WASHINGTON – Rocco Landesman, a producer known for bringing such hits as “Big River,” “Angels in America” and “The Producers” to Broadway, has been nominated as the next chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, the White House announced Tuesday.

President Barack Obama’s decision to choose the 61-year-old Landesman could shake things up at the NEA, which provides funds to arts groups throughout the nation.

Landesman is expected to lobby hard for more arts money. But as president and owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, he has not been known for his diplomatic or administrative skills; rather, he’s been noted for his energy, intellect and irreverant candor.

He caused a stir in 2000 by accusing nonprofit theaters of acting too similar to their for-profit counterparts. He also created a $480 premium ticket for “The Producers” to discourage scalpers.

“Rocco speaks his mind, which is probably one of the reasons he was chosen,” Robert Brustein, the founding director of the Yale and AMerican Respertory Theaters, told The New York Times. “Rocco does not defer his opinions.”

In 1987, Landesman became president of Jujamcyn, which owns five Broadway houses, and bought the company in 2005. He’s expected to resign from his position but still retain an ownership in the company.

“He is a great entrepreneur and producer, and it indicates to me that the administration wants to have somebody in this position who will be much more than simply a distributor of funds,” Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, told the Times. “The relationship between the government and the arts needs to be energized. It needs someone like Rocco.”

The NEA was once threatened with extinction by conservatives who branded it a shameful supporter of such explicit works as Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographs. Now, it’s known for cheering on the arts in general, with such programs as the Big Read, Poetry Out Loud and “Operation Homecoming,” a compilation of stories written by soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The NEA’s budget for 2009 is $145 million. Obama has requested $161 million for 2010, which is short of its peak of $176 million in 1992.

If Congress approves his nomination, Landesman would replace Dana Gioia (JOY’-uh), who stepped down in January after serving less than seven years.

Former Miss California USA Pageant state executive director Shanna Moakler, at a Monday news conference.

LOS ANGELES — Former beauty queen Shanna Moakler has resigned as executive director of the Miss California USA pageant, a day after controversial titleholder Carrie Prejean was allowed to keep her crown.

Moakler, a former Miss USA , said in a statement issued by her publicist Wednesday that she no longer believes in the organization.

She had angrily accused Prejean on Monday of violating the contract she signed with pageant organizers by speaking out repeatedly on behalf of organizations opposed to gay marriage and by failing to disclose she had posed nearly nude for photographs as a teenager.

Pageant owner Donald Trump, who could have ousted Prejean, said Tuesday she will remain Miss Calfornia.

Prejean.

SAN FRANCISCO – Nearly three-quarters of U.S. newspaper executives responding to a recent survey said their ability to inform readers has diminished with their steadily shrinking staffs.

The survey conducted by the Associated Press Managing Editors illuminated the doubts and concerns hovering over newspapers as the industry reels from a slump that has been worsening since last fall.

The 20-question survey got responses from 351 editors and publishers. Although a few newspapers provided answers from more than one editor, the survey still offered an unusually large sampling.

APME surveys typically elicit a smattering of responses to very specific questions about a topic in the news. But this one clearly touched a nerve as it sought to find out how newspaper management is coping with a downturn that has wiped out $11.6 billion, or nearly one-fourth, of the industry’s annual advertising revenue since 2005.

“These are the people out there on the front lines of this battle and they really don’t know how it is going to turn out,” said Bobbie Jo Buel, the APME’s president and executive editor of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson.

Seventy-one percent of the survey participants said cutbacks have “somewhat affected” or “greatly affected” the quality of their newspapers’ coverage. Just 20 percent said their newspapers’ staff reductions had little or no effect.

The comments accompanying the responses were filled with resignation, frustration, anger, despair, confusion and even some gallows humor that reflected the depressed state of the U.S. economy as more people lose their homes because they can’t afford their mortgages.

“Our newspaper’s biggest revenue source today is foreclosure notices,” wrote Clifford Buchan, editor of the Forest Lake Times, a free weekly newspaper in Minnesota. “We have uncertainty once that run ends, as it most surely will.”

