Names and faces

A private funeral for Philip Seymour Hoffman combined sadness and humor on Friday, with Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Ethan Hawke, Brian Dennehy, Amy Adams and Ellen Burstyn paying their respects to an actor widely considered among the best of his generation. The coffin holding Hoffman’s body was carried out of New York’s Church of St. Ignatius Loyola by pallbearers and put in a hearse as family and guests began to stream out Friday afternoon. Streep hugged Diane Sawyer as they left. “He left an enormous amount of love behind. It’s a terrible loss,” said Jose Rivera, a playwright whose work has been produced by Hoffman’s LAByrinth Theatre Company. He said the service was beautiful, with people sharing their memories of Hoffman and laughing. The list of mourners also included Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore, Joaquin Phoenix, Louis C.K., Mary Louise Parker,John Slattery, Jerry Stiller, Chris Rock, Marisa Tomei, Spike Lee and Sawyer’s husband, the director Mike Nichols. Hoffman, 46, was found dead Sunday of an apparent heroin overdose in his apartment. He leaves behind his partner of 15 years, Mimi O’Donnell, and their three children. A larger memorial service is being planned for later this month.

Jay Leno’s farewell telecast on The Tonight Show drew 14.6 million viewers,his biggest audience in more than 15 years. The program, which aired Thursday, attracted the most viewers since May 14, 1998, when Jerry Seinfeld appeared after his own show’s finale, NBC said Friday in an emailed statement. The 63-year-old Leno bows out as the most watched late-night host, a crown he’s held for much of his 22 years in the job previously held by Johnny Carson. Leno hands his duties off to Jimmy Fallon, who moves into the spot Feb. 17 and is relocating Tonight to New York from Los Angeles. The finale was Leno’s second farewell to viewers of Tonight. He left in 2009, handing the reins to Conan O’Brien, only to return in March 2010. Billy Crystal and Garth Brooks were Leno’s final guests Thursday, while Oprah Winfrey, Jack Black, Carol Burnett, Sheryl Crow, Jim Parsons, Kim Kardashian and Chris Paul made appearances. The program also featured taped messages from Fallon, Bob Costas, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Charlie Sheen and President Barack Obama.