by bill biss

Devo hasn’t lost a bit of their zip on the new CD called Something for Everybody. It’s very clean Devo and as the band is known for, the songs combine a double dose of clarity and cleverness.

 

The group is headlining the San Diego Pride Festival this year. So, for those across Southern California who have “devolutionized” with Devo since their very first album in 1978, come on down to the festival on Sunday night, July 18 at 7:15 p.m. to be thoroughly entertained with their live performance.

 

Mark Mothersbaugh took a few minutes out of his schedule to talk with The Rage Monthly about the new work and share a few memories along the way.

 

Mark Mothersbaugh: I tell ya, TCM is my favorite TV channel. She’s embedded in my brain, that’s for sure. I see her movies all the time. I’ll tell you the history of the song. I actually wrote the music to be the main theme for a movie I was scoring at the time called Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

 

It was the first piece of music I played for the two young directors. It was their first film. They reacted to it really positively. Then I wrote something else for the picture and that first piece didn’t get used. I loved the theme so much and thought it was a great song.

 

So, I took an instrumental copy of it and gave it to Jerry [Casale, Devo bandmate]. He came back the next day with a whole set of lyrics. So, we have to ask him about Judy Garland (laughter).

MM: We started writing music because Jerry and I were at Kent State. We were there and my brother was there too. We were there protesting the war in Vietnam and they shot kids at Kent. They killed kids at Kent.

 

So, our school got shut down. We were both art students and collaborated together on visual projects. We were talking about the world around us and decided that we were seeing things devolve rather than evolve.

 

We felt like during the early 1970s, it became this time when people realized there was an upper barrier or glass ceiling to democracy and to things in our culture. You could protest but not too much, or want to try and change things but not too fast.

 

MM: We saw music that all of a sudden…the Bob Dylan’s disappeared. The people with messages disappeared. Music kind of took a turn to the right with concert rock…bands like Foreigner, Styx. With a lot of the music, the politics were “I’m white. I’m stupid. I’m a misogynist and I’m proud of it. I’m a conspicuous consumer.” Those things.

 

The music that sounded the best was disco. But, disco was like a pretty girl with a beautiful body but no brain. Most of the lyrics were like “I’m gonna party all the time.”

 

MM: We were thinking we want to take the best of what was going on with electronic music and Rock and Roll and still talk about ideas.

MM: Ah, thanks.

 

MM: It seemed kind of counter-intuitive back some thirty some years ago and going “been there, done that.” But, when we went into Warner Brothers, we went in there and talked to people six months ago, it just seemed like a good time.

 

The one thing that we asked for was, we said, “Can we use an ad agency to do the marketing for the record?” The ad agency put together a lot of video with us. It was just a way to try and engage people with a band that had let our branding kind of dissipate over the last 20 years. It’s been a lot of fun.

 

MM: Just the idea that we can do it in a different way is exciting for us. You have to understand. In 1978, when we went into Warner Brothers, they said, “Come on in. We’re going to have a marketing meeting. We went in to find out what they were going to do to sell our record.

 

We walked into this room with all these people. One guy goes, “Okay. Here’s our marketing plan. We’re going to make life-size cut-outs of you guys and put them in every record store in the country.” Then, he smiled and folded his arms leaning back in his chair. That was their marketing strategy! It was that easy back in those days.

MM: One of the things that worked to our benefit was we spent a lot of time in West Hollywood at the studio. Our first album…we got to put three or four years into it before it came out. Every album after that, it was like three months. You had to get off tour and then quickly turn around a new album.

 

Write it, record it and make a video and go out on tour again. This album, we put almost three years into it. This was the first time we had the luxury of putting all that time into the record. I think we ended up with a good record because of it. The idea, that we didn’t just fire something out as fast as we could.

 

MM: I’m totally pleased we get to do this show. It was really a nice phone call to get…when we got invited to it.

 

by bill biss

Ariel Aparicio is a husband, father, restaurant owner and rocker. This dynamo of Rock and Roll energy mixed with his fiery Cuban spirit will take the Latin stage of this year’s San Diego Pride festival stage.

 

His latest hit on LOGO is called “Lucille” and is a fun spin through the nightlife scene and a few transvestites along the way. Right in the middle of Pride season, Ariel spent a few minutes on the phone from New York with The Rage Monthly.

