HER publicist gave me 20 minutes.
So I slapped my Pillsbury Doughboy kitchen timer down on the tabletop and commenced an interview with Ellen Degeneres, whose new daytime talk show premieres next Monday at 10 a.m. on Ch. 4.
Here’s what I found out:
Ellen hasn’t seen “Seabiscuit” or read the book. (“Have you?” she asked me. No, I admitted.)
She doesn’t watch “Jeopardy!” (so I couldn’t ask her my planned question on how well she does when she plays along at home).
She’s crazy about ping-pong.
Bob Newhart is her favorite comedian.
Her favorite movie is “Tootsie.”
She said she likes watching “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” “Trading Spaces” and “While You Were Out.”
She’s a fan of HGTV.
She’s an architecture buff who has lived in several different houses just to experience their architecture.
Ellen’s birthday is Jan. 26, 1958.
She’s an Aquarius who says of her sign, “It’s a water sign. I think it means I like water. I like to drink it and swim in it.”
Before she was successful as a standup comic, she shucked oysters, waited tables, painted houses, worked as an employment counselor and sold Hoover vacuum cleaners.
She’s originally from New Orleans, but her family moved around a lot.
Her ex-boyfriend from high school was elected mayor of Queen City, Texas, pop. 1,748.
After 20-or-so years touring as a standup comedian, acting in about a half-dozen movies and headlining two network sitcoms (in addition to co-starring on two others), Ellen believes she has finally landed her dream job.
“To me, it’s just everything that I enjoy doing,” she said of “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” which will originate from Los Angeles.
“It’s talking to people, getting to think on my feet, meeting interesting people, being funny when certain situations arise and also not having to be funny so I can be myself.”
The new show will feature Ellen in conversation with both celebrity guests and ordinary people with extraordinary talents or stories to tell.
Music acts will also be featured. Macy Gray is booked for the first show, along with Jennifer Aniston.
Ellen, 45, has high hopes for a long run in daytime. She declares that her touring days are over, and she doubts she’ll ever agree to another sitcom.
“My goal is to host this talk show for 15 years and probably that would be the last thing I do,” she says.
When the Doughboy’s bell rang, the interview was over. I hadn’t even asked her about the drama of 1997, when she came out of the closet on her ABC sitcom and landed on the cover of Time magazine declaring, “Yep, I’m gay!”
Six years ago, being gay on TV was a big deal. Today, it’s not.
Ellen never brought it up and neither did I.
I think it’s accurate to conclude we’ve all moved on.
