The comedy genre “serious actor delivers dramatic reading of frivolous thing” has certainly expanded in volume of works in the past few years more than it had since William Shatner invented it with his reciting of “Rocket Man” (incidentally, he probably single-handedly revived it with the Sarah Palin tweet collection). And while it appears that the greatest work in the category of 2011 will forever be John Lithgow‘s performance of the Homeric Hymn to Newt Gingrich his spokesman wrote this summer, 2012 already has a very solid entry with “Gary Oldman Reads A Jersey Shore Recap.”

Some stuff will never not be funny. Children saying goofy things (the darnedest things, if you will) definitely falls into that category. As does the absolute glee that some overworked parents take in occasionally messing with their children so as to coax out those darned things. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel tapped into that rich, rich well brilliantly last Halloween when he persuaded his viewers to pretend they ate all their kids’ candy and then video tape the reaction. Well, we’re reaching some new child-favorite holidays and, while the Halloween bit was funny, Kimmel has perfected it this time. For the new yuletide version, Kimmel got the parents to wrap up some of the least fun items they could think of and give them to their kids under the guise of a “special early present.” As you can imagine, the results are painfully funny.

Since he last held a sustained lead in the Republican primary polls, way back in the summertime, there hasn’t been a whole lot of good news for establishment candidate Mitt Romney. However, according to Politico‘s Patrick Gavin, there is one area in which Romney is defeating his rivals handily. Gavin reports that the former Massachusetts Gov. is head-and-shoulders above the competition when it comes to mentions by late-night comics. Current frontrunner Newt Gingrich is running a distant 5th.

Last night, apparently jonesing for America’s approval real bad, Regis Philbin ventured back in front of the cameras in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. While there, he discussed his plans for his next project and even showed a clip which was…well, I don’t want to spoil all the fun so lets just say he did some work with the only two guys out there that people are more surprised to learn are still on the air.

Thanksgiving Day is among the most challenging days for Mediaite editors to find subjects to cover. The site’s “bread and butter” are topics that come from the intersection of media and politics, but on this day we also like to join the rest of the nation by taking pause, and giving thanks to how fortunate we all are. So finding a clip that simultaneously hits notes of spirited political discourse and Thanksgiving cheer (basted with a healthy dose of pastiche nostalgia) is something of a holiday miracle.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! scored a bit of a coup last night with a Herman Cain interview just hours after a fourth woman came forward and accused the GOP candidate of sexual harassment. But Kimmel’s biggest accomplishment of the day may have been inadvertently duping some news outlets into believing that a character on his show, Jake Byrd — who was pretending to be an over-the-top Michael Jackson fan gathered for the verdict — was an actual Jackson fan performing an over-the-top celebration.

Beleaguered Republican frontrunner Herman Cain appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live Monday night and addressed his new scandal directly with the late night host. “How was your day?” Kimmel deadpanned. “Well, all things considered, I’m still alive,” the former Godfather Pizza CEO said, and admitted he was surprised by his accuser’s press conference. “We watched it because we didn’t even know that this whole thing about woman number four was going to even come out, so that was a surprise.”

Have you all recovered from the sugar and alcohol congealing in your veins since Halloween? (Science!) ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel had a particularly fun Halloween this year, as he managed to send dozens of children into a crying frenzy, their hearts broken and minds reeling over the discovery that their parents had taken and eaten all of their sugary Halloween loot.

Like many a quinceañera I’ve known, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker delighted, intrigued, confused and repulsed people the world over when they donned copies of iconic celebrity dresses to the Academy Awards in 2000. “What are they on?” many must have wondered. And the answer to that is “acid, of course.”

The duo told Jimmy Kimmel about what exactly happened on that fateful and Lycra-encased evening.

When you work the long hours of something like a TV show, the people you work with become your family. However, for Jimmy Kimmel, one of his regulars already was. For nearly nine years, fans of Jimmy Kimmel Live! were entertained by Kimmel’s “crazy uncle” Frank Potenza, known to audiences simply as Uncle Frank. A month ago, Potenza died of cancer at the age of 77 and, last night, a tearful Kimmel presented a moving tribute to the man showing some of his best moments over the years.

Al Gore’s recent angry rant against critics of global warming caught many by surprise as the former Vice President employed some uncharacteristically harsh language. Jimmy Kimmel, however, thought capitalizing on Gore’s new persona would be a great way to promote a sequel to Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth and Kimmel released an expletive-filled trailer on his ABC show last night.