 

He’s got a great sense of humor, obvious musicianship and he is furthering exposure to other out gay artists also. For performance time on Pride Weekend, July 17-18, please go to sandiegopride.org or arielaparicio.com.

Ariel Aparicio: I call it Rock n’ Roll. Wow. What a surprise huh? My influences run from classic rock, “New Wave” and punk…it’s all in there. I’d rather just generalize it and call it “rock.”

 

Hopefully those who listen, maybe they’ll come up with their own term of endearment (laughter). It’s constantly trying different things. It probably will never be just one particular sound.

AA: Thanks, now “Lucille” sounds totally different than anything else we’ve ever done.

 

AA: It’s been fantastic. I’m really excited. I’m kind of like a twitter geek and I’m constantly on there and it’s got amazing response. Right after it debuted, it also hit the MTVmusic.com website. It was phenomenal. Just under twenty-four hours, it went to number 21 on the charts. It’s just been great.

AA: The truth is the band is called “The Hired Guns” because that’s what they are. I collaborate really with Steve Dawson who is my lead guitar player. We’ve been a team for seven or eight years now. The rest of the musicians kind of just come in and out.

 

Paul Garisto on drums when he’s available. He is actually a regular member and drummer for The Psychedelic Furs.

AA: I worked at The Pallidium as a busboy and actually, even more interesting, was as a bathroom attendant. That was the best gig I’ve ever had! I made so much money. That’s really where I met so many people…everyone has to go to the john. It was actually the cool place to hang out.

 

People would come down and go into the stall and do their thang (laughter). I always had music blasting. I always brought my own box of music. Literally, I hung out with Boy George many times. Mick Jagger came down once and Andy Warhol always! There were quite a few characters there.

 

AA: “Freedom of Expression” is sponsored by OUTMusic. They are in the forefront of allowing gay artists to be comfortable with their sexuality, basically. The “Freedom of Expression” campaign was a commercial that several out artists did to just do that and express our thoughts freely with our music and our art.

 

To not at all, hide our sexuality. That’s one thing I’m very “pro” on. I hope younger artists today do the same. When I was younger and playing music, I was a little intimidated and afraid to be “out.” Fortunately, I overcame that and it just made me a better person and a better artist. I just hope we can do the same for others.

AA: That was really amazing! Queens Pride was just packed. So many people! I didn’t expect it to be that packed and that hot. They situate the Pride right in the heart of Queens so it felt like it was 120 degrees.

 

I felt like it went on for a mile. I could just see heads forever. Everyone was very receptive and the sound was good! It was a great way to kick-off our Pride tour here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 hundreds of people. We met them at a reception before the dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palacasino.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On working with Annette Bening in this film, Moore talks about their acting chemistry on set. “Honestly, the thing that Annette and I have going for us is that we’ve both been married a long time and when you’ve been living a family life.

 

We’re both parents and have been married. We have that sensibility in common. I think it was very easy to connect that way. These women [Nic and Jules] have been together 20 years.

 

They have two children and a lot invested in each other. Most of the people who I know that have been together a significant amount of time have had any number of kinds of bumps along the way. A long-term relationship is rewarding and challenging.

 

We obviously live in pair bonds and that’s something we’re really interested in. At the end of the day, it [The Kids Are All Right] is a portrait of that and of a family. We as actors are simply trying to channel these stories about what it means to be alive.”

 

 

 

 

 

 Continuing she adds, “Each crisis seems to happen to me at the end of every unfortunate marriage. I have very poor taste in men. My first marriage [to Eddie Fisher] was a mistake but I have my two wonderful children [Carrie and Todd Fisher].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ronnie Kroell came upon the public’s attention as a contestant on Bravo’s Make Me a Super Model.

 

His down-to-earth appeal, intellect and humor caused a sensation on the first season. The openly gay man was really one of the first at the time to spark the term, “bromance.”

 

He had quite a crush and camaraderie with a straight and married contestant on the television show. Since then, Kroell has branched out into the world of runway modeling but has always been an interested party in the development of acceptance for LGBT people while also spreading the gospel on human rights for all.

 

Just last month, he appeared in his birthday suit for Playgirl magazine. It was his idea to cross boundaries with the spread with the hopes of creating dialogue about male nudity and sexuality in the process.

 

As he gets wet for our July editorial, The Rage Monthly wanted to dive in to learn more about his thoughts on posing in Playgirl, his passion for modeling and Political Science, plus the one thing he’s working on now to change within himself. Ronnie Kroell is a force of nature…both physically and mentally. Read on.