To cope with the hard times, 65 percent of the survey respondents said they have laid off workers since January 2008. Nearly 30 percent said they have lowered wages.

Total employment in the newspaper industry averaged 407,000 people during 2008, a 20 percent decline from 508,000 in 2005, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Newspapers have eliminated thousands more jobs so far this year.

Now editors are worried they won’t have the adequate resources and skills to keep newspapers relevant as more readers turn to the Internet for information.

Nearly 68 percent of the respondents cited staffing shortages as the chief impediment to change; more than 57 percent said they didn’t have enough money to innovate. Thirty-one percent said their personnel didn’t have the skills to change with the times.

“It’s not worth complaining about having too few people because the staffing status quo of two years ago isn’t coming back,” wrote Jeff Gauger, executive editor of The Repository, a daily newspaper in Canton, Ohio, with a circulation of about 65,000.

Newspapers have been shrinking, largely because their audiences and advertisers have been defecting to the Web. The U.S. recession that began in December 2007 has accelerated the slide in ad revenue and may also be contributing to a circulation drop as more households try to save money.

Many editors seem to be having second thoughts about the industry’s practice of giving away stories and photos on their Web sites. Twenty-eight percent of the respondents said they plan to charge for online content. About 20 percent said they will offer some coverage exclusively in their print editions to reward their paying customers.

With so much information readily available online for free, more newspapers are concentrating coverage on community issues unlikely to attract the attention of other media outlets. Nearly 40 percent of the respondents said they are devoting more space to “hyper-local” news while decreasing the pages devoted to national and international stories.

Despite the challenges facing newspapers, 72 percent of the survey’s participants said they are staying in the industry because they believe in “the mission of journalism.” Just 6 percent said they were sticking it out because the pay was too good to give up.

Fifty-nine percent of the respondents predicted their publications will find ways to be profitable. But nearly 17 percent said they’re worried their newspapers will die.

While most newspapers seem to be trying different ways to engage readers and drum up revenue, 25 percent of the respondents said their publications are mostly “hunkering down” until the economy recovers.

“We’re all in this together,” wrote Steve Bagwell, managing editor of the News-Register, a newspaper in McMinnville, Ore. “All oars are pulling in the same direction.”

To bolster staff morale, many survey respondents said they are going out of their way to praise outstanding work and occasionally serving free lunches or snacks.

Other editors are reminding their reporters and photographers that they are fortunate to still have their jobs after so many of their colleagues have been ushered out the door.

“Aren’t we lucky to continue doing what we love while others are forced to leave the industry?” wrote Eric Petermann, managing editor of The Journal-Standard, a newspaper in Freeport, Ill., with a circulation of about 11,500. “This is gut-check time. Our `new reality’ is a time of separation. Love what you are doing, and be the best, or find a job as a PR flack.”

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ON THE WEB

Associated Press Managing Editors: www.apme.com

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Mark Landon, an actor and eldest son of “Little House on the Prairie” star Michael Landon, was found dead Monday at his home. He was 60.

The cause of death was not immediately clear but there was no evidence of foul play, said Sgt. David Infante of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s office.

Mark Landon, among Michael Landon’s nine children, appeared in three movies, including “Us” — a CBS television movie written and directed by his father in 1991 just before he died of cancer at age 54. The film was a pilot intended to be another series for Michael Landon. It aired a few months after his death.

Michael Landon also starred in such shows as “Bonanza” and “Highway to Heaven.” He adopted Mark Landon after marrying his mother, Dodie Levy-Fraser, in 1956.

This is a June 25, 1990 file photo of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal. Ryan O'Neal says Farrah Fawcett's strength in the shadow of cancer has made him love her more than ever.

LOS ANGELES – Ryan O’Neal said Farrah Fawcett’s strength in the shadow of cancer has made him love her more than ever.

“She’s so much more of a woman and powerful, courageous, fearless and all those adjectives. And I look at her with awe,” he said in an interview with Meredith Vieira for NBC’s “Today.”

