I know you thought you were done with this book, and you mostly are. However, I wanted to do a little acknowledgments section where I thank all the people who helped make this a reality, and I decided the acknowledgments section deserved a little detour of its own. This whole project wouldn’t have been possible without my podcast audience, and my podcast wouldn’t have happened without all the hours I’ve clocked watching talk shows.
Ever since I could remember, I’ve loved the talk interview format. As a little boy growing up in northeast Ohio, movies and television seemed less like a potential career path and more like a distant planet that I could never inhabit. Even so, I was enamored by the lifestyles of actors and musicians. Not only did it seem like they had all the money in the world, but they also got to create the things I loved most…movies! I watched stars talk about their latest work, and I dreamed of a different world, one filled with the magic of Hollywood that polished all of life’s flaws and presented them in a pretty package. The guests were my way in, but I quickly fell more in love with the hosts of those shows.
When I was really young, my mom used to have Regis and Kathie Lee on in the morning, and I would marvel at their banter before school. Regis always knew how to find the punchline, unafraid to poke fun at himself in the process, while KLG had a unique ability to be silly one moment and serious the next without missing a beat, something she later honed even more with Hoda, who herself has such an obvious kindness in her soul that shines through the TV. Kelly Ripa would take over for Kathie Lee in 2001, and she had, and continues to have, such an effortlessly fun attitude. A lot of people praised Kelly’s chemistry with Regis, but I think she could make chemistry with a cantaloupe if she had to. She’s wildly charming. I’ve always just wanted to hang out with Kelly, and to this day, even though she has had tons of success, I’m not sure she is appreciated for just how phenomenal she is at her job.
Earlier I mentioned The Rosie O’Donnell Show, and there was a time when Rosie completely took over daytime. She was EVERYTHING to me. Every. Thing. Her love of pop culture and celebrity made me feel seen. Barbra Streisand, Mary Tyler Moore, Bette Midler, and more would guest, and Rosie would gush, unafraid to fangirl on air in front of millions of people. She was a pop culture junkie, just like us! When she would sit down at that desk and talk about the TV she watched the night before or the musical theater she took in, I felt like she was a bestie talking directly to me. She was a way for me to see Broadway shows without ever traveling to NYC, and the first influencer in my life. The Rosie O’Doll plush she released during the ’90s along with the Rosie Barbie are both nestled safely in my office, but whatever she would promote, I would want, whether it be the toys and Koosh launchers she showcased on her desk, a book of “punny” jokes, a Tickle Me Elmo, or even her TWO holiday albums. That’s right, Rosie made two Christmas albums, just like my other faves, Mariah Carey and Jessica Simpson. Icons only.
My mom liked Rosie, Regis, Kathie Lee, and Kelly, but Oprah was her number one. I’ve since gone back and watched old episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show, stunned at how she could be so intelligent, while simultaneously being relatable and down to earth. The variety in those Oprah episodes is also something to be studied. One day we’d be watching her take a camping trip with Gayle, the next she would be talking to Julia Roberts, and later in the week there would be an hour on 9/11. Of course, we all also remember her Favorite Things episodes, which I still watch yearly, along with her Legend’s Ball. One week when I had the flu recently, I watched the reality show she did for OWN about the making of the final season. It was so fascinating that I immediately started the series over to watch a second time right after I finished it. There will never be another Oprah.
Speaking of doing it all, I’d be remiss not to mention the greatest entertainer of all time who happened to also be a Popsicle stick, Stick Stickly. Stick was a Nickelodeon staple, and although not as respected as some of the other journalists here, I think about him all the time. It’s a good reminder to all artists that you can be super creative with very few resources. You don’t need a huge budget or A-list celeb guests to have a successful talk show. Googly eyes and a smile are enough.
In college, I became obsessed with The View, which I still watch every single day. Although it started long before my freshman year, Rosie’s first tenure is what got me into it, and I believe the infamous split screen with Elisabeth Hasselbeck is one of the greatest hours of television of all time, regardless of genre. It was clearly difficult for the women to live through, but the tension is something scripted dramas could only dream of. “Go to commercial!” Joy shouted as I sat on the edge of my seat. Most people are familiar with the fight, but I also hop on YouTube from time to time to rewatch the segment that happened AFTER the split screen. Alicia Silverstone was there to talk about being a vegan, and she comes onstage moments after Rosie and Elisabeth had an intense back and forth about loyalty and the Iraq War. Alicia is visibly shook, out of breath, and unsure of herself. Ever the professionals, Joy, Sherri (who was filling in that day), Rosie, and Elisabeth all act as if it was all just a normal episode of television. It’s FASCINATING.
