Interview: Harry Connick, Jr.

Posted on February 3, 2017 at 3:52 pm

I love “Harry,” the free-wheeling, upbeat, always-entertaining talk show hosted by Harry Connick, Jr. The New Orleans-born actor/singer/musician gives the show a Big Easy vibe, always making his guests and his audience feel as though we’re in his living room. It was a great pleasure to talk to him about what he does to make the show welcoming to his guests and his audience — and his favorite place to eat in his famously food-centric home town.

What is the biggest challenge of doing a show in front of a live audience?

That’s my favorite part to be honest with you. Being a performer and having so much experience playing in front of a live crowd, that’s just what I love to do. I think if there were a challenge it would be normally when I perform I’m sort of the only person making the decisions as to how the show is going to go, when I play, when I sing, when I talk, when other people solo, those are all decisions that I make. When you do a television show like this there are so many other people involved regarding the pace and the structure of the show. I don’t really think of that as a challenge. It’s just more of a collaborative effort and that is relatively new for me but it’s just a really cool process to be involved with a lot of talented people versus doing it all myself.

How do you cope when things go wrong in front of the audience?

I don’t know if I call it things going wrong. Things happen all the time that we didn’t plan but those are the type of things that are the most exciting for me. Those are the moment that we live for. I remember one time we had a guest who didn’t show up and I went into the audience and grabbed some lady and brought her onstage and she didn’t know who the guest was but I made her sit in the chair and I interviewed her as if she were the guest and then the producer came and whispered the answers that only he would have known, like for example, “When are you going on tour again? and she just said “Oh I’ll be on tour from July to whatever.’ Those are the types of things that we really look forward to because my whole show is extremely spontaneous and many times I go out not being aware of a lot of the details about what’s going to happen because I like to kind of experience things with the audience. So, we love that stuff when it happens.

I really enjoyed when you had that super fan of Megan Good come on and he was so excited. Who makes you become a total superfan?

I feel like that just towards everybody that sits in that chair. Anytime somebody sits down, they’re bringing something that I don’t know how to do, certainly not from their perspective so I always end up learning something from everyone whether they are a celebrity or not. It’s a great thrill to see things through their eyes. I mean obviously there are some people that are incredibly accomplished. Laurence Fishburne was on the other day and guests like that are always inspiring. But I had an 18-year-old girl from Detroit who made it her life’s mission to raise awareness and give aid to the homeless and it’s become a big deal in her town, a lot of churches and groups are jumping on board trying to help and I was as impressed with her as I was with Laurence Fishburne. So I take those opportunities very seriously because ultimately there’s a lot to learn from everyone.

Do you have a technique for making guests, especially those who are not used to being in front of an audience feel comfortable?

I don’t really know if they are comfortable or nervous when they come out but it’s my job to make that person feel like the only person in the world for the time that they are out there, The way I do it is if it’s Laurence Fishburne and he was promoting a movie that he did when he played Nelson Mandela I made sure I watched it, I know everything about Laurence Fishburne so that I don’t sit up there with the blue note cards and make him feel like he’s been interviewed. Although there’s nothing wrong with that for some folks, but when he sits down with me it’s a blank slate and I look at him and ask him questions and listen and it turns into a conversation. The same thing with that young lady from Detroit, I knew everything about what she was doing. That’s what the host is supposed to do, to make their guests feel comfortable. Every other part of the show I don’t really know what is about to happen which is what I wanted because I like things to be spontaneous but it’s really important for me to make sure that every guest is made to feel welcome and that’s how I do it.

How do you see the importance of the music on the show? What genres do you feature?

Just to have music in general no matter what it is, is really important. There are no bands on daytime TV. But I have not only a band but I have my band which has some of the best musicians in the world playing every single day. So if you’re lucky enough to see them in the studio audience, you’re hearing them play through the commercials, before the show, after the show. It’s just a big party in there with this amazing group of musicians. And the music that I’ve written for the show spans a huge gamut of styles from jazz to funk to EDM to country to samba to merengue. I put in everything because I want everybody to feel like they have a piece of the music on the show.