 

Ronnie has described his Playgirl spread as “an art project.” Here he elaborates on this description and his decision to pose nude in the magazine. “Playgirl contacted me about six months ago. In the beginning, I was a little hesitant.

 

I wasn’t sure if it was something I wanted to do. I also saw that it could be a really great opportunity to really be an artist and share some things that have been close to my heart for quite some time.

 

How I feel about American’s view of sexuality and how we have kind of demonized and made filthy the human body. As a model, I realized that the body could also be viewed as art and beautiful. At the end of the day, when we drop our labels both figuratively and literally, we’re all the same.”

 

 Taking the reins of his decision to be in the magazine, Kroell describes his ideas of what he saw in the opportunity to do June’s Playgirl spread. “I’ve worked very hard in the fashion industry to get where I am.

 

I really wanted to have a high-fashion styled GQ-esque fashion photo shoot. I wanted to do something different and have a message behind it. When I brought this to the table, with my high-fashion team and photographer, Lope Navo, they said, ‘Ronnie. You go ahead with it and run with it.’ I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.”

 

 As a Political Science student at The New School in New York, Kroell speaks of his true motivation in doing Playgirl. “I really wanted people to have conversations. I think that’s the only way we learn and grow as a community as a whole.

 

Getting people to talk about sexuality and not being afraid to talk about our bodies. I didn’t do this because I felt I had the best body in the world or the biggest dick in the world or the best ass or whatever…I really wanted to do this as a political scientist as well.”

 

Ronnie is currently doing a Pride Tour traveling to Boston, New York and most recently Los Angeles Pride. “I was invited to be Celebrity Marshal and be very active and involved. Yet, it’s also disheartening as a gay man.

 

I’m so proud of that part of who I am. When you see people celebrating and drinking and having a great time; while I also like those activities, I feel sometimes that we forget our roots. We forget the people who stood up at Stonewall.

 

There is really a lack of education in our community. Some of us aren’t aware of the people who went before us. It’s because of those people being fearless in putting their lives on the line with the potential of being jailed, beaten or killed that makes me feel so honored to be partaking in these festivities.”

 

Ronnie Kroell is in the midst of working on a new reality show that marries The Hills, Queer as Folk and Sex and the City all into one for the show’s premise. “It’s going to follow one of my best friends and business partners, Stephanie Jones, myself, my boyfriend Taylor Proffitt, who I love to pieces [Ronnie and Taylor have been in a monogamous relationship for nine months].

 

There are also going to be three other men who happen to be gay from all different spectrums and different careers, following their dreams in New York. We’re all a group of friends and we’re going through the trials and tribulations that life throws at you in New York.

 

You’ll see people in the fashion, sports and financial worlds. Just to show and further our message that gay people unfortunately in the media are always portrayed as these stereotypical characters. This show is going to be very interesting and push a lot of boundaries.

 

It’s not going to be as staged as The Hills. It’s going to be very organic and you will get to see these relationships unfold…for better or for worse.”

 

Nobody is perfect. When asking Ronnie if there is one thing he would change about himself or something he is working on to improve, he replies, “I’m working on saying ‘no’ to be honest with you (laughter). I have the hardest time saying ‘no.’

 

I am very much a people pleaser. I avoid conflict at all risks. I can say, I’m 90 percent comfortable in my own skin to where I don’t give other people the authority to put me down for any reason.

 

Sometimes you just have to show a little passion and sometimes it’s controlled anger that you have to share with people. Sometimes people just don’t get it. One of my biggest flaws is not knowing how to say ‘no.’ Knowing my limits because I have to take care of myself before, if I really plan on taking care of other people.”

There is a very good reason that Andy Bell has titled his newest solo effort Non-Stop, as the 46-year-old Erasure frontman is showing no signs of slowing down.

 

His latest offering is just as the title refers to, a non-stop ode to dance music, which is sure to get your body moving and your blood pumping upon its release on June 8.

 

During our conversation, Bell’s blood got to boiling (and rightfully so) as he lambasted everything from being seen (or rather heard, as the case may be) by radio stations as merely an artist from the 1980s,and the media frenzy surrounding much-speculated about music stars who come out to fanfare.

 

While he has been open about his sexuality from the get-go in his 25 years as a musician.

