Home Television Television-related Interviews USTownhall RealStories presents ROSIE O'DONNELL
USTownhall RealStories presents ROSIE O'DONNELL
Written by Scott Katz   
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 12:49

NUP_142695_0046_resizeOn Monday, February 7, we spoke to Rosie O'Donnell who is promoting her upcoming appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, a television series that traces the ancestry of a different celebrity guest each episode.  The series is executive produced by Lisa Kudrow, whom fans will remember for her role on the long-running sitcom, FriendsWho Do You Think You Are? is adapted from the BBC series of the same name, and the American version has recently returned to the airwaves for a second season, which will consist of eight episodes.  The full list of guests to be profiled this season are: Vanessa WIlliams, Tim McGraw, Rosie O'Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Lionel Richie.

 

USTOWNHALL SPEAKS TO ROSIE O'DONNELL:

 

USTH: Before we talk about your episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, I'm curious about whether any of your children have been bitten by the acting bug, and if so, what advice would you give them?

ROSIE O'DONNELL: None of my kids have been bitten by the acting bug. Although, I tried to be a stage mother and force them; it didn't work. None of them are really into it.

 

USTH: Regarding the research that was done into your ancestry for Who Do You Think You Are?,do you feel that you learned all that you needed to about your mother's family, or are there any more unanswered questions that you will be researching on your own?

ROSIE O'DONNELL: I would like to know more about who [my mother] was as an adult woman. We found out a lot about her childhood. I think research-wise we've done everything that we could.

But, I've been lately trying to find people who knew her, who went to school with her, who knew her in college or in secretarial school, and try to find out who she was as a grown woman. That's just for my own kind of personal journey of meeting and introducing myself to the woman that my mother was, instead of the child version of the mommy.

And as far as the show goes, I think that they uncovered every stone. You know, there was nothing left to find out, and it is a show about ancestors, so we went back. I did find out stuff about my grandfather, who I never knew, and didn't anything about his family, and so it was pretty surprising stuff that I found out.

But as far as my mother goes, [I want] to find out more about her as a person. I don't think it's necessarily ancestral research. It's more going to find her friends, and seeing if they'll have lunch with me.

 

USTH: You've always put yourself out there as a fan of celebrities and TV and movies.  So, I'm curious to know, which celebrity would you be interested to see profiled on Who Do You Think You Are? and why?

ROSIE O'DONNELL: I'd say Natasha Lyonne. I got to know her about two years ago doing Love, Loss, and What I Wore, Nora Ephron's Broadway show. I really did not know anything about her. I had not seen any of her movies, [but] since getting to know her, I find her to be one of the smartest women I've ever met. She's only 31 years old.

She has an amazing story about her grandparents being in the Holocaust and what that was like for them. Her grandmother and her sister both survived Auschwitz – her grandmother and her grandmother's sister. And so, Natasha was raised by a child of a Holocaust survivor and the ramifications of that. And I think it's a pretty fascinating story and I would love to be able to see her tale told on that show.

 

USTH: You've always said that you stepped away from acting because you wanted to raise your kids properly and spend a lot of time with them. But now that your kids are older, do you envision yourself getting back into the acting business full-time whether it be a weekly sitcom or doing more movies? Are there any acting projects coming up from you in the near future that we should know about?

ROSIE O'DONNELL: Well, I would love to, but acting roles for women who are 50 and older are hard to come by, and they're hard to come by for Kathy Bates and Meryl Streep and Susan Sarandon. So, I don't have any illusions about the desire for me to run back and get these huge parts that are simply waiting. There really aren't any parts like that.

And I am going back on television on the Oprah Winfrey Network starting in September doing a talk show very similar to the one that she had, moreso than the one that I used to have, where we'll do single topics and one hour delving into social issues and Broadway shows and some celebrities and books and movies and documentaries. But it won't be four or five celebrities an hour bringing them through promoting something.

It will be much more single topic oriented. So, I don't know. I think that when I get to be in my 60's there will probably be a lot of roles for me as the grandmother or older mother of the Geraldine Page kind of Trip to Bountiful sort of roles. And that's what I think I'm waiting for.

So until then, if they need me for anything they'll call. I'm there, but if not, I'm going to be doing TV for the Oprah Winfrey Network.

 

USTH: Our thanks to Rosie O'Donnell for speaking with us today.  Who Do You Think You Are? airs Friday nights at 8pm Eastern on NBC, and Ms. O'Donnell's episode will air February 18, 2011.

 

 

 

MORE INTERVIEWS...

