Rosie O'Donnell: January 2008 Archives

Rosie O'Donnell has always had a soft spot for troubled Britney Spears who is currently hospitalized undergoing psychiatric evaluation. On her blog today, Rosie writes:
"Whenever young girl stars came on my show tried to warn them, go to school, follow jodie. She did it, you can too. Save yourself."

Of Britney: "She was parkers age when i met her, lil southern girl with a tiny twang. 'yes maam,' she smiled.
adorable. 'She wanted it,' the mothers always said, as way of both apology and explaination in the dressing room.[Daughter] vivi would if i let her, support our family with her light and talent. its not mine to sell.

Rosie expressed a desire to help Britney: "If I had a magic wand, I would will her the strength, Windex all windows, watch the sun warm her soul."

She concludes her post by writing: "All together now, we pray."

Go ahead and judge if you want. But my siblings and I loved the old sitcom "What's Happening" and one of the reason was Shirley Hemphill who played Shirley the waitress at the diner. She was sassy and oh-so-funny. She died a few years back, way too young.

On her Rosie.com blog. Rosie O'Donnell writes of an experience involving people's change in behavior once they realize they are in the presence of a celebrity. Here is the entry:

shirley hemphill
from whats happening
was the first famous person i knew

she took me in her red corvette
to the movies while we were working
tiny stand up gigs
1985

a car cut in front of us
gave shirley the finger
beeped their horn
sped away cursing loud

silence in the car
as we approached the red light
she rolled down her window

well hello - she said
that famous voice

6 young black teens
on the way to the mall
went ballistic
SHIRLEY
SHIRLEY
I LOVE U GIRL !!!!

away we drove
dont forget that kid
i never did

yesterday
while shooting that dolphin video
i told a family filled boat
to call to them
they will come to u

and the adamant furious mom person
screamed
YEA AND THATS HOW U KILL THEM
no i told her - they have sonar
WHAT THE HELL DO U .....
HEY THATS ROSIE ODONNELL
she told her family
who turned their video cameras
away from the magic
to shoot me
looking stunned
as they all waved

2 days of sun
i believe in the light

The one and only Suzanne Somers was Larry King's guest for the full hour last week and Rosie O'Donnell was watching, according to her blog. Rosie writes:

suzanne somers can make even larry king likeable... all young hollywood starlets should be required to know her, to check in once a week face to face

...she moves me

************************

Here's my take: Suzanne is a real lesson in survival. The child of an abusive alcoholic, she has never been the best actress or singer or author but that hasn't stopped her from being a major star for more than 30 years. Sure, "Three's Company" launched her but what I find most interesting is her journey after she was fired in a salary dispute at the end of the fifth season.

She didn't hang her blonde head. She became the Las Vegas entertainer of the year in the mid-80s, did TV movies like "Hollywood Wives" and eventually landed another successful series ("Step By Step") which lasted eight seasons. You add in all the commercial endorsements (thighmaster, Somersize etc), the self-help books and the memoirs ("Keeping Secrets" and "After the Fall") and you have a true Hollywood survivor who stayed afloat by putting the work at the center of her fame.

Did hell just freeze over? Did you see pigs fly?

Rosie O'Donnell confirmed to People mag that she has made up with former on-air foe Elisabeth Hasselbeck with whom she famously clashed on "The View." Rosie, who guested again on FX's "Nip/Tuck" this week, even bought a baby gift for the politically and socially conservative Elisabeth who has gotten on my last good nerve way too many times.

On her way into the premiere of "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway, Ro said of Elisabeth's 2-month-old son Taylor Thomas: "He's very, very cute. I saw him on TV, and I sent him a lovely gift, and [she and Hasselbeck] have been e-mailing each other. And peace prevails."

Elisabeth returned to "The View" this week, bringing the baby - her second - along with her.

Rosie gave the baby gift a lot of thought: "I sent something for him and something for his big sister [Grace, 2] because, as the mother of four, I know that when the newborn arrives, the most important thing is a sibling gift. For [Taylor], it was a lot of clothes, because babies spit up a lot. I go to Baby Gap. There is a standard newborn gift pack - as much as you can buy at the Gap without being arrested. And a learning gift, a soft shape sorter. And then for [Grace] who is older, I got a tea set that she loves."

Rosie revealed that the two - whose final on-air fight is the stuff of legend - have stayed in touch: "We e-mail back and forth," she said. "She seems good. She looks like she adopted, like she didn't give birth. She looks perfectly fit and gorgeous already."