O'Brien on Comeback Trail
Pat O'Brien is clean and sober and ready for the mea culpa circuit.
The veteran TV personality and cohost of The Insider checked out of rehab Sunday after a monthlong treatment for alcohol abuse, says Manfred Westphal, a rep for Paramount Domestic Television.
O'Brien announced he was entering the undisclosed center in a Mar. 21 statement. "Overcoming this problem is a top priority in my life and I am excited to return to work as soon as I am able," he said.
The news broke just a day after a series of embarrassing phone messages--attributed to O'Brien--surfaced on the Internet. The graphic messages featured a voice sounding like O'Brien's pestering a woman for sex.
Meanwhile, in a nifty bit of synergy, the 57-year-old O'Brien will return to The Insider next Thursday--just as May sweeps gets rolling--a day after appearing on a prime-time sit-down on CBS with Dr. Phil for the now requisite public confession of misdeeds. Both The Insider and Dr. Phil are produced by Paramount, which, like CBS, is owned by Viacom.
In the meantime, Lara Spencer continues to hold down solo hosting duties on the syndicated entertainment news magazine.
O'Brien is best known for his longtime stint as sports reporter on CBS. Before joining The Insider last year, he was the cohost of another syndicated show, Access Hollywood.





0 Comments
Now loading...