Dave Chappelle has been given plenty of opportunities to tell the American public why he walked out on the third season of Chappelle's Show and his $50 million contract. We've seen him on Oprah. He's talked to James Lipton for two full hours. He even had a chance to tell all in a lengthy article in Esquire. But in every case, he gave a different reason why he bolted, from Comedy Central imparting too much control on his show to feeling like he's out of place as a black comedian in a largely white entertainment world. He even cited a particular incident where he got freaked out by someone laughing a little too much at a skit he was filming right before he bolted.

He wasn't any clearer about the matter last night on Late Night, either. Once Conan O'Brien broached the subject, Dave started what I'm sure is a prepared comedy routine about the topic, making jokes about how upset his wife still is over him walking away from the money, as well as jokes about how silly his problems seemed in comparison to those of people he encountered in Africa.

[Photo: Dana Edelson/NBC, via AP]

Which of these things is not like the other: Al Pacino, Don Cheadle, Robert Downey, Jr., Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, and... Tim Allen? Bravo is touting all of these actors' upcoming appearances with James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio (a title that is screaming for an apostrophe!). Hanks will be the first actor to make a second appearance in the Studio, while Dustin Hoffman will be the Studio's 200th celebrity guest. No air dates are set, but the network says they'll appear this spring.

While most of the names are impressive, they might also be a bit boring. My favorite guest was Mike Myers, who did all sorts of voices and had some fun at Lipton's expense.

Who would you like to see Inside the Actors Studio?

NBC Universal continues to believe in the power of iTunes by putting some of Bravo's most popular programming on the web. Starting on February 28th, you will be able to download this entire season of Project Runway episodes, plus you can see the reunion special before it even airs. iTunes will also have the most popular episodes of Inside the Actor's Studio, including the recent episode with Dave Chappelle and big-time actors like Angelina Jolie and Michael J. Fox. As usual, each episode is $1.99.

What the heck has happened to Inside The Actor's Studio? It used to be the place to go to see James Lipton attach his lips to the buttcheeks of the greatest actors alive today. But, I'm guessing they've run out of high-status actors to beg (Al Pacino is one of the last biggies, and he'll be on later this year), since this year's lineup has been brutal. Elton John? Barbara Walters? Rosie O'Donnell? Martin Lawrence? What do any of these people have to do with acting?

This week's guest, Dave Chappelle, is also along those lines: another person not primarily known for acting. But given his disappearance, his reappearance, and his paranoid and incoherent appearance on Oprah, this interview is intriguing. I mean, think about it: James Lipton, perhaps the polar opposite of Chappelle as far as... well... everything is concerned, trying to figure out why Dave flew the coop, and also going wild over his powerful turn in Half-Baked. The unintentional comedy factor alone would make me want to watch. But Dave lets go some insights, as well, as this New York Times review details. So, it's going to be funny, unintentionally funny, and have some insight. Which is more than I'm going to say for the Al Pacino episode.