Just finished a conference call interview with Ellen DeGeneres for a story I'm writing on her upcoming TBS variety special that will air Nov. 19. We were warned right up front by a cable flak: "No personal questions!"
As if Ellen, whose life is something of an open book, would care.
"I think I am exactly who I am," Ellen said when asked if her stand-up persona differs from her. "I have nothing to hide, nothing to worry about. My humor is raw, and it's honest."

When it came time for my questions, I wanted to know if her triumph as host the 2001 Emmys, not too long after 9/11, was a breakthrough for her as far as being able to go from being a sitcom star to a host. I reminded her of the wild standing ovation she received when she walked out to say goodnight and to introduce Barbra Streisand who closed the show by singing "You'll Never Walk Alone."
"I thought they were clapping for Barbra Streisand, that she had walked out early."
Nope, it was all for her.
"It was a difficult line to walk (hosting that Emmys) and I think I gained some confidence once I carried it off. It put me in a place where I trusted that I could be myself and it would be OK."

More of my interview with Ellen has been posted on my HOLLYWOOD JOE blog.