Larry King Surgery

The veteran journalist and TV star Larry King is recovering from surgery:

Veteran CNN talk show host Larry King had surgery on Friday to clear an artery blockage but plans to return to work on Monday to interview U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, the network said.

King, 73, emerged from the scheduled operation without any complications and was alert and talking to his staff by the afternoon, CNN spokeswoman Bridget Leininger said.

"He was actually already giving orders to us for Monday," she said.

The operation, called a carotid endarterectomy, removes plaque that can build up in a patient's carotid artery, a blood vessel that supplies the neck and head.

The procedure was performed on King at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Leininger said.

"Larry is doing great and he is excited to be back on the air Monday night with an interview with Sen. Barack Obama as we mark the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war," CNN said in a statement.

Wish him well.

Marisa Tomei

Marisa Tomei is due to star in a new CBSpilot:

 

Marisa Tomei will play the title role in CBS' comedy pilot "The Rich Inner Life of Penelope Cloud."

The Oscar winner will play a brilliant, opinionated writer struggling to deliver the follow-up to her acclaimed first novel. She has an epiphany and tries to recapture her youthful optimism.

Tomei is currently in movie theaters with box office champ "Wild Hogs." Her TV credits include a cameo as herself in an episode of "Seinfeld." She won an Academy Award for her supporting turn in 1992's "My Cousin Vinny" and was nominated nine years later for "In the Bedroom."

If you're not sure how these things work, yes, going from being an Oscar winner to a TV show is indeed a step down in the world.