Vieira also talked to Fawcett’s friend, Alana Stewart, for reports airing on the “Today” show Wednesday and Thursday.

O’Neal and Stewart participated in the documentary titled “Farrah’s Story,” a video diary of the actress’ fight against anal cancer that has spread to her liver. The film airs Friday on NBC.

O’Neal and the “Charlie’s Angels” star had a long romantic relationship that ended in the late 1990s and are parents of a son, Redmond O’Neal.

Ryan O’Neal said Fawcett has managed to joke about her illness and his own battle against chronic myelogenous leukemia, which was diagnosed in 2001.

“She asked me once, `Am I gonna make it?’ She asked me that a couple of weeks ago,” O’Neal recounted. “I said, `Yeah, sure, you’ll make it. And if you don’t, I’ll go with you.’ And she said, `Then stop the Gleevec.’ And the Gleevec’s the medicine that I take for my leukemia.

“She’s the rock. She taught us all how to cope,” O’Neal said. “She’s extraordinary. I don’t know what I’ll do without her, to tell you the truth.”

Hosts Billy Bush, center, and Nadine Velazquez, right, listen as Miss California Carrie Prejean, left answers a question from judge Perez Hilton, unseen, about legalizing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA Pageant, April 19 in Las Vegas. "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage," Prejean said. "And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."

NEW YORK — Miss California USA can retain her crown even though she failed to reveal she had posed in her underwear as a teenager, pageant owner Donald Trump said Tuesday.

Carrie Prejean appeared by Trump’s side as he made the announcement at New York’s Trump Tower.

Trump also defended the answer that Prejean gave at last month’s Miss USA pageant when she was asked her view of marriage by judge Perez Hilton, a celebrity blogger. She said she believes marriage is between a man and a woman.

“It’s the same answer the president of the United States gave; it’s the same answer many people gave,” Trump said. “She gave an honorable answer; she gave an answer from her heart.”

Trump said he and other pageant officials had reviewed racy photos of Prejean and decided they were acceptable.

“We are in the 21st century. We have determined the pictures taken are fine,” he said, adding that “in some cases the pictures were lovely.”

After Trump spoke, the 21-year-old Prejean, who was accompanied by her parents, took her turn at the lectern, defending herself against what she described as vicious attacks.

She talked about getting thousands of letters and e-mails from people supporting her and said, about the marriage question, that Hilton had asked her a “politically charged question with a hidden personal agenda.”

“I stated my honest belief,” she said.

Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, is best known as a celebrity blogger but has also branched off into gay rights advocacy.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Officials of the Miss California USA pageant have strongly criticized titleholder Carrie Prejean (pray-ZHAN’) but say it’s not their decision whether she should be stripped of her crown.

Co-executive directors Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler told a Beverly Hills press conference Monday that only Miss USA pageant owner Donald Trump can make that decision.

The 21-year-old San Diego native created controversy during the Miss USA pageant when she said she believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

The state pageant has been investigating whether she violated her contract by making public appearances with groups opposed to same-sex marriage. Prejean also failed to reveal that she once posed in her underwear.

ST. LOUIS – Mickey Carroll, the diminutive actor whose appearance in an iconic film classic granted him lifelong fame, died at his home Thursday morning. He was 89.

Carroll, whose real name is Michael Finocchiaro, grew up in St. Louis and made it to Hollywood to perform in the “Wizard of Oz” role that defined his life. He spent a lot of time on charitable work, and would talk to anyone, at any time, about his part as a Munchkin in the movie.

Of the 125 Munchkins who starred in the “Wizard of Oz,” only seven are still alive. Most recently, actor Clarence Swensen, who played one of the Munchkin soldiers, passed away in late February at the age of 91.

There’s an odd twist to Carroll’s story. About the same time he died, a lawyer was filing suit on his behalf, asking for an accounting of his finances, and raising concerns that his caretaker Linda Dodge had improperly taken control of his finances and his personal affairs.

Dodge said Carroll moved in with Dodge and her husband in December as his health deteriorated. Carroll’s nephew, Frank Parenti, also moved in.