I stuck with The View after Rosie left the first time, staying glued to the screen even during the Jenny McCarthy years. Some of the panels have been better than others, and it usually is reflected in the ratings, but I still love all the women who have sat at that table. With the rise of social media, I notice more and more people take to Twitter to voice their outrage at whoever is in the cast that they disagree with, but the truth is that show works best when there are a variety of voices for Hot Topics. I may not agree with the resident conservatives, but I recognize how important they are to make that hour succeed. There was a brief moment where they had a panel who mostly saw eye to eye and the Hot Topics leaned more toward pop culture than politics, which didn’t make for a good show. Certain hosts deserved more (#Justice4MichelleCollins), others overstayed their welcome, but The View remains an institution, and I hope to still be watching a hologram of Whoopi, Joy, and the rest of the panel when I’m old and gray, getting fired up at whoever it is that I love to hate at the table.
For some reason men and women tend to be separated in the talk show space. Women largely occupy the daytime hours, while males fill up the late-night spots, which is unfortunate. Bonnie Hunt was a revelation in the afternoon for a couple of seasons, but I always thought she was too quick-witted for daytime, her jokes flying over the heads of people watching in the afternoon as they got dinner ready. I wish a network had given her a shot at a night spot when the audience is more concentrated on the material. I’d also love her to do more acting—quite frankly I just want more of her warm-hearted Midwest energy and humor wherever I can get it. These days I tune in to Andy Cohen before bed, his beautifully random mix of celebrity on WWHL is soothing to me. Where else on TV can you see Scheana from Vanderpump Rules alongside a CNN news anchor for an entire half hour?
There are a lot of great new hosts, people who offer their own blend of brilliance and fun. Kelly Clarkson is, to me, one of the greatest vocalists of our time, and I can’t believe I live in a world where I can hear her perform a cover song every single day on her talk show! We also get Drew Barrymore’s sunshine daily, and the ability of Wendy Williams to captivate an audience the way she does for twenty-some minutes at the top of every show BY HERSELF is inspiring.
The point is, I LOVE talk shows. I find myself in YouTube spirals at night watching old interviews, studying how Larry King would navigate his chats, seeing how Donny and Marie hosted as a duo, and being blown away by Katie Couric’s ability to cover both hard news and fluff pieces.
When I decided to do my podcast, Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino, I didn’t quite have the resources at my disposal to put on a huge show. As an independent production, I literally lost money the first two years, and in order to book guests, I had to plead with celebrities in their DMs. I wasn’t backed by a network and had just a small social media following. I did, however, have all the lessons that I learned from my talk show heroes, and I truly believe that’s what led to the show’s success. Over the years, I have gotten the chance to chat with some of the hosts that I’ve admired from afar, something that I never could’ve imagined when I was that little boy in Ohio.
Rosie O’Donnell, Katie Couric, Andy Cohen, Kathie Lee Gifford, Marie Osmond, Bonnie Hunt…I’ve been fortunate enough to interview all of these talk show legends, and the one constant I’ve noticed in each of them is a warm spirit. They know how to make you feel like a friend, and I hope that when people listen to my show (or read this book), they think of me as one, and know that I think of you all as mine. Our worlds can be so lonely, but television, film, podcasts, and books are so important because they make us feel connected to the people around us, especially at times when we might be isolated.
Compared to these network juggernaut shows, my little podcast is inconsequential, but I feel incredibly proud of the work I’ve done. The fact I’ve had the opportunity to talk to some of these people means the world to me because it’s my childhood dreams realized. One of the best sleeps of my life was the night after I interviewed Rosie, and that’s because a goal that swirled in my head every night when I hit the pillow was finally checked off my list. There’s a power that comes with making a dream a reality, and I’ll continue to fantasize, but for now I want to say that I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned along the way, the talk show greats who have inspired me over the years, and most importantly, all of the people who listen, read, and follow.