It all started innocently enough. Stand-up comedienne Rosie O'Donnell, who made a name for herself by becoming a five time Comedy champion on the talent competition show "Star Search," was offered the chance to host her own daily talk show. Carnie Wilson, who had been hosting a show, wasn't working out, and Rosie, with her quick wit and sense of humor seemed like she could improve on Carnie's ratings.
Rosie had some serious chops by this point, having been in a series of successful ensemble films, like "A League of Their Own," "Beautiful Girls," a live action version of "The Flintstones" where she played Betty Rubble, and even hit the Broadway stage as Rizzo in a revival of Grease.
In June of 1996, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" debuted. The show was telecast live to many East Coast and Central time zone affiliates and shown on a tape delay to the rest. The program was tailored to Rosie's personality and interests and people from both the worlds of entertainment and the areas of charity were typical guests on the show.
John McDaniel served as the program's musical director, and Rosie dubbed his band "The McD LTs" as a play on the name of a McDonald's sandwich being sold at that time - a cheeseburger that split the lettuce and tomato (the LT of McD LT) in a separate container, to keep it cool and crisp (presumably). It was discontinued because its large Styrofoam container, to separate those ingredients, was finally considered environmentally unfriendly.
Rosie's show was essentially a love fest for the guests she welcomed and she schmoozed with and kissed up to just about everybody who appeared. In fact, with her audience giveaways, her efforts to get people to get in better shape (She created a group called "The Chub Club" which focused on helping people to slim down) all of her charitable donations and support, and her gushing over her guests, Newsweek dubbed her "The Queen of Nice."
Two celebrities that Rosie purportedly had an obsession over were Tom Cruise, who she would frequently reference as "My Tommy" on the show and would extol all of the wonders of his acting career and looks, and Barbra Streisand, who she constantly stated as being one of the most important figures in her life and would be a dream to meet. She later did get to interview Ms. Streisand on the program, after flipping her desk and couch set arrangement, so that Babs wouldn't have to look "camera right" to face Rosie at her desk, as Ms. Streisand was noted for only wanting to show the left side of her face on camera!
The tone of the show was typically light, fun, frivolous, essentially it was a gabfest that, like the host, didn't take itself too seriously and was deliberate in avoiding being more than it actually was. And that is likely why so many people wanted to appear: it was just a fun time, and who didn't like the idea of getting a whole lot of love from a admiring host and a fanatical audience, that was often the loudest on television at the time.
New York played a part because Rosie, besides having appeared on The Great White Way herself, was a huge Broadway aficionado and promoter. She would frequently have performances from musicals that were currently running as a part of a program. Plus, most of the Soap Operas were still being filmed in New York, so actors from those daytime dramas also made appearances as part of a typical episode.
But a tragic event changed the tone of everything for Rosie. That was the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, on April 20, 1999. Rosie was severely affected by it, said she had trouble sleeping because of it, and quickly became an advocate for anti-gun laws to help protect kids who were just going to school to learn.
After Columbine, Rosie started having more political guests and openly spoke about "The Million Mom March," which was a protest rally, both at the Mall in Washington DC and in several other high profile cities, designed to demand legislation to improve gun control, especially assault weapons.
The show's turning point occurred when Rosie invited actor Tom Selleck, who at the time was appearing in a commercial for the National Rifle Association, to be a guest on the program. In a heated exchange, both host and guest staunchly defended their stances in a segment that was almost too raw to be believed. Really, to properly do justice to the topic, this likely needed to be the theme of the program, not just one brief segment, because how can you properly discuss an issue as complex and important to people as this one is, in just a couple of minutes?
Many people didn't like the fact that political views that were being offered on a show that they considered "escapism" from the news of the day, and some tuned out. Obviously, they would have been less inclined to put up with it, if they didn't agree with those views! Also, it seemed that the frustration that Rosie was feeling over how the country was reacting to both mass shootings and to her clear position against it, her façade of fun fell away and you could see her more abrasive side as the show continued.
It's notable that According to CNN, since Columbine, there have been 413 mass shootings AT SCHOOLS, as of April 2024. That averages out to be more than 16 school shootings per year, every year for the past 25 years. That's a lot of trauma, heartbreak and death over that time, some of which might have been avoided if we had gotten some support from either the State or Federal Government to help prevent it.