Dodge has become caretaker not only of Carroll’s health, but his memory too, pushing for him to be included in various Walks of Fame, and having him promoted at various events celebrating the “Wizard of Oz” movie. She said he played three roles in the film: as a soldier, a fiddler and town crier.

But attorney Patrick McCarthy said Carroll’s family believes he was also being manipulated and had signed paperwork giving Dodge control of his life.

McCarthy said the state department in charge of adult affairs is investigating the case and a probate judge has called for a hearing next week to hear the allegations.

Among them are that Carroll signed a power of attorney when he was in fact mentally incapable of doing so.

In addition, McCarthy said there needs to be an accounting of Carroll’s finances and he wonders why Dodge kept Carroll from talking to his family members. Dodge denies wrongdoing and said the suit is just a family spat over money, as much as $1 million.

A Catholic Mass for Carroll on Wednesday at the St. Louis Cathedral will be preceded by a court hearing on the matter.

NEW YORK – Police in New York City say Kiefer Sutherland is expected to turn himself in for questioning about a fashion designer’s claim that the actor head-butted him at a nightclub.

The star of Fox television’s “24″ could be charged with misdemeanor assault in the incident early Tuesday. He’s expected to turn himself in on Thursday to talk with police.

Jack McCollough of the Proenza Schouler fashion house claims Sutherland attacked him after an argument, leaving him with a cut on his face. Actress Brooke Shields may also be questioned as a witness.

Sutherland was released from a Glendale, Calif., jail last year after serving 48 days on a drunken driving charge.

Several calls to representatives for Sutherland, McCollough and Shields haven’t been returned.

NEW YORK — Paula Abdul has told a magazine that she overcame a 12-year addiction to painkillers last year.

The “American Idol” judge tells Ladies Home Journal in its June issue that she checked into a resort and spa in Carlsbad, Calif., where she weaned herself off her medications last Thanksgiving.

Abdul says she didn’t like existing the way she had been.

The magazine says the 46-year-old singer-dancer had suffered for years from chronic pain caused by an unusual series of accidents.

Abdul’s spokesman, Jeff Ballard, says Abdul “has moved forward in her life.”

James Beard Foundation Award winners Jean-Georges Vongerichten (right) and Dan Barber toast their success after winning awards at the annual awards dinner on Monday in New York. Vongerichten won the Outstanding Restaurant Award for Jean-Georges and Barber won the Outstanding Chef Award for Blue Hill.

NEW YORK – Dan Barber, a pioneer of the so-called farm-to-table restaurant movement, was named the nation’s top chef Monday by the James Beard Foundation.

Dan Barber was lauded for using his New York restaurants — Blue Hill New York and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills — to highlight the difference seasonal and sustainable agriculture can make on the plate.

Barber sees his cooking — which he calls American seasonal — as an effort to raise awareness about everyday food choices. At Stone Barns, which is set on a working farm, the menu is a simple list of fresh ingredients.

Barber, who was named one of the nation’s best new chefs in 2002 by Food & Wine magazine, previously was recognized by the Beard Foundation as the top New York chef in 2006. He also was a finalist for the top chef last year.

The James Beard awards are the Oscars of the food world, and honor those who follow in the footsteps of Beard, considered the dean of American cooking when he died in 1985.

Barber’s award comes at a time when much is being made of the importance of reconnecting Americans with food at its source. For example, first lady Michelle Obama recently planted a vegetable garden at the White House, a move long sought by proponents of sustainable agriculture.

Michael Pollan, a vocal critic of conventional agriculture, got a similar nod from the foundation Monday. His “In Defense of Food,” an examination of the American diet and food system, won a Beard book award.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s New York restaurant Jean Georges was honored as the nation’s top restaurant. The restaurant was a finalist in the category last year.

David Chang, who has received numerous accolades for his Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam Bar restaurants in New York, earned “Best New Restaurant” for his Ko, which has been celebrated for its tasting menu-only offerings. The foundation honored Chang as best New York chef last year.

The foundation’s award for rising star went to San Francisco chef Nate Appleman, whose restaurant A16 features the foods of Italy’s Campania region.

