| The Rosie O'Donnell Show | |
|---|---|
_logo.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Genre | Variety talk show |
| Created by | Rosie O'Donnell |
| Presented by | Rosie O'Donnell |
| Starring | Rosie O'Donnell John McDaniel |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 1,193 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | NBC Studios New York City |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Production companies | KidRo Productions Telepictures Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndicated |
| Release | June 10, 1996 (1996-06-10) – June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27) |
The Rosie O'Donnell Show is an American daytimevariety televisiontalk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedianRosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on June 27, 2002.
This talk show was taped inStudio 8G at NBC's Rockefeller Center studios in New York City, New York, and was produced and distributed by KidRo Productions,Telepictures Productions, andWarner Bros. Television. The talk show won fiveDaytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Show.
On June 10, 1996,The Rosie O'Donnell Show premiered, and proved successful. It was a replacement forCarnie!, which aired from September 6, 1995, to February 23, 1996.[1] Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution prematurely concludedCarnie! so thatThe Rosie O'Donnell Show could premiere in advance of thefall schedule.[2]
In October 1996, a fire broke out at30 Rockefeller Center inNew York City. As a result, the show resumed taping for four days in theEd Sullivan Theater (whereDavid Letterman taped hisshow). The first episode resuming taping in the regular studio featured a beginning scene reminiscent ofThe Wizard of Oz, in which Rosie awakens from a dream.
O'Donnell often spoke of her admiration forBarbra Streisand, and in November 1997, Streisand (who rarely grants interviews) agreed to a full hour special. The set was covered in flowers and Streisand memorabilia. Streisand's husband, actorJames Brolin, was also interviewed. Before this interview, O'Donnell received a brief letter from Streisand which she discussed on-air and held up very briefly. She described Streisand as being very caring in the letter, but would not read it on-air. It was too late, however, as a television camera caught a brief shot of the letter, and within days, savvy viewers distributed its contents. O'Donnell later expressed dismay that viewers would do that. Streisand was interviewed again in 1999 at her home, shortly before her Timeless tour.
On May 19, 1999, a month after theColumbine shootings, which prompted O'Donnell to become an outspoken supporter ofgun control and a major figure in theMillion Mom March, O'Donnell interviewed actorTom Selleck, who was promoting a filmThe Love Letter. After a commercial break, O'Donnell confronted him about his recent commercial for theNRA and challenged him about the NRA's position on the use ofassault rifles. According to Selleck, the two had agreed not to discuss the topic before his appearance on the show.[3] O'Donnell maintains that Selleck and his publicist had been informed that the topic would be discussed. She stated at the end of the interview that it had not gone the way she had hoped it would have gone, but went on to say: "I would like to thank you for appearing anyway, knowing that we have differing views. I was happy that you decided to come on the show. And if you feel insulted by my questions, I apologize, because it was not a personal attack. It was meant to bring up the subject as it is in the consciousness of so many today."[4][5]
In April 2001, O'Donnell had a two-week absence from her show because of astaph infection. She had guest hosts take her place, includingJoy Behar,Meredith Vieira,Barbara Walters,Kathy Griffin,Marie Osmond,Jane Krakowski,Ana Gasteyer andCaroline Rhea.
On the May 11, 2001 episode,Maxwell Jacob Friedman appeared on the show as a five year child to sing "You Are My Sunshine" after his parents submitted a tape of him singing it in an operatic style while eating a pear. After a video of his performance resurfaced in 2019, Friedman (in-character) denied the appearance before admitting it, stating that Rosie O'Donnell was trying to cling onto her fading star and that he "didn't have the nerve" to tellBritney Spears (who appeared on the same episode) that she "wasn't going to make it as a singer". During his interview, when asked about what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said he would be an opera singer and a wrestler, and stated thatBill Goldberg andThe Rock were his favorite wrestlers at the time.[6][7]
Throughout the final season O'Donnell called onCaroline Rhea to host the program every Friday. Rhea's growing popularity as a guest host gave her the green light to host her own daytime talk show the following year, supposedly succeeding O'Donnell. However, Rhea's program lasted for only one season and was replaced byThe Sharon Osbourne Show.[8]
After a six-year run, the show ended in 2002 when O’Donnell chose to leave to spend more time with her children.