Sometimes politicians just make things too easy for the late night comics. And Jon Huntsman? You can add him to that list. On Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday night, Kimmel aired the campaign spot produced by the Huntsman campaign that was probably intended both to introduce the candidate to America–and to convince us all he’s just regular folk. But wow, it did have an undertone of parody to it, and Kimmel got laughs simply for airing it–including the narrator’s message that Huntsman’s wife dreams of dinner out at a nice restaurant, but “that day seems yet to arrive.” As Kimmel put it, “that’s just sad…like the trailer for a movie where the dog dies at the end.”

Jimmy Kimmel has always had a deep, abiding love for Oprah Winfrey. Why else would he have played the truly horrifying creation “Oprah Jimfrey” on The Man Show 12 years ago? So, with Oprah’s show finally heading to that Favorite Place in the sky, it’s unsurprising that he’d want to give her a little tribute. However, last night, Kimmel went all out, bringing in Boyz II Men to sing their touching farewell (and parody farewell) staple, “It’s Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.”

Last night Jimmy Kimmel marveled at how many wives Osama bin Laden left behind, calling him “the Larry King of terrorists.” Yet never fear, Kimmel comically imagines that the resourceful wives of Bin Laden will support themselves with a new must-see reality show: The Real Housewives Of Osama Bin Laden.

Last night Jimmy Kimmel recognized an interesting phenomenon as of late that we noticed as well: the reactions of journalists interviewing Donald Trump have been very entertaining. Kimmel took it a step further with a promo for a new exciting game show called Can You Keep a Straight Face While Interviewing Donald Trump?

On Jimmy Kimmel‘s post-Oscars special, the comic host unveiled a spoof trailer for a movie inspired by Oscar winner The King’s Speech and adapted for America as Tyler Perry’s The President Speech. In it, former boxing champion Mike Tyson trades in the gloves and a paintbrush (see clip) in order to humorously give former President George W. Bush elocution lessons.

You’ve got a few ways to climb out of a hole when you’re a troubled star. Charlie Sheen seems to be trying the they think I’m crazy, but I’ll show them. I’m beyond crazy approach. Lindsay Lohan, compared to Sheen’s appearances on network television Monday, comes across as downright likable, making a funny cameo in a hilarious mock ad for an exercise video featuring Kimmel and Modern Family star Sofia Vergara.

Last week, the Internet delighted at the discovery of some old stock photos featuring none other than Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler. “How could this be?” we wondered. Well, Poehler may be one of the most successful women in comedy, starring in multiple beloved series, becoming an SNL cast member and anchoring Weekend Update while there, and co-founding two of the biggest comedy theaters and schools in New York and Los Angeles, however, that stuff doesn’t happen over night. She explained her Getty Image past last night to Jimmy Kimmel.

Nightline lives on, but it’s about to become a shorter program. Starting February 4, the long-running late night news show will end at midnight instead of 12:05 a.m., so that Jimmy Kimmel Live can get an earlier start. It also allows ABC to sell additional advertising time on Kimmel, which keeps its current out-time of 1:05 in addition to the earlier start.

Last night, Jimmy Kimmel Live was guest-directed by Michel Gondry, the director behind such films at Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep. Sure, the whole thing was basically just a long commercial for Gondry’s latest movie The Green Hornet, but there’s nothing the French director can’t make wacky, whimsical, and a little bit awesome (except, maybe, the movie The Green Hornet).

Conan O’Brien‘s joke yesterday that killed, mixed footage of Sarah Palin from her reality show and scenes from the animated classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to show Palin taking glee in destroying the beloved creature. Audiences found it hilarious, but one group of people likely not laughing were the writers of Jimmy Kimmel‘s late night show who came up with a similar concept a few weeks ago. Therefore Conan, in a smart move to not only do what was right, but also capture some publicity, offered this funny video apology to express his regret for borrowing the material.

On last night’s Conan, host Conan O’Brien presented an updated version of the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer featuring none other than the Mama Grizzly herself, Sarah Palin. Combining footage of the classic Rudolph animation with clips from Palin’s reality show where she was hunting, Conan provides the perfect holiday recipe for hilarity.

An orthodox Jewish rabbi claims his image was used without consent by Jimmy Kimmel in a late night joke about LeBron James last summer–and now the rabbi, who goes by the nickname the “Flying Rabbi,” is suing. According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s THR blog, Rabbi Dovid Sondik claims Kimmel and ABC made him “look foolish” and portrayed him as a “laughingstock.”

Bill Carter took his publicity tour for The War For Late Night to late night last night – as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel‘s ABC show.

With two weeks since the book’s release, Carter could talk about the reactions he’s gotten from people who have read it – like Jeff Zucker and Jay Leno.

The whole Rand Paul-Aqua Buddha thing came and went a few months ago, but it’s back in the news as the weeks until the election wind down.

Since Aqua Buddha was introduced in the most recent Kentucky debate, and in a campaign ad, the character of Aqua Buddha has taken on a life of its own.