It’s just an incredible opportunity to have a nationally syndicated show and have real people playing real instruments. One of my trombone players is an African-American guy from Miami. He said, “’m a trombone player, I’m a black man, and this is an incredible responsibility and opportunity for young musicians watching. They may end up making a career decision because they see somebody that looks like them playing trombone on television.” That’s an immense honor for me to be able to provide that opportunity for these guys. I can only imagine what it must be like for young kids to turn on the TV and see these musicians playing right in the middle of the day. That’s a huge thrill for me to be able to be a part of that.

Do your daughters watch the show? Do they like it?

They love it, and my daughters they come to the show a lot. One of my daughters actually works for me at the show so she’s there every day. Yesterday I called her over during a commercial break and put my arms around her. It’s very loud in there because of the music and I kind of whispered in her ear, “I love having you here.” It is such a dream when you raise your kids and you never know what’s going to happen. I get to have one of them there every day and it’s just a great sort of extra layer to our relationship that is really cool. One of my daughters is away at school. It’s hard for her to watch it every day but she sees things online and she’s always telling me what she likes. And my other daughter who’s in eighth grade, she comes whenever she has a half day or day off so she was there yesterday actually and it was just so fun to have them there. They are loving it and they are so supportive and it’s really a nice feeling.

I hear that “Will And Grace,” one of the greatest shows of all times is coming back. Are you going to be a part of that?

I only found out about it because it was in the news. I would love to do it if they call. I’m not sure if my schedule would work out with their schedule but it’s so exciting for everyone. We’re all pretty fired up about it.

What’s the best advice you ever got about performing?

It wasn’t just about performing at it was from my dad. He was a lawyer, a District Attorney in New Orleans for about 30 years. He said, “Be on time and be nice to people.” As basic as that sounds, if you can just show up when you’re supposed to show and treat everyone with kindness it’s amazing how much easier your life can be. It’s something that he does and it’s something that I try to do as much as I can.

How has the world of social media affected the way that you get the word out sometimes on the show?

I was late to the game. I didn’t start until around 3 or 4 years ago. I guess but it has been an amazing way to let people know who is going to be on, the types of things that we think people would like to see. My team goes through all of those comments. I find that it can be all-consuming if you get caught up in the routine of that but the things that I have seen, the responses have been just overwhelmingly positive and it’s so encouraging, the things people say, like “thank you for doing the show,” which is just a reminder of how humbling this can be. You have a show that comes into people’s living rooms in every market in the United States every day, sometimes twice a day. It is just an incredible feeling and responsibility and it’s humbling really so I think social media has been a big part of getting the word out.

I really like the way that your show is a safe space for kindness, creativity, and good news.

Oh, that means a lot. You know faith and family and community, these are all things that I think we can represent without preaching to the people. Nobody wants to hear me come out and shove my values down their throat but I think all of us or at least most of us in this country are really good people, despite our differences, which is I think one of the great points of our country because we do come from different backgrounds and beliefs. Most of us are good people in this country. There are so many great people and it makes me so proud to be an American. I think by example I can try to do what I think is important. You know there’s a lot of people who get on TV and they talk politics, they talk social issues and they are far better equipped to do that than I am which is why all I really want to do is celebrate aspirational ideals in people and inspirational things. It’s hard to find that on TV especially daytime TV. We wanted a show that felt like a party in the middle of the day, music and uplifting stories and celebrating women and celebrating things that we all should be proud of. I think those transcend sort of any political differences or differences in religion. These are the things that we want to try to show rather than preach about.

You come from New Orleans, in my opinion the greatest restaurant city in the world. Where’s your favorite place to get a good meal there?

My favourite place is pretty new, it’s only been there for a few years it’s called Cava and it’s in Lakeview which is the neighbourhood I grew up in and man — it is just amazing. They don’t even have a freezer, that’s how fresh their seafood is. It is so good, it’s real New Orleans food in a real local environment. I just love it there.