The final live episode aired on May 22, 2002. It featured an opening musical ensemble number fromBroadway, starringVanessa Williams andJohn Lithgow (who were both appearing on Broadway at the time). The guests wereNathan Lane andChristine Ebersole. The show's final segment featured a retrospective video made by Rosie that blended scenes from her personal life with her talk show, accompanied by the song "Both Sides Now" sung byJoni Mitchell. The conclusion of the show featured a clip ofTom Cruise mowing a lawn, who then stops to look at the camera and says,"Rosie, I cut your grass, and here is your lemonade." (A reference to one of the show's running gags, O'Donnell declaring her adoration of Tom Cruise.)
Remaining new, but pre-taped, episodes continued to air until June 27, 2002, the last with guest host Caroline Rhea. Repeats aired until August 30, 2002, the last of which was a repeat of the broadcast from May 20, 2002.
On March 22, 2020, the show was revived for a one-episode fundraiser in support ofThe Actors Fund.[9] Produced by O'Donnell andErich Bergen, the episode was broadcast live onBroadway.com and the website'sYouTube channel.[10] It featured interviews and music performances with numerous celebrities.[11] Over $600,000 was raised for The Actors Fund as a result of the episode.[11]
Topics often discussed on the show includeBroadway,children, extendedfamilies and charitable works, people and organizations.
The program was also known for featuring extended production numbers from Broadway shows which were often seen as too time-consuming on other shows. O'Donnell was known for keeping a light-hearted nature during the show as she playfully interviewed her guests and interacted with her audience. Commonly, O'Donnell would throwKoosh balls into the audience throughout the show; this gag expanded through the years to include automated Koosh-projecting devices in the ceiling, as well as O'Donnell firing at a moving target.
The house band was led by pianistJohn McDaniel, and was dubbed "The McDLTs".
Unique introductions by a member of the audience were made at the beginning of each episode. (Hi! I'm [insert audience member], from [insert resident's address] and this isThe Rosie O'Donnell Show. On today's show: [insert guests and/or topics]. Hit it, John!). After the animated intro, the audience member would then say, "And now, here's Rosie!" as O'Donnell made her entrance through the curtain. O'Donnell commented on the DVD release of first season highlights that producers were not keen on this opening but Rosie insisted upon it as she enjoyed being able to talk to a "real person" every show.
A long-running segment of the show involved telling jokes that children from around the United States mailed into the studio. These jokes were eventually compiled into two books (and eventually a TV special) entitledKids Are Punny; proceeds from the book went to children's charity programs.
O'Donnell's endorsement of theTickle Me Elmo played a large part in the huge popularity of the toy. Likewise, she servedDrake's snack cakes to audience members onThe Rosie O'Donnell Show, which helped contribute to increased sales of Drake's cakes.
In February 1997, the mouthwash brandScope released a list of the "least kissable celebrities," to which O'Donnell was ranked number one. O'Donnell responded by promoting rival mouthwash brandListerine on her show. Listerine thanked O'Donnell by donating $1000 to O'Donnell's charity For All Kids every time a guest greeted O'Donnell with a kiss. Listerine donated more than $150,000.[12]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(November 2013) |
Early on, O'Donnell was dubbed "The Queen of Nice" byNewsweek magazine for her sweet personality, which was in stark contrast tomany other talk shows of the era.[13]
TheNew York Daily News labeled it the best new syndicated talk show of 1996.[14]
The show won multipleEmmys such as five timesDaytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show (1998-2002) during its run.
| Award | Year[a] | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLAAD Media Awards | 2003 | Outstanding Talk Show Episode | "Adopted by Gay Parents" | Won | [15] |
A compilation of highlights of the show's first season was available for sale in September 2008, exclusively from theHome Shopping Network. The DVD runs 90 minutes and contains Rosie O'Donnell commenting while watching clips of archived footage. Included are Tom Cruise's first visit,Fran Drescher's parents reviewing Florida restaurants, and the incident in whichDonny Osmond made a fat joke at Rosie's expense.
In 2021, O'Donnell began making interviews from the show available on her personalYouTube channel until November 19, 2024 when the channel was terminated due to copyright issues.
The following site is no longer online, but was backed up by theWayback Machine caching service: