Al Gore wasn’t the only public figure mounting a comeback last week at Tina Brown’s house party for An Inconvenient Truth. Charlie Rose made his first social outing since late March, when he was rushed to open-heart surgery in Paris to repair his mitral valve. Rose, who recently had another overnight hospital stay, said he’s been regaining his strength by walking in the park every day, adding that he’ll pick up a tennis racquet for the first time this week. Rose said that his sleep is still irregular, “maybe a total of six hours a night—but I read, so it helps pass the time.” Of the twenty pounds he lost, “I’ve gained back maybe five.” He expects to be back on the air June 12, shooting five nights a week. Though Rose hasn’t confirmed any guests for his return, his dream lineup includes Gore, Toni Morrison, and President Bush. “Before I left I wanted to have Karen Hughes, and she said, ‘You should really have the president. I’ll talk to him.’ And she did! So we’ll see.”

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• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Jada Yuan
• Table of Contents: Jun 5, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!