In the cookbook categories, Jennifer McLagan’s “Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient,” won two awards — cookbook of the year and single subject cookbook.

Last year’s top chef, Grant Achatz, won a book award this year for “Alinea,” a cookbook based on his Chicago restaurant of the same name. The book won the professional cooking category.

The organization’s Lifetime Achievement award went to Ella Brennan, whose family has been a virtual dynasty in the New Orleans restaurant scene for decades.

DeLuise in 1989

LOS ANGELES – Dom DeLuise, the portly actor-comedian whose affable nature made him a popular character actor for decades with movie and TV audiences as well as directors and fellow actors, has died. He was 75.

DeLuise died Monday night, son Michael DeLuise told KTLA-TV and radio station KNX on Tuesday. The comedian died in his sleep after a long illness. Calls to his agent were not immediately returned.

The actor, who loved to cook and eat almost as much as he enjoyed acting, also carved out a formidable second career later in life as a chef of fine cuisine. He authored two cookbooks and would appear often on morning TV shows to whip up his favorite recipes.

As an actor, he was incredibly prolific, appearing in scores of movies and TV shows, in Broadway plays and voicing characters for numerous cartoon shows.

Writer-director-actor Mel Brooks particularly admired DeLuise’s talent for offbeat comedy and cast him in several of his films, including “The Twelve Chairs,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Silent Movie,” “History of the World Part I” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.” DeLuise was also the voice of Pizza the Hutt in Brooks’ “Star Wars” parody, “Spaceballs.”

The actor also appeared frequently in films opposite his friend Burt Reynolds. Among them, “The End,” “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” ‘Smokey and the Bandit II,” “The Cannonball Run” and “Cannonball Run II.”

Another actor-friend, Dean Martin, admired his comic abilities so much that he cast DeLuise as a regular on his 1960s comedy-variety show. In 1973, he starred in a situation comedy, “Lotsa Luck,” but it proved to be short-lived.

Other TV credits included appearances on such shows as “The Munsters,” “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Burke’s Law,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Diagnosis Murder.”

On Broadway, DeLuise appeared in Neil Simon’s “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” and other plays.

Because of his passion for food, the actor battled obesity throughout much of his life, his weight reaching as much as 325 pounds at one point. For years, he resisted the efforts of family members and doctors who tried to put him on various diets. He finally agreed in 1993 when he needed hip replacement surgery and his doctor refused to perform it until he lost 100 pounds.

He and his family enrolled at the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C., and DeLuise lost enough weight for the surgery, although he gained some of it back afterward.

On the positive side, his love of food resulted in two successful cookbooks, 1988′s “Eat This — It Will Make You Feel Better!” and 1997′s “Eat This Too! It’ll Also Make You Feel Good.”

At his Pacific Palisades home, DeLuise often prepared feasts for family and friends. One lunch began with turkey soup and ended with strawberry shortcake. In between, were platters of beef filet, chicken breast and sausage, a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs and a saucer of lettuce.

He strongly resembled the famed chef Paul Prudhomme and joked in a 1987 Associated Press interview that he had posed as Prudhomme while visiting his New Orleans restaurant, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen.

DeLuise was appearing on Broadway in “Here’s Love” in the early 1960s when Garry Moore saw him and hired him to play the magician “Dominick the Great” on “The Garry Moore Show.”

His appearances on the hit comedy-variety program brought offers from Hollywood, and DeLuise first came to the attention of movie-goers in “Fail Safe,” a drama starring Henry Fonda. He followed with a comedy, “The Glass Bottom Boat,” starring Doris Day, and from then on he alternated between films and television.

“I was making $7,000 a week — a lot of money back then — but I didn’t even know I was rich,” he recalled in 1994. “I was just having such a great time.”

He was born Dominick DeLuise in New York City on Aug. 1, 1933, to Italian immigrants. His father, who spoke only Italian, was a garbage collector, and those humble beginnings stayed with him throughout his life.

