Interviews: October 2008 Archives

I got two phone calls early this morning. The first one was from my mother and the second was from Bernadette Peters. Love ya mom but I was a little more eager to speak with Bernadette, a Broadway legend and gay icon who is a longtime fave.

Her Broadway resume is beyond compare: "Sunday in the Park With George," "Annie Get Your Gun" (Tony win), "Gypsy," "Song and Dance" (Tony win), "Into the Woods" and "Mack & Mabel" among others.

Towards the end of our chat, I asked Bernadette why the gays have loved her for so much for so long.

"I always say they have great taste," she joked. "They just recognize when something is going on, they recognize truth. Growing up feeling like an outsider, their souls and emotions are more developed. They have an ultra-sensitivity and that's why they love show business."

Miss Peters called to talk about her new movie, "Living Proof," which debuts on Lifetime on Saturday. She plays a breast cancer patient involved in a breakthrough clinical trial. I've seen it and she is terrific in it as are Harry Connick Jr., Regina King,. Swoosie Kurtz, Jennifer Coolidge, Amanda Bynes, Amy Madigan, Tammy Blanchard and Angie Harmon.

She plays Barbara Bradfield, the first woman whose life was saved by the drug Herceptin .developed by UCLA's Dr. Dennis Slamon. Bernadette got to meet Bradfield at the film's premiere.

"She's been 15 years cancer-free," the actress said. "She's a lovely woman, very creative and pretty. What's not in the movie is that she also had 24 tumors in her lung and was ready to be written off. She didn't want to do chemotherapy because she said, 'I'm gonna die anyway and I'm not gonna die bald.'"

Slamon faced years of obsticles in getting it approved: "It's a true story about what someone is up against, what the doctor is up against as he is trying to get something developed and approved. It's very, very interesting to know what goes on in that situation and how it did evolve. It is saving so many lives."

Just like in the film, the doctor really did call her a 6 o'clock in the morning the day she was to leave for Mexico.

"He said, 'Look, I really think this can save your life' and they decided to cancel their trip," Peters said. "First the tumors shrunk, then disappeared and then she was cancer-free. It's wonderful to play a character who survives and gets hers. It's amazing. I didn't know anything about this drug, I didn't know it existed.

"Living Proof" is her second meaty television role in recent months with her guest spot on "Grey's Anatomy" garnering Emmy buzz. Since she alternates between stage, televisiion and film ("The Jerk," "Pennies From Heaven," "It Runs In the Family"), I wondered how decides what she will do next.

"I just see what's presented to me and I think, 'This would be fun to do.'" she said. "I've been lucky because I did this and 'Grey's Anatomy.' Both had wonderful writing."

Before we hung up, Bernadette joked that she knows she sounds like Bob Barker (he would tell "Price is Right" viewers to spay and neuter their animals before signing off), but the animal activist had to offer this thought "Make (pet) adoption your first option."

With close friend Mary Tyler Moore, she co-founded "Broadway Barks", an annual animal adopt-a-thon held in New York City. Their goals are to promote adopting animals from shelters and to make New York City a no-kill city. To support this cause, Peters has written a children's book titled Broadway Barks (Blue Apple Books, April 2008) and a lullaby titled "Kramer's Song" to go with it, included on a CD in the book.

This is a woman who can do anything!