Hangin' with Mr. B

Brian Williams popped in at an NBC cocktail party not because he was officially a part of press tour (or even drank), but just to have the opportunity to hang out a bit between duties at the west coast studio (being in California meant he could do the newscast at 3 and be done with it).

He had come in from Texas, where he had attended the funeral of Lady Bird Johnson, whom he said he got to know later in her life. Before long, he’ll be back to New Orleans, to report on the effort to recruit school teachers in the city that’s still struggling two years after Hurricane Katrina.

He’ll also have some time this summer, he said, to work on his book about the death of President Garfield – a history he says few Americans know.

Williams is a funny guy, an image he understandably doesn’t want to project on the nightly news. But he’s increasingly on demand in late night. Having recently appeared again on “the Daily Show,” he’s staying in L.A. long enough tonight to be a guest on Jimmy Kimmel.