“My dad knows everything there is to know about garbage,” one of the actor’s sons, David DeLuise, told The Associated Press in 2008. “He loves to pick up a broken chair and fix it.”

DeLuise’s introduction to acting came at age 8 when he played the title role of Peter Rabbit in a school play. He went on to graduate from New York City’s famed School of Performing Arts in Manhattan.

For five years, he sought work in theater or television with little luck. He finally decided to enroll at Tufts College and study biology, with the aim of becoming a teacher.

Acting called him back, however, and he found work at the Cleveland Playhouse, appearing in stage productions that ranged from comedies such as “Kiss Me Kate” to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

“I worked two years solidly on plays and moving furniture and painting scenery and playing parts,” he remarked in a 2006 interview. “It was quite an amazing learning place for me.”

While working in summer stock in Provincetown, Mass., he met a beautiful young actress, Carol Arthur, and they were soon married.

The couple’s three sons, Peter, Michael and David, all became actors and all appeared with their father in the 1990s TV series “SeaQuestDSV,” in which Peter and Michael were regulars.

Meg White.

DETROIT — A publicist for The White Stripes says drummer Meg White is engaged to musician Jackson Smith, the son of punk singer Patti Smith and late MC5 guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith.

Publicist Chloe Walsh says the couple will wed this year, but couldn’t confirm other details.

The White Stripes got their start in Detroit, and are fronted by Jack White. Though Meg and Jack White have claimed to be siblings, court records have suggested they were married for four years before divorcing in 2000.

The Detroit Free Press reported White and Smith’s wedding plans Saturday on the newspaper’s Web site.

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On the Web

www.whitestripes.com

Lin-Manuel Miranda (left) and Cynthia Nixon pose for photos before they announce the nominations for Broadway's 2009 Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, in New York on Tuesday.

NEW YORK – “Billy Elliot,” the season’s biggest musical hit, dominated the 2009 Tony Award nominations Tuesday, picking up 15, more than any other show.

Based on the popular British movie, the show about a coal miner’s son who dreams of becoming a dancer, will compete for best musical against “Next to Normal,” “Rock of Ages” and “Shrek The Musical.”

“It’s been an amazing experience,” Elton John, nominated for the show’s original score, told CBS’ “Early Show,” which telecast early nominations. “It’s made an incredible impact on my life.”

Best-play nominations went to “God of Carnage,” “Dividing the Estate,” “reasons to be pretty” and “33 Variations.”

“Next to Normal,” a heartfelt musical about a woman battling mental illness, received 11 nominations, while “Shrek” and the revival of “Hair” tied with eight each.

In several of the acting categories, performers from the same show will compete against each other.

For best-actor play, James Gandolfini and Jeff Daniels, stars of “God of Carnage,” will face each other. So will their two co-stars in Yasmina Reza’s scathing comedy of manners — Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis — in the actress-play category.

Other actor-play nominees were Raul Esparza, “Speed-the-Plow”; Geoffrey Rush, “Exit the King”; and Thomas Sadoski, “reasons to be pretty.”

The two royal ladies of “Mary Stuart” — Janet McTeer as Mary, Queen of Scots, and Harriet Walter as Elizabeth I — will also battle for the actress nod. The last slot in the category was filled by Jane Fonda, who portrays a dying musicologist in “33 Variations.”

In one of the more unusual nominations, the three boys who share the title role in “Billy Elliot” — David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish — were named together for the best actor-musical prize.

Their competition: Gavin Creel, “Hair”; Brian d’Arcy James, “Shrek The Musical”; Constantine Maroulis, “Rock of Ages”; and J. Robert Spencer, “Next to Normal.”

The 15 nominations received by “Billy Elliot” were the most received by a production since “The Producers” was honored with the same number in 2001. Its composer, Elton John (along with lyricist Lee Hall) was nominated. Besides best-musical, score and lead actor, “Billy Elliot” received nominations for book, featured-actor (two), featured-actress (two), scenery, costumes, lighting, sound, direction, choreography and orchestrations.