  

the-apprentice-logo-thumb UslanMichael-resize-thumb 30-rock-thumb agnes-nixon-thumb BenSpierman-thumb big-brother-logo-thumb bobby-flay-thumb Bridgeboy-logo-thumb
cast of The Apprentice 10

BATMAN film producer MICHAEL USLAN

Sherri Shepherd

Vanessa Minnillo

All My Children creator AGNES NIXON

Bronx Opera's BEN SPIERMAN

cast of Big Brother 12 BOBBY FLAY & STEVE ELLS of America's Next Great Restaurant Cast of the play Bridgeboy
bruce-canwell-thumb chuck-thumb crystal-chappell-thumb dan-kroll-thumb dan-parent-thumb david-lyons-thumb debbie-gibson-tiffany-thumb dede-emerson-thumb
Library of American Comics' BRUCE CANWELL RYAN McPARTLIN & SARAH LANCASTER

CRYSTAL CHAPPELL

part 1: Guiding Light

part 2: Days of Our Lives

soapcentral.com founder DAN KROLL DAN PARENT of Archie Comics DAVID LYONS of The Cape DEBBIE GIBSON & TIFFANY Author DEDE EMERSON of A Different Kind of Streetwalker
dowling_jpeg-thumb eliana-ujueta-thumb jamal-igle-thumb Jay-Mary-thumb jeremy-irons-thumb jerry-beck-thumb josh-groban-thumb kai-soremekun-thumb
BOB DOWLING of the 3D Entertainment Summit Indie filmmaker ELIANA UJUETA of Beneath the Rock comic book artist JAMAL IGLE Genesis Repertory's JAY MICHAELS, MARY MiCARI, & actors Oscar-winning actor JEREMY IRONS

Animation historian JERRY BECK

1st interview

2nd interview

singer-songwriter JOSH GROBAN

web series producer KAI SOREMEKUN of Chick

1st interview

2nd interview

kathy-bates-thumb kenneth-johnson-thumb kyle-bornheimer-thumb law-and-order-los-angeles-thumb logo-thumb luann-de-lesseps-thumb max-thumb mike-miz-thumb
Oscar-winning actress KATHY BATES of Harry's Law Television producer KENNETH JOHNSON of V, Bionic Woman, Incredible Hulk KYLE BORNHEIMER & HAYES MacARTHUR of Perfect Couples

Terrence Howard, René Balcer

Dick Wolf, Alfred Molina, Alana de la Garza

publisher DAN HERMAN of Hermes Press COUNTESS LuANN de LESSEPS of The Real Housewives of New York City author MAX ALLAN COLLINS of Road to Perdition WWE Champion Mike "The MIz" Mizanin
MillCreeklogo-thumb nick-lachey-thumb niki-taylor-thumb paul-reiser-thumb ricky-gervais-thumb rosie-odonnell-thumb steve-niles-thumb the-event-cast-logo-thumb

JEFF HAYNE of Mill Creek Entertainment

1st interview

2nd interview

singer-actor NICK LACHEY supermodel NIKI TAYLOR talks The Celebrity Apprentice actor PAUL REISER of The Paul Reiser Show actor-producer RICKY GERVAIS of The Office actress-television host ROSIE O'DONNELL comic book writer STEVE NILES

Ian Anthony Dale, Nick Wauters

Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Blair Underwood, Željko Ivanek

thore-jo-thumb tom-brokaw-thumb tom-pelphrey-thumb apothecary-theatre-thumb tori-spelling-thumb
THORE SCHÖLERMANN & JO WEIL of Verbotene Liebe Peabody & Emmy award winning journalist TOM BROKAW Emmy award winning actor TOM PELPHREY of Guiding Light actors from The Apothecary Theatre Company TORI SPELLING & DEAN McDERMOTT of sTORIbook Weddings

 

 

MORE FEATURES... 

 

Reviews & Previews:

Summer 2011 Movie Preview

Fall 2010 Television season

Fra Diavolo

Die Drei Pintos

Romeo and Juliet in Brooklyn

MPI Home Video

Timless Media Group

Boris Karloff's Thriller

Hunter: The Complete Series

Polly and Her Pals

Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee

Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman

Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern

Spider-Man musical delayed again

Frozen

Dead Space: Aftermath

Altitude

 

 

    

Events:

New York Comic Con

Apprentice 10 kickoff

Farewell to Guiding Light

Farewell to As the World Turns

The Broadway Directory

 

Award Show winners:

Academy Awards

Emmy Awards

Grammy Awards

Tony Awards

American Music Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

American Country Awards

 

    

Television blogs:

American Idol 10

American Idol 9

American Idol 8

Big Brother 12

Big Brother 11

ABC Cancels Both All My Children and One Life to Live

Guiding Light: A Look Back

 

Editorials & Issues:

Scam Alert: Have You Received This E-Mail Job Offer?

Meet the 112th Congress

Brooklyn politicians Kevin Peter Carroll vs. Ralph Perfetto

Before Rosa Parks There Was Lizzie Jennings

Understanding New York State Government

USTownhall RoundTable podcast: The Worlds of Entertainment and Current Events