Related Tags:

Interview Television

Coming to CNN: The History of Comedy

Posted on January 26, 2017 at 8:00 am

Coming to CNN: The History of Comedy, exploring what makes us laugh, why, and how that’s influenced our social and political landscape throughout history.

Related Tags:

Television

Tribute: Mary Tyler Moore

Posted on January 25, 2017 at 3:56 pm

She could turn the world on with her smile. She could take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile. We have lost one of television’s brightest lights, Mary Tyler Moore, who has died at age 80.

Mary Tyler Moore starred in two of the most beloved and most influential series in television history, but in one of her earliest appearance in the then-new medium of television, you never saw her face. As Sam, secretary to detective “Richard Diamond” (David Janssen), the camera stayed on her legs, hands, and mouth. She also performed as the sprite Happy Hotpoint in appliance commercials.

When she was cast as Laura Petrie in “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” created by Carl Reiner and based on his experiences as a writer for Sid Caesar’s variety show, it was the rarest kind of magical pairing. Rob and Laura Petrie were a new kind of married couple in television sitcoms. They were gorgeous, sophisticated, and obviously crazy about each other. Their chemistry perfectly suited the superb writing on the show, and it is still my all-time favorite series. Moore was a trained dancer, and the Petries danced together in many of the most beloved episodes.

Some of the episodes involved Rob or Laura getting into trouble, often featuring Moore’s “Oh, Rob!” My favorite episode is “Snoopynose,” where Laura can’t resist opening the mail addressed to Rob. I also love the one where she has to admit that she lied about her age when they got married and the one where she accidentally admits on television that Rob’s boss wears a toupee. But any episode is worth watching and they are all available on Hulu and on cable television.

Moore returned to television with one of the most iconic television series of the 1970’s, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” where she played a single woman who has to “make it on her own” as a news producer on a small station in Minneapolis. YouTube has a wild assortments of home-made videos of people re-enacting the opening sequence, which ended with Moore throwing her hat in the air. There’s even one from Oprah, one of the series’ biggest fans, who says Moore’s character inspired her to go into television journalism.

Moore played Mary Richards, an independent single woman unseen before on television (it was shocking when she acknowledged being on “the pill” in one episode). The show had one of the best casts in television history, with Ed Asner as Mary’s crusty boss, Lou Grant, Cloris Leachman as her bossy landlady Phyllis, and Valerie Harper as Rhoda, her best friend. All had spin-off series. Also in the cast: Ted Knight as the dimwitted anchor, Ted Baxter, Georgia Engel as his girlfriend, Georgette, and Betty White as the station’s cooking and household hints show, Sue Ann Nivens.

One of the best-remembered episodes is “Chuckles the Clown Bites the Dust,” where the newsroom staff attends the funeral of the station’s children’s television host. It is both hilariously funny and very perceptive about grief and loss. TV Guide picked it as the third best television episode of all time.

The last episode of the series featured a group hug that seemed to embrace us all.

Moore also appeared in movies like “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Flirting With Disaster.” Her most memorable performance was in “Ordinary People.” Director Robert Redford saw something in the former Happy Hotpoint and cheery sitcom star that no one else had and picked her for the role of the mother who could not express her feelings about the loss of one son and the struggles of the other. When Entertainment Weekly did an oral history of the film, Moore and Redford spoke about the decision to cast her.

ROBERT REDFORD: At that time I had a place in Malibu, and it was winter and I was sitting there looking out on the beach. I saw this lonely figure all wrapped up and walking slowly. The figure looked sad. On closer examination I saw it was Mary Tyler Moore—America’s sweetheart. She was probably just cold, but the sadness hit me and stuck with me when I began casting. I went to see Mary and her husband, Grant Tinker….She had only done these bright, happy things, so I felt pretty awkward going in there and suggesting she play a darker character. But she was very excited and wanted to do it.