 

Ricky Martin may want to watch his back, so to speak, if he were ever to meet Bell in a dark alley, as it wouldn’t be a close encounter of that kind. Musically speaking, the falsetto-voiced phenomenon is already taken, as Bell has been betrothed to his partner-in-rhyme, Vince Clarke, since he answered a want ad for a singer in 1985.

 

“I think when you’re working with someone else, it’s as if you are in a kind of marriage, and it’s a collaboration,” he said. “You have a certain kind of respectfulness for them. I think when you’ve been with somebody for some time; you tend to bring more baggage along with you.”

 

Bell, who had previously packed light for his 2005 solo CD, Electric Blue, relayed that the creative process for joint ventures and personal ones alike aren’t too terribly different. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t write with Vince, really, that I wouldn’t write on my own,” Bell stated.

 

“After I asked Vince if I could have a break from doing Erasure for a couple of years; it’s nothing against him or anything, I just wanted to be out of the scene.

 

I think I felt a bit like a little puppy being let off the leash. So maybe it’s (the songwriting process) is a little more exuberant or just more playful.” Playful is the perfect word to describe one of the most infectious tracks on the CD, “DHDQ,” which is the acronym for Debbie Harry Drag Queen.

 

Erasure previously covered Blondie’s “Rapture” on 1997’s Cowboy, and were on the road with Harry during the 2007 version of the True Colors Tour—so what is the chance that these two musical pioneers might get together and record a song together?

 

“Well, I would love to,” he proclaimed. “That would be one of my ultimate orgasmic moments!”

 

Non-Stop is chocked full of such moments, even on the autobiographical slow jam “Slow Release,” as Bell definitely practiced the rhythm method during its inception.

 

He described his new baby as “full-on club glamour” during our chat, and the project was a case of if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again, as early songwriting efforts with Stephen Hague (who worked on Erasure’s The Innocents) left him feeling as “though my heart’s not really in it.”

 

As luck would have it, someone suggested that he work with Pascal Gabriel, who has written and produced songs for the likes of Kylie Minogue and Little Boots, among others. The two created the double whammy dance tracks, “Will You Be There?” and “Running Out” for his sophomore solo endeavor.

 

“We just really hit it off,” Bell recanted. “He’s Cancerian—same as Vince, so I was really used to his character. And he’s very similar to Vince; he’s very camp for a straight man.”

 

Unfortunately, not all straight men are as gay friendly, as Bell informed me that a form of homophobia and labeling dictates the types of music and artists that DJs play on-air in his native England.

 

This almost led to him releasing the project under the pseudonym of Mimó. “That was because, mainly, the radio is so predjudiced here in the U.K.,” he explained.

 

“It’s very narrow; they’ll play lots of guitar bands and lots of dance/pop, but it’s all very young. They play all of the reality Pop Idol stars, but otherwise it’s very hard to get a way in there.”

 

“Because Erasure is seen as being like an ’80s band, even though we didn’t really break (in England) until 1989, right at the end. So the radio has seemed to have gotten narrower and narrower, where they’ll play only the hits you had in the ’80s and nothing else.

 

But, when we released “Will You Be There?” on Radio 1, it was kind of 50/50; some people hated it and some people loved it. So, we called it Mimó for that reason and also we didn’t want it to sound like Erasure; that was quite a hard thing for me to get over in the first place.

 

Because instantly when people hear my voice, they think it’s Erasure—to hide your name and voice seems ridiculous.”

 

If there’s one thing you need to know about Bell, it’s that you can’t box him in, and if you try…you’d better be sure that you have a big glittery bow ready to attempt to tie him up with.

 

This is the man who has taken to the stage in a tutu during concerts, and had a leave-no-questions-to-the-imagination approach in videos, such as “Chains Of Love” and dressed as ABBA member Frida Lyngstad for their Abba-esque video version of “Take A Chance On Me.”

 

“The whole other thing, of course, is really homophobia—people don’t understand it if you say it,” he explained. “The whole music industry press is homophobic, you know, we’re never ever in Rolling Stone, or any of those magazines.

 

It’s like Erasure never even existed. Because we’re not macho and guitar-strumming, we’re not in the ‘100 Best Frontmen,’ or anything like that.”

 

“And I think it’s interesting with the whole Ricky Martin coming out story,” he exclaimed. “They seem to give more coverage to a closet case, than to somebody who’s been honest from the very beginning. It seems like everything’s all the wrong way around. Maybe I should be a priest.”