Dolly Parton was nominated for her score of “9 to 5,” but the show was passed over for a coveted best musical nod. In this play-heavy season, a lot of well-known actors were snubbed including Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Goodman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Daniel Radcliffe, Carla Gugino, Brian Dennehy, Frank Langella and John Lithgow.

Joesefina Scaglione, Maria in the revival of “West Side Story,” picked up an actress-musical nomination. She will compete against Stockard Channing, “Pal Joey”; Sutton Foster, “Shrek”; Allison Janney, “9 to 5: The Musical”; and Alice Ripley, “Next to Normal.”

Winners will be announced June 7 at Radio City Music Hall.

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NOMINEES

NEW YORK – Nominations for the 2009 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards, announced Tuesday.

BEST PLAY: “Dividing the Estate,” “God of Carnage,” “reasons to be pretty,” “33 Variations.”

BEST MUSICAL: “Billy Elliot, The Musical,” “Next to Normal,” “Rock of Ages,” “Shrek The Musical.”

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL: “Billy Elliot, The Musical,” “Next to Normal,” “Shrek The Musical,” “(Title of Show).”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE: “Billy Elliot, The Musical,” “Next to Normal,” “9 to 5: The Musical,” “Shrek The Musical.”

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY: “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” “Mary Stuart,” “The Norman Conquests,” “Waiting for Godot.”

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL: “Guys and Dolls,” “Hair,” “Pal Joey,” “West Side Story.”

BEST SPECIAL THEATRICAL EVENT: “Liza’s at The Palace,” “Slava’s Snowshow,” “Soul of Shaolin,” “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush.”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY: Jeff Daniels, “God of Carnage”; Raul Esparza, “Speed-the-Plow”; James Gandolfini, “God of Carnage”; Geoffrey Rush, “Exit the King”; Thomas Sadoski, “Reasons to Be Pretty.”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Hope Davis, “God of Carnage”; Jane Fonda, “33 Variations”; Marcia Gay Harden, “God of Carnage”; Janet McTeer, “Mary Stuart”; Harriet Walter, “Mary Stuart.”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Gavin Creel, “Hair”; Brian d’Arcy James, “Shrek The Musical”; Constantine Maroulis, “Rock of Ages”; J. Robert Spencer, “Next to Normal.”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Stockard Channing, “Pal Joey”; Sutton Foster, “Shrek The Musical”; Allison Janney, “9 to 5: The Musical”; Alice Ripley, “Next to Normal”; Josefina Scaglione, “West Side Story.”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY: John Glover, “Waiting for Godot”; Zach Grenier, “33 Variations”; Stephen Mangan, “The Norman Conquests”; Paul Ritter, “The Norman Conquests”; Roger Robinson, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Hallie Foote, “Dividing the Estate”; Jessica Hynes, “The Norman Conquests”; Marin Ireland, “reasons to be pretty”; Angela Lansbury, “Blithe Spirit”; Amanda Root, “The Norman Conquests.”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: David Bologna, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Gregory Jbara, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Marc Kudisch, “9 to 5: The Musical”; Christopher Sieber, “Shrek The Musical”; Will Swenson, “Hair.”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Jennifer Damiano, “Next to Normal”; Haydn Gwynne, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Karen Olivo, “West Side Story”; Martha Plimpton, “Pal Joey”; Carole Shelley, “Billy Elliot, The Musical.”

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY: Dale Ferguson, “Exit the King”; Rob Howell, “The Norman Conquests”; Derek McLane, “33 Variations”; Michael Yeargan, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Robert Brill, “Guys and Dolls”; Ian MacNeil, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Scott Pask, “Pal Joey”; Mark Wendland, “Next to Normal.”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY: Dale Ferguson, “Exit the King”; Jane Greenwood, “Waiting for Godot”; Martin Pakledinaz, “Blithe Spirit”; Anthony Ward, “Mary Stuart.”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Gregory Gale, “Rock of Ages”; Nicky Gillibrand, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Tim Hatley, “Shrek The Musical”; Michael McDonald, “Hair.”

