Robert Osborne
- Episode aired May 31, 2009
- 1h 41m
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Robert Osborne lets it all hang out.
Bob was always very conscious about how his private life or public speaking might have an effect on Turner Classic Movies where he was the primetime host for 23 years, from TCM's inception in 1994 until Bob's death in 2017. And in this 100 minute interview Bob really does - for once - let it all hang out as to how he felt about certain celebrities. So it is odd that this interview was not available to the public until March 9, 2017, exactly three days after his death and eight years after the interview transpired! I can only guess that because Bob agreed to be so candid with the audience, that maybe one of the stipulations of him doing the interview was that it not be made available until after he died. It is illuminating.
Bob talks about the entirety of his career and about some of the lucky breaks that got him to his dream job at TCM. He also talks about all of the celebrities that he knew over the years, and in particular his friendship with Lucille Ball that started it all and who turned him from acting to writing about film. From her he not only got a master class in how film is made, but he realized by being in her home that stars are just normal people who have the same types of problems everybody else has. That made him feel comfortable around other stars in the future.
One of the most humorous anecdotes is how a friendship with Olivia De Havilland led him to be at Bette Davis' table during her AFI tribute in 1977, when originally all he could hope for was hanging out in the kitchen in a tuxedo.
Some of the more surprising statements from Bob - and he doesn't linger on the subject - are the ones about which stars were "nightmares" as he would say. He loved Lauren Bacall, but she had been a star since she was 18 and was not used to anybody putting her in her place. But the day they did her TCM Private Screenings Interview he said she was marvelous. You can tell deep down he liked her. The same could not be said about Jerry Lewis. He said he was full of himself, always had this paid entourage that followed him around and laughed at everything he said. You could tell deep down Robert did not like Jerry Lewis.
There are many other side stories and revelations about stars and his relationships with them. The 100 minutes just fly by. And Bob did this on a Sunday morning! If you get a chance, check it out on youtube on the SAG AFTRA Foundation channel. Also check out the comments. People are still leaviing tributes to Bob Osborne two and a half years after his death and almost four years after he was no longer appearing on Turner Classic Movies because he was too ill. That's star power.
Bob talks about the entirety of his career and about some of the lucky breaks that got him to his dream job at TCM. He also talks about all of the celebrities that he knew over the years, and in particular his friendship with Lucille Ball that started it all and who turned him from acting to writing about film. From her he not only got a master class in how film is made, but he realized by being in her home that stars are just normal people who have the same types of problems everybody else has. That made him feel comfortable around other stars in the future.
One of the most humorous anecdotes is how a friendship with Olivia De Havilland led him to be at Bette Davis' table during her AFI tribute in 1977, when originally all he could hope for was hanging out in the kitchen in a tuxedo.
Some of the more surprising statements from Bob - and he doesn't linger on the subject - are the ones about which stars were "nightmares" as he would say. He loved Lauren Bacall, but she had been a star since she was 18 and was not used to anybody putting her in her place. But the day they did her TCM Private Screenings Interview he said she was marvelous. You can tell deep down he liked her. The same could not be said about Jerry Lewis. He said he was full of himself, always had this paid entourage that followed him around and laughed at everything he said. You could tell deep down Robert did not like Jerry Lewis.
There are many other side stories and revelations about stars and his relationships with them. The 100 minutes just fly by. And Bob did this on a Sunday morning! If you get a chance, check it out on youtube on the SAG AFTRA Foundation channel. Also check out the comments. People are still leaviing tributes to Bob Osborne two and a half years after his death and almost four years after he was no longer appearing on Turner Classic Movies because he was too ill. That's star power.
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- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
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