 

Talk about a blow to the music world, thankfully, Father Bell came to his senses and informed me of a dream project he’s intrigued by.

 

“I’d love to do an album of duets,” Bell said. “But only with female singers, like—dare I say it? Barbara Streisand.

 

And Annie Lennox and other amazing female singers. I love harmonizing and I love the sensuality of their voices; that’s the thrill I would get with working with Debbie, as well, because hers is like candy coating, isn’t it?”

 

First though, he’s renewing his vows with Clarke on their forthcoming 14th studio LP. “By doing Non-Stop, I feel like I’ve blown out a few cobwebs,” Bell stated. “And I think Vince is really exicted about making music, I mean, he always is.

 

But, I think it’s kind of shaken us up a little bit. From what we’ve done so far, I’m really excited about it. But, I’m way behind on lyrics now, and it’s funny though, I loved doing Non-Stop, but I can’t wait to do Erasure. I’m greedy.”

 

Apparently greed is good, since this year marks his 25th anniversary of being in the music business, the “Call On Me” (that’s the first single off Non-Stop) singer imparted some wisdom about his longevity.

 

“The most important thing, really, in the end, is your sanity,” he answered laughingly. “Remaining sane by being creative, I think. And, you can’t take yourself or the whole thing too seriously, even though you do. If you’re making music, hopefully lots and lots of people will enjoy it, and really being thankful for what you do and what you have.”

It’s been over three years since celebrity model, television reality star and blonde bombshell Anna Nicole Smith tragically died of a drug overdose at 39 years old.

 

Some would say she died of a broken heart after the passing of her only son Daniel.

 

The tumultuous press that followed and the work of those in the medical field determined that friend and lover Larry Birkhead was the father of her second child Dannielynn—born shortly before Anna’s death.

 

Losing a loved one for anybody is one of the most difficult things to experience. Larry Birkhead knows this first hand but is now ready to let a bit of his physical attachment to Anna go. 

 

On June 26, Birkhead, along with Julien’s Auctions, is allowing Anna’s countless fans across the globe a chance to own a keepsake or possession of her’s at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

 

Speaking with Larry Birkhead during his press junket in New York, The Rage Monthly found him strong in remembering the important things—and also reveling in the joy of being a father to Dannielynn.

 

Larry Birkhead: Thank you. A lot of people don’t get it right. They think it’s just a fire sale of Anna Nicole memories. It’s not really that. That’s not what it is. It’s basically a long, thought-out process and a year in the planning.

 

I went to an auction at Julien’s and I ended up buying some things of Anna’s for Dannielynn that were up for sale that I will keep—which is ironic because we’re getting rid of some things but we don’t have to keep everything. I’ll continue to collect Anna Nicole’s stuff for Dannielynn.

 

I’ll go on eBay sometimes and I’ll buy little things. She was the spokesperson for Con-Air…the box with the curlers in it where she’s on the box, little things like that that tell some kind of story, I will keep.

 

Some things…you don’t know if they are going to last that long or if [Dannielynn] is going to be the same size as her mom. Like a 1993 Mercedes in the year 2022 or whenever she’s able to drive, you don’t know how well that’s gonna run or if we’ll be driving spaceships (laughter)! We had ten storage bins to go through.

 

Just trying to simplify things…it was a little bit of a messy estate. She had a house in the Bahamas, she had a boat in the Bahamas, my daughter is 3 years old and she doesn’t need to ride around on a 36-foot yacht. This [auction] is the first step of trying to move in the right direction so the money is put up for Dannielynn wisely and for charity as well.

 

We’re just trying to do some good. We’ve actually done some great things with the foundation. We were able to build a home for Habitat for Humanity in my home state of Kentucky, sponsored under Anna’s and Daniel’s name.

LB: There were a lot of times. She was really, really funny. She had a gnarly sense of humor. One time she got trapped in the Trim-Spa bus at the time she was spokesperson and we couldn’t get out. She had to go to the restroom and we were pulled over at a truck stop.

 

Basically, (laughter) basically she had to get creative. I’ll just say that. She borrowed Sugar Pie and Marilyn’s little portable on-the-road pottie to go to the bathroom!

 

That made me laugh! Little things like…she would want to act like a little baby sometimes and fix her hair like a little girl. She could make you laugh most all the time, you know?

 

People didn’t know that about her. She was quite funny.

