the Silver Age of comics for Marvel — is about to become a trio.

Marvel Comics says a member of the foursome — Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and the Thing — will die in issue No. 587 next month.

Who will it be? That’s a secret protected with more might than the Incredible Hulk and Sentry possess, but Executive Editor Tom Brevoort, who oversees the comic book, says plenty of clues have been offered during the course of writer Jonathan Hickman’s run, including the current “Three” story line.

But is death really the end? Marvel says yes. After all, death has visited the Fantastic Four before only to turn out to be a ruse.

This time, however, Marvel is adamant, noting that once the current story ends in issue No. 588, the Fantastic Four will cease to exist.

—Associated Press