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Wyle to end 'ER' run next year

NEW YORK - Noah Wyle, the last continuous on-air link to the NBC medical drama ER's freshman season in 1994, seems headed for the doctor's retirement home.

Wyle, who plays Dr. John Carter, told E! Entertainment Television on Thursday that he plans to leave the show at the end of this season.

"I've just got other stuff going in my life right now," Wyle told E! News Live. "I've got a son, I've got family and friends that said goodbye to me 12 years ago and are wondering when I'm coming back, and this little urge to scratch a different kind of itch in my career, and it's just coming to the end of the character's run."

Wyle was the impressionable young resident among a powerhouse cast that included Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Eriq La Salle and Julianna Margulies.

The five-time Emmy Award nominee's contract expires at the end of this season.

NEW YORK - Rapper-producer Kanye West received a leading seven Source Hip-Hop Music Awards nominations Thursday, while Ludacris got six.

West's nominations included best album, video, lyricist and producer of the year.

Jay-Z, Ludacris, Lil Flip, Twista and Juvenile will battle for male artist of the year while Youngbloodz, Ying Yang Twins, 8Ball and MJG, Westside Connection and OutKast duke it for group of the year.

The Source Awards will be handed out Oct. 10 in Miami, as they have been since 2001. The show will air Nov. 30 on BET.

How's Matt LeBlanc doing?

Not too shabby, considering the respectable debut Joey made Thursday night. His heavily hyped Friends spinoff averaged nearly 18-million new friends, easily outpacing ABC's NFL Opening Kickoff and CBS's Big Brother 5, reports TV Guide Online.

But compared to last year's Friends opener, Joey was off by 6.6-million viewers.

The show's real test will come Thursday when it goes head-to-head with Survivor: Vanuatu.

Meanwhile, The Apprentice lost some business. The 90-minute premiere drew 14.3-million viewers, about 4-million fewer than last season.

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