LB: One time I told her that in my opinion, she was prettier than Marilyn. She slapped me. I said, “What was that for? That was a compliment.” She said, “Nobody is prettier than Marilyn.” She thought that basically Marilyn was the deal. She was as good as it gets.

 

I think the press makes it out to be more than it actually was. She collected Marilyn Monroe things. Some of them are in the auction. She knew everything about Marilyn.

 

Basically, she could have been a Marilyn Monroe historian. It wasn’t to the point where she was obsessed or talked about her every single day.

 

Closer to the end of her life, some people would bring her M.M. gifts and she said, “Why does everybody think that I need Marilyn Monroe stuff all the time?”

 

She had M.M. furniture in her house and some of that is in the auction and purses, trinkets, lunchboxes and clothing. Even pocketknives…she didn’t want people to think it was an obsession but obviously she really loved Marilyn Monroe.

LB: She had this obsession. I call it an obsession because I didn’t like it. No matter where we would go, she would always rock out to Queen. But her favorite was ABBA.

 

She had a wide variety of musical tastes. She had multiple CDs of ABBA, one in the car, one by the pool…she’d turn on “Dancing Queen” and that would be the end of it.

 

She’d roll around. But, she’d also go to the opposite of the spectrum and turn on Anne Murray. She had an old-time record player and she would slip it on and play that.

 

She was kind of a big music fan. She also had a karaoke machine and she’d sing all the time. She also performed for the troops at different functions singing.

LB: It just means you never know what’s gonna be next. One minute you could be sitting on the couch at her home and the next minute you could be packing your bags to go to Australia. Next minute, you find yourself on a bus going from Los Angeles to New York.

 

One minute, she could love you and the next say, “Go home.” And seconds later she would say, “Where’d you go?” “You told me to go,” and she’d say, “Come back.”

 

She’s unpredictable but some of that spontaneity was kind of fun and some of it was a little bit of a challenge. Overall that was Anna…you had to love Anna for Anna. That’s really what I did.

“Miss Vicki” is how Lawrence describes her stage persona while her alter ego Thelma Harper affectionately known as “Mama” takes center stage during her current touring show Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two Woman Show.

 

The comedian is no stranger to the spotlight as Lawrence endeared herself to the public on television as one of the stellar performers on the long-running The Carol Burnett Show.

 

Her countless antics opposite Carol and the cast truly created a cornucopia of laughter and memories in the annals of television history.

 

Lawrence then went on to add more merriment for her star turn in the television comedy Mama’s Family. Her natural humor, down-to-earth philosophy and true talent continue to shine bright.

 

The Rage Monthly had the great pleasure to talk with Vicki Lawrence and share a few laughs and memories.

 

Vicki Lawrence: When we put the show together, Harvey [Korman] and Tim [Conway] were on the road. They were doing really well with their show and their show was sketches…we used old sketches from the Burnett Show basically.

 

So, when I decided to put a show together, I decided I don’t want to go backward. I knew I had to bring Mama out of the closet because everybody loves her so much. But I really wanted to bring her into the new century and make her modern.

 

I sort of considered her my opportunity to be Chris Rock. Mind you, I don’t go quite as nuts as Chris does but kind of my opportunity to push the envelope and talk about things that wouldn’t otherwise be politically correct for Miss Vicki to talk about. So, [Mama] gets all the good jokes and all the good material.

 

My half of the show is retrospective only in that it’s pretty autobiographical. I think I answer every question that anybody would ask me if we were to do questions and answers like Carol used to. You’ll probably know more about me by the end of my half of the show than you really ever wanted to know (laughter).

VL: I think for the same reason that everybody’s always loved her. She just tells it like it is. She’s sort of like your crazy old aunt or grandma who sits at the Thanksgiving table and says everything you wanted to say but would never.

 

Then you’re in the powder room after dinner going “Oh my God” to your friend… “Can you believe she said that?” I kind of think of Mama the same way that I always thought of Archie Bunker. Everybody knows Archie Bunker.

 

Everybody has an Archie Bunker in his or her family. Nobody ever fesses up to being him so nobody is ever offended by him. Nobody ever comes up to me and says, “Oh my God. I’m Mama.” They always come up to me and say, “Oh my God, you’re my aunt” or “Oh my God, you’re my grandma.”

 

Consequently she gets away with murder because she’s a crazy old lady. She can say whatever the hell she wants.

 

VL: Actually the first half of my show is largely based on what I learned at my speaking engagements—that everyone wants to hear the stories of my life.

