Saturday, July 25, 2026

Jimmy Fallon Ready for the Big Time: Hires McCartney Lawyer, Billy Joel Publicist

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Jimmy Fallon is getting ready for the big time. The star of “Late Night” will move to the “Tonight” show starting next February. So the former “Saturday Night Live” player is upping his game considerably. I’m told Fallon has hired Lee Eastman and his father, John, of the famed Eastman and Eastman firm. John Eastman, whose late sister Linda was married to Paul McCartney until her tragic death in 1998, has been representing the Beatle since before the group broke up in 1970.

John Eastman’s late father, the first Lee Eastman, was considered a genius for buying up song catalogs. The Eastmans are considered the creme de la creme in the cut throat music business. They rescued Billy Joel from some dire circumstances years ago, as well. Fallon has also picked up Claire Mercuri, Joel’s long time rep as his new publicist. Now with the right people in place, Fallon looks unstoppable as he tunes up his guitar for a winter re-birth. If you can tell, I am a huge of Fallon’s show. It’s smart and sophisticated while still  reaching a mass audience. And the guy isn’t even 40 yet.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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