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY: David Hersey, “Equus”; David Lander, “33 Variations”; Brian MacDevitt, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”; Hugh Vanstone, “Mary Stuart.”

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Kevin Adams, “Hair”; Kevin Adams, “Next to Normal”; Howell Binkley, “West Side Story”; Rick Fisher, “Billy Elliot, The Musical.”

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY: Paul Arditti, “Mary Stuart”; Gregory Clarke, “Equus”; Russell Goldsmith, “Exit the King”; Scott Lehrer and Leon Rothenberg, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Acme Sound Partners, “Hair”; Paul Arditti, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Peter Hylenski, “Rock of Ages”; Brian Ronan, “Next to Normal.”

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY: Phyllida Lloyd, “Mary Stuart”; Bartlett Sher, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”; Matthew Warchus, “God of Carnage”; Matthew Warchus, “The Norman Conquests.”

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL: Stephen Daldry, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Michael Greif, “Next to Normal”; Kristin Hanggi, “Rock of Ages” Diane Paulus, “Hair.”

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: Karole Armitage, “Hair”; Andy Blankenbuehler, “9 to 5: The Musical”; Peter Darling, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Randy Skinner, “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.”

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS: Larry Blank, “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas”; Martin Koch, “Billy Elliot, The Musical”; Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, “Next to Normal” Danny Troob and John Clancy, “Shrek The Musical.”

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SPECIAL TONY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE THEATRE: Jerry Herman.

REGIONAL THEATRE TONY AWARD: Signature Theatre, Arlington, Va.

ISABELLE STEVENSON AWARD: Phyllis Newman.

TONY HONOR FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE THEATRE: Shirley Herz.

NEW YORK – Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show hasn’t been on the air three months, but he’s already got an award. The comedian was chosen as person of the year by the annual Webby awards for being “one of the most ardent online evangelists.”

The 13th annual Webbys were announced Tuesday. A special achievement award was also given to Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, who released his 2008 album, “The Slip,” as a free download.

Seth MacFarlane, the “Family Guy” creator, was honored as film and video person of the year for his Web franchise “Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy.”

Nation Public Radio led winners with seven awards, including wins for its music division, mobile news and podcasts. The New York Times’ online unit — last year’s Webby leader — earned six awards, the same total that NBC.com also received.

Twitter, the fast-growing microblogging site, won the Webby for breakout of the year.

Two well-known comedians were also singled out.

Sarah Silverman was honored as best actress for her performance in the viral video “I’m … Matt Damon” and for her contribution to a voting initiative video. Lisa Kudrow won for outstanding comedic performance as the star of the series “Web Therapy” on lstudio.com.

The awards will be presented in New York on June 8, hosted by Seth Meyers (“Saturday Night Live”). The Webbys are known for their brief acceptance speeches, where winners are limited to five words. (Stephen Colbert, a special achievement winner last year, said: “Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”)

Since “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” began in early March, the comedian has augmented his NBC broadcast with Web videos, blogging and tweeting on Twitter.

Reznor’s online fervor was evident Sunday, when he posted in a Nine Inch Nails forum that he was frustrated with what he called Apple’s inconsistent standards. He criticized the company for not making the band’s album “The Downward Spiral” available on its iPhone app even though it’s for sale on iTunes.

The Onion won for best humor Web site and its television news parody, Onion News Network, won for best writing. The Huffington Post won for best political Web site.

Best individual comedy short went to “Prop 8: The Musical,” a video from the Will Ferrell co-founded site FunnyOrDie.com. The star-studded video (Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris) suggested that gay marriage (which was then being voted on in California as Proposition 8) would save the economy.

Best comedy series went to “Childrens’ Hospital,” the medical drama parody for TheWeb.com by Rob Corddry (“The Daily Show”).

PBS won four Webbys, including best news and politics series for its “Frontline/World iWitness.” Others with multiple awards included the BBC, Sundance Channel, YouTube Live, Next New Networks and Wired.com.

The Webbys are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member group of Web experts. Every category has two winners: one picked by the Webbys and the other chosen by online voting.

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ON THE WEB

Webby Awards www.webbyawards.com