 

It’s pretty hysterical that I should be found by Carol by writing a fan letter and how I met my husband…over the years; the speaking engagement has expanded to include whatever is going on in my life.

 

Whether it’s kids or menopause, because every woman is going through that crap. It’s whatever I need to talk about depending who the group is.

 

VL: We were sort of left to our own devices back then doing a live show. Now, you’d have eight gazillion suits down there telling us what to do. Telling you what you can and can’t say…everything is so politically correct now.

 

I think comedy has gotten cynical and dark. Sexual. It’s hard to find for the kids those great old shows that you can sit and watch together. Where you can laugh at totally mindless shit like I did when I was young…like Green Acres or Lucy. Those shows are sort of timeless.

 

VL: I’m crazy about Modern Family. I love that show. I think it’s hysterical. I still watch Saturday Night Live. Although it’s not that often that it totally tickles me to death. I will say Betty White tickled the crap out of me.

 

The Office and 30 Rock are funny but I don’t watch them all the time.

 

VL: Mama’s got a beef with NCIS…how many of those shows are there on the air? Good lord! (laughter) All over a dead body for God’s sake.

 

VL: Carol grew up on live television so that’s the way we shot that show. We literally did two shows and you could set your clock by the schedule. It would take us an hour and a half to tape an hour show. There’s no way that would happen nowadays.

 

We stopped only for major costume changes or major set changes. You know, we used to tackle some pretty spectacular huge pieces. We’d get through those tapings and we rarely did pick-ups. For Carol, it was all about that audience.

 

Keeping that audience happy, that 250-person audience that was in our studio. I think that’s why everybody still watches that show and loves it so much because it was like being there live.

 

It was really incredibly well-done. You look back at the staff, the costumes and the writing…it was just an incredible team.

 

VL: It’s incredible when you think back. I think I was too young and stupid even to appreciate where I was. But, oh my God, the people who came through there, like Jimmy Stewart.

 

I remember the night that Joanne Woodward was on the show and everybody said, “Paul Newman’s in the booth and he’s having Coors.”

 

The prop man was taking him Coors. I kept looking up at that booth and thinking, “Oh my God, if I could only see through it.” They use to joke that it was bullet-proof.

 

It was only a one-way glass. You could not see back into the booth with the director. I was dying and I never did get to meet Paul Newman.

 

Also, I was just blown away all week by how incredibly beautiful Joanne Woodward was and how amazing her eyes were. Everybody talked about Paul Newman’s eyes and that piercing blue. But…her eyes are this mint green.

 

Oh my God…just drop dead gorgeous! Yes. Geez. John Wayne was in the building one time. I ran into him for God’s sake.

VL: My husband was the make-up man on the show. At the height of the Burnett Show, we were on Stage 33 and Sonny and Cher were on Stage 31. Literally, if you went through the toilet, you were on Sonny and Cher’s stage.

 

That’s how we would run back and forth. So, if Cher was doing a number I wanted to see or if I wanted to see what she was wearing, I would just run through the lady’s room onto the stage and I could see what was going on.

 

My husband used to run back and forth because he did Cher and he also did Carol’s make-up. He used to run through the men’s room all the time. One day, I was with the girl dancers and we’re standing backstage.

 

We were waiting to go out and do a number. Al goes bee-lining into the men’s room and he comes backing out of the door. We all look at him. He’s looking like he’s seen a ghost. He looks at all of us and says, “The Duke’s in there taking a pee.” (laughter) He couldn’t deal. He just couldn’t deal.

VL: I think it’s the only thing that has gotten me through. When my talk show was cancelled, I went through a horrible crisis.

 

Not so much cancelled, as really fired by this company that I used to work for because we didn’t get along.

 

They just didn’t agree with me that show business should be fun. They thought it should be very stressful. It was a very verbally and ultimately physical relationship. When I said, “I can’t go on unless you fix this.” I was fired. I went into a tailspin.

 

I went into a depression that lasted probably three years or more. I totally lost my sense of humor. It was a really difficult period for me. With Al, I ultimately worked my way through it.

 

When I finally got my sense of humor back, which was really shortly before I put this show together…I realized that I wanted to make people laugh again.

 

My motto on the talk show had always been “Life is much too serious to be taken seriously.” I learned, really the hard way. Laughter is a gift and you have to laugh. If you don’t laugh, you’ll slit your wrists…you know? You have to keep laughing.