Improv anni taps comedy grads

GOOD MORNING: "It's where I went to college," Jay Leno said Tuesday as he helped Budd Friedman celebrate the 40th anniversary of his Improv comedy club. "Robert Klein and David Brenner were ahead of me, Jerry Seinfeld was a junior. It was like getting out of high school and going to college. It was the only place for us to learn -- there was no other place to do stand-up." They weren't paid, but Jay reasons, "They weren't supposed to be jobs; it was an internship that turned into careers." Jay is part of the hefty lineup of laffers who were taped Tuesday night at Friedman's Melrose Ave. emporium, to be seen on an NBC special Sept. 3. Others will be taped at convenient times and places, depending on their paying jobs. Leno will also be seen on another NBC special: a tribute to Elvis Presley, airing Saturday, the night after the 25th anni of his death. Jay says, "Elvis' 'Loving You' was the first movie I ever went to by myself (in New Rochelle). In those days, a parent could drop off his kid at the movies and pick him up later without any worries. There were two people I wanted to meet, but never did: Elvis and Jack Benny" . . . Among those appearing "live" Tuesday for the Improv anni special were Ray Romano, Arsenio Hall, D.L. Hughley, Kevin Pollak and Jay Mohr. The audience boasted Tim Allen, Lily Tomlin and Adam Sandler, with details on 'em to follow in Thursday's column. The special is exec produced by Friedman and Rocco Urbisci, who also directed. Among those to be taped later this week is Rosie O'Donnell.

JERRY SEINFELD IS BACK in front of the cameras -- for American Express. He will do three ads: in Italy, Alaska and "in the wilds." He'll also film 'em in L.A., where today he'll tape his seg of the Improv special. The AmEx blurbs are under the creative direction of Ogilvy & Mather's David Apicella and directed by David Kellogg, who helmed many of Seinfeld's other commercials for AmEx including the well-known "Superman" blurb. The three new segs will be aimed at promoting AmEx's rewards program -- like Jerry in Italy alongside the Leaning Tower of Pisa. As you might guess, these commercials are expensive . . . Further on the NBC airing of Elvis' "Loving You": I spoke with his co-star of the 1957 film, Dolores Hart, who is now Mother Dolores at the Abbey Regina Laudis. She's always delightful to talk to. We recalled my visiting with her and Elvis on the set. "We, of course had no idea of what Elvis was -- and what he was going to be!" Yes, she plans to watch the digitized version on NBC. "Well, some of it," she laughed. "I may fall asleep. I'm 62" . . . I caught up with Linda Gray in N.Y., where she was completing talks to take over as Mrs. Robinson in B'way's "The Graduate" during Kathleen Turner's one-week vacation. Gray had played it six months on the West End but this is her first time on B'way. She noted, "No one (from Hollywood) came over (to London) after 9/11, so this will be a first." She starts rehearsals Sept. 2 for a Sept. 17-22 run. She says of the gig, "I got a gift." Even though everyone talks about "that" scene, "It's only 15 seconds -- but that's all anyone talks about." P.S. Gray will be a grandmother for the second time this fall . . . As for audiences only talking about "that" scene, it probably won't raise eyebrows any more now that Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci are baring it all in "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune."

DIDJA KNOW THAT PANCHO VILLA had a Jewish mercenary, Sam Drebben, fighting alongside him? Yup, es verdad, and Alan Arkin will play Drebben to Antonio Banderas' Villa in the HBO epic to be directed by Bruce Beresford in Mexico, with shooting to start in October in San Miguel Allende . . . Diahann Carroll joins the cast of Showtime's "Soul Food" in Toronto. She plays a feisty, sexy matriarch with a past . . . Bingo is set to start regular Wednesday-night play at the BevHills Friars Club starting Sept. 18. The management team for the games: Teddy Seifman, Orah Devaney, Judy Bernstein and Ed Gavida . . . Ruth Hussey (90) and Bob Longnecker (93) celebrated their 60th wedding anni Aug. 9. Bob was an agent who launched representation for thesps as spokespersons in commercials. Hussey's long acting career included such classics as "The Women" and "The Philadelphia Story" at MGM . . . Services will be held this morning at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills for John O'Brien, fiance of press agent Lori DeWal. Contributions can be made to the City of Hope's R. Leukemia Research Fund . . . A dinner party welcoming Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels CEO Clement K.M. Kwok and wife Serena was given by the BevHills Peninsula hotel's Ali Kasikci and wife Donanne. Peninsula chef Bill Bracken created a lavish feast to greet the visitors . . . And L'Orangerie chef Christophe Eme, newly imported from Paris restaurant Taillevant, also went all out to welcome Line Renaud on her brief Hollywood visit. Renaud, who will soon receive her Commander of the Legion of Honor medal from President Jacques Chirac, bows in Noel Coward's "Song at Twilight" at the Palais Royale in Paris Sept. 9 . . . Merv Griffin dined Ivonne A-Baki, visiting Ecuador ambassador to the U.S., at Trader Vic's. She's also running for her country's presidency . . . Merv's son Tony Griffin has two films in this week's Malibu Film Festival: a short, "Squint," and a feature comedy, "12" . . . Wanna know where the stars are? The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has published "Walk the Walk," a directory of where every star's star is on the Walk of Fame. And it's free.