MARY TYLER MOORE: Redford was warm and funny and very charming. He told me I was the one whose face he saw as he read the book. Beth was the character he said he most cared about, and he wanted her portrayed with sensitivity. And he wanted me. This was Robert Redford. How could I say no?

Virginia Heffernan wrote in her perceptive tribute in the New York Times:

The influence of Ms. Moore’s Mary Richards can be seen in the performances of almost all the great female sitcom stars who followed her, from Jennifer Aniston to Debra Messing to Tina Fey, who has said that she developed her acclaimed sitcom “30 Rock” and her character, the harried television writer Liz Lemon, by watching episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Many nonactresses also said that Ms. Moore — by playing a working single woman with such compassion and brio — inspired their performances in real life.

Moore went from pushing the boundaries of television by wearing Capri pants (the network executives wanted her to look like the other TV moms, who did housework in dresses and pearls) to pushing the boundaries by portraying an independent woman with a satisfying career and a full life without a boyfriend. She was a gifted comic performer because she was a great actress. May her memory be a blessing.

Related Tags:

Actors Tribute

Black-Ish: An Episode of Great Humanity and Understanding

Posted on January 13, 2017 at 3:08 pm

I have never missed an episode of “Black-ish.” It’s one of my favorite television shows, smart, sophisticated, and very funny. I am a huge fan. But this week’s episode took things to another level as the Johnson family and Dre Johnson’s co-workers react to the election of Donald Trump.

Over at Vulture, my friend Jen Chaney writes:

no scripted mainstream sitcom has captured the very real mix of post-election grief, frustration, confusion, and sadness with as much spot-on accuracy — and, miraculously, also humor and openness to multiple viewpoints — as Black-ish did in this week’s episode. The fact that it was broadcast the day after President Obama’s farewell remarks and just a few days before the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., whose “I Have a Dream” speech played a key role, gave it an extra shot of timeliness.

At TV Guide, Liam Matthews said:

Dre launches into a monologue about how he loves this country, even though as a black man this country doesn’t love him back.

“You think I’m not sad that Hillary didn’t win?” he says. “That I’m not terrified about what Trump’s about to do? I’m used to things not going my way. I’m sorry that you’re not and it’s blowing your mind, so excuse me if I get a little offended because I didn’t see all of this outrage when everything was happening to all of my people since we were stuffed on boats in chains. I love this country. As much if not more than you do. And don’t you ever forget that.”
It’s an emotionally complicated monologue, and Anderson delivers it with stunning conviction.

The room is silent. If you watched it, I’ll bet you were silent, too. The monologue is rousing and demoralizing at the same time. It makes being black sound Sisyphean. It contextualizes our current predicament as one that’s been going on since America began and may not ever be solved.

This 22-minute episode of television had more insight, more humanity, and more healing than all the chattering heads and yelling partisans on all the news shows. I recommend recording it to have on hand to replay as needed over the next few months.

Eugene Lee: Production Designer for SNL

Posted on January 10, 2017 at 4:01 pm

Eugene Lee has designed sets for “Saturday Night Live’ since the very beginning in 1975. He spoke to the UK’s Creative Review about creating the look of the sketches and how technology and expectations have changed in 41 years.

Lee says the SNL team has just four days to prepare the show and construct sets. Every Wednesday, he takes the train from Rhode Island (where he lives) to New York (where the show is broadcast) and spends the afternoon reading through scripts submitted by writers. Once the producers have decided which scripts they’d like to use, Lee and his team will work with the writers and actors to devise each set.

“We go and talk to the writers and actors and try to work out what they see in the set,” he explains. “If the script says there’s a restaurant, we’ll say, ‘what kind of restaurant? Is it high class? Is it elegant? Does it have red chequered tablecloths?’…. SNL is best when there’s great writing – if a sketch doesn’t have that, then it’s a fail – so we listen to the writers and they tell us what they think.