I first met Rosanne Barr on an airplane. She was seated next to her first husband. She had a royal blue airplane blanket over her legs. She was eating a bag of peanuts and some of the nuts fell on her blanket. I introduced myself and let her know that I had just seen her show on TV.
She called herself The Domestic Goddess. She told all of her jokes with a deadpan look on her face. I told her she was hilarious and she said thank you. ABC gave her her own show which broke all records.
At the same time she was taping her show, Roseanne had a talk show…And she asked me on as a guest. When we were talking, I noticed something on the table in between us. It was a hamburger with everything in it. She asked me “Richard you can’t always eat healthy.“ She got up and tried to force feed me the hamburger pushing it in my mouth.
I was not amused. I snapped. I grabbed the hamburger and shoved it in her mouth and walked off the stage. This is something I was not proud of. She screamed and yelled at me when I was leaving the stage. Her executive producer, Jeff Wald, told me she was going to sue me and I told him I will sue her first.
Fifteen years later I was in a store buying a friend a Chanel red lipstick. I looked to the right and it was…Roseanne. “I just wanted to say hello.” I said hello back and she went on her merry way. Roseanne now lives in Hawaii and has a huge macadamia nut farm. I wish her well.
One show I really wanted to be on was the Dr Phil show. His executive producer said that I would never be on his show and not to ask again. I was a little disappointed. But it never stopped me from watching his show.
Dr Phil was a giant in stature and in intelligence. I was a little smitten on his wife Robin. Her skin was glowing and she had an eye for fashion. She created a beauty line which always sold out. On special occasions she gave the entire audience some of her products. Robin always sat in the audience during the taping to support her husband.
Once I met one of their sons on an airplane. I shook his hand and told him to,say hello to his mom,dad, and brother for me. When I retired, Dr Phil sent me a beautiful flower arrangement, that included three different colored roses white and pink lilies and hydrangeas. Dr Phil wanted to talk to me. I didn’t know if he wanted me on the show…but I decided to say no.
Dr Phil is now launching his own 24 hour network. I am sure he will give his wife her own show. Dr Phil I wish you much success….
One lady that I considered a friend was Sally Jessy Raphael. She wore her signature red eye glasses. Her executive producer was Burt Dubrow…a whimsical and very smart man. Once he took me to his office that was filled with Howdy Doody memorabilia. Howdy Doody….to you.
Burt brought his wife to my home once and she was a lovely as she could be.. Ms R Asked me if I would go to Georgia to visit an obese man named Hambone. He had just been in the hospital and they had to carry him by forklift.
After his stay for four days they returned Hambone to his small home. He had a large bed pushed to his window. He was wearing a maroon t shirt and a pair of black shorts. I got out of the car with a camera following me to meet Hambone. As we were talking I put my hand on his leg. He looked at me and said “no one has touched me for a very long time.“ I kept my hand on his leg while we chatted.
He was crying. He put his hand on my face and thanked me for coming. I went back on the car and sat there for a moments…. I asked them to turn off the camera as I walked back to say goodbye again. A few weeks later he passed away…to be continued…
Love,
Richard
