Leno trying to disguise uncertainty about future?

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Late-night television hasn't been this weird in 15 years. And not just because soon-to-be-ex-"Tonight Show" host Jay Leno showed up at the TV critics press tour in disguise.

It was classic Leno — he was ripping off someone else's material. Five days after Jimmy Kimmel pretended to be a reporter at a press conference with ABC top programmers, Leno (in a fake beard and a bald cap) did the same at a press conference with NBC's top programmers.

The difference was that Kimmel was pretty funny; Leno was mostly just, well, odd.

The drama swirling around Leno is an echo of what happened in January 1993, when David Letterman turned down NBC's delayed offer for "The Tonight Show" and left for CBS.

Now, the question is — where will Leno end up once he loses his "Tonight Show" gig? And The Powers That Be at NBC insist they're following through with plans to transfer the show from Leno to Conan O'Brien next spring.

Leno's last night on "Tonight" will be Friday, May 29; Conan's first night on "Tonight" will be Monday, June 1.

NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman dodged a question about what will happen if Leno goes to ABC (after his contract expires late next year) and beats O'Brien in the ratings.

"We really believe in the decisions we've made with our partners, including Jay, and we'll really be standing by them, because we love the talent we have on NBC, and we love the franchise that we have on NBC, and we think there's opportunity for a lot of great talent to play," Silverman said.

(Huh?)

"We're not agreeing that he's going to ABC," said the other NBC Entertainment co-chairman, Marc Graboff. "We're still talking to Jay about staying within NBC Universal beyond his deal on 'The Tonight Show.' So we're not even going to concede that at this point." Silverman and Graboff took the heat for a decision they didn't make. The credit (?!?) for this one goes to their boss, NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker, who maneuvered this deal in 2004.

Fearful of losing O'Brien to CBS, Zucker signed him to a deal that promised to give him "The Tonight Show" in 2009. While the thinking was that perhaps Leno's ratings would be waning by now, they're not. He's still No. 1 at 11:30/10:30 p.m. (depending on your time zone).

And if NBC backtracks and doesn't give O'Brien "Tonight," he'll get a payout reported to be as high as $40 million.