Maybe you aren't a fan of Rosie O'Donnell, generally. Maybe you don't like her political beliefs, and maybe you think she is just another celebrity who needs to "stay in her lane," but, we all have to admit, saving lives is important and some reasonable laws enacted at any time between that horrific tragedy in Colorado and now could have and would have saved lives.
Rosie had some serious chops by this point, having been in a series of successful ensemble films, like "A League of Their Own," "Beautiful Girls," a live action version of "The Flintstones" where she played Betty Rubble, and even hit the Broadway stage as Rizzo in a revival of Grease.
In June of 1996, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" debuted. The show was telecast live to many East Coast and Central time zone affiliates and shown on a tape delay to the rest. The program was tailored to Rosie's personality and interests and people from both the worlds of entertainment and the areas of charity were typical guests on the show.
John McDaniel served as the program's musical director, and Rosie dubbed his band "The McD LTs" as a play on the name of a McDonald's sandwich being sold at that time - a cheeseburger that split the lettuce and tomato (the LT of McD LT) in a separate container, to keep it cool and crisp (presumably). It was discontinued because its large Styrofoam container, to separate those ingredients, was finally considered environmentally unfriendly.
Rosie's show was essentially a love fest for the guests she welcomed and she schmoozed with and kissed up to just about everybody who appeared. In fact, with her audience giveaways, her efforts to get people to get in better shape (She created a group called "The Chub Club" which focused on helping people to slim down) all of her charitable donations and support, and her gushing over her guests, Newsweek dubbed her "The Queen of Nice."
Two celebrities that Rosie purportedly had an obsession over were Tom Cruise, who she would frequently reference as "My Tommy" on the show and would extol all of the wonders of his acting career and looks, and Barbra Streisand, who she constantly stated as being one of the most important figures in her life and would be a dream to meet. She later did get to interview Ms. Streisand on the program, after flipping her desk and couch set arrangement, so that Babs wouldn't have to look "camera right" to face Rosie at her desk, as Ms. Streisand was noted for only wanting to show the left side of her face on camera!
The tone of the show was typically light, fun, frivolous, essentially it was a gabfest that, like the host, didn't take itself too seriously and was deliberate in avoiding being more than it actually was. And that is likely why so many people wanted to appear: it was just a fun time, and who didn't like the idea of getting a whole lot of love from a admiring host and a fanatical audience, that was often the loudest on television at the time.
New York played a part because Rosie, besides having appeared on The Great White Way herself, was a huge Broadway aficionado and promoter. She would frequently have performances from musicals that were currently running as a part of a program. Plus, most of the Soap Operas were still being filmed in New York, so actors from those daytime dramas also made appearances as part of a typical episode.
But a tragic event changed the tone of everything for Rosie. That was the mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, on April 20, 1999. Rosie was severely affected by it, said she had trouble sleeping because of it, and quickly became an advocate for anti-gun laws to help protect kids who were just going to school to learn.
After Columbine, Rosie started having more political guests and openly spoke about "The Million Mom March," which was a protest rally, both at the Mall in Washington DC and in several other high profile cities, designed to demand legislation to improve gun control, especially assault weapons.
The show's turning point occurred when Rosie invited actor Tom Selleck, who at the time was appearing in a commercial for the National Rifle Association, to be a guest on the program. In a heated exchange, both host and guest staunchly defended their stances in a segment that was almost too raw to be believed. Really, to properly do justice to the topic, this likely needed to be the theme of the program, not just one brief segment, because how can you properly discuss an issue as complex and important to people as this one is, in just a couple of minutes?
Many people didn't like the fact that political views that were being offered on a show that they considered "escapism" from the news of the day, and some tuned out. Obviously, they would have been less inclined to put up with it, if they didn't agree with those views! Also, it seemed that the frustration that Rosie was feeling over how the country was reacting to both mass shootings and to her clear position against it, her façade of fun fell away and you could see her more abrasive side as the show continued.
It's notable that According to CNN, since Columbine, there have been 413 mass shootings AT SCHOOLS, as of April 2024. That averages out to be more than 16 school shootings per year, every year for the past 25 years. That's a lot of trauma, heartbreak and death over that time, some of which might have been avoided if we had gotten some support from either the State or Federal Government to help prevent it.
Maybe you aren't a fan of Rosie O'Donnell, generally. Maybe you don't like her political beliefs, and maybe you think she is just another celebrity who needs to "stay in her lane," but, we all have to admit, saving lives is important and some reasonable laws enacted at any time between that horrific tragedy in Colorado and now could have and would have saved lives.