Caroline Rhea

Monday, September 02, 2002

By Patricia Sheridan, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Rosie O'Donnell has chosen Caroline Rhea to replace her as host of the Emmy Award-winning talk/variety show format she revived six years ago. "The Caroline Rhea Show" will showcase Rhea's candid, observational and self-deprecating humor, as well as explore the adventures of the average single in New York, with the introduction of the single guy and single girl segment. As a stand-up comic and television personality ("Hollywood Squares" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"), she looks forward to creating an amusing daytime experience for her audience. Rhea's debut locally will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow on WPXI.

Q. How hard is it going to be to follow Rosie?

A. If I think that every viewer is comparing me --then, you know, being the youngest child of two brilliant, pretty older sisters -- I may have a nervous breakdown. But if you think that it's going to be another fun, entertaining talk show with a couple of really nice twists, then I think you'll enjoy it.

Q. Rosie chose you, but was there anyone else she was considering for the job?

A. I was competing with (and I just found this out a month ago) Donny Osmond! I know, I'm like, yet another time when it's either me or Donny Osmond for a role. I was this close to getting "Joseph," let me tell ya. I happen to absolutely love him. He is a lovely guy.

Q. Will your mother be an occasional regular like David Letterman and his mom?

A. Absolutely. You know what, I talk to her everyday and I'm going to be very busy, so sometimes it's going to have to happen on camera. She has the most hilarious, brilliant advice. And she's pretty much the smartest person I know. She never says that someone is homosexual. She says, "Darling your friend Gary called, and I think the R is silent."

Q. Someone wanted me to ask you about dieting -- they informed me you are on a eternal diet?

A. Yeah, and so successfully. No, I did Weight Watchers religiously from August until November of last year and lost like 22 pounds. Then I had a very lovely winter in which I gained back 11, but I kind of enjoyed every pound of it. I did it with my fiance, and he lost like 20 pounds in a second. Men lose weight like this -- "I'm thinking of losing weight -- oh, look, I have!"

I'm actually training for the New York Marathon. It's so hilarious, I'm like a very active endomorph.

Q. What is the key to getting a celebrity to open up during an interview?

A. This is my newfound secret, which I'm going to share so it won't be a secret anymore -- just like the plans to get Saddam Hussein, which are printed in The New York Times every day. The longer you listen to someone and you are quiet, the more that comes out of them. [Extended silence follows, but it didn't exactly work for this interviewer.] In standup, you fill every second, because you are entertaining. In a conversation, it's different.

Q. Why did you go into stand-up comedy?

A. Since I was a child, I have felt complete comfort entertaining in front of a lot of people. It's like an addictive thing to do. After Sept. 11, I just thought I have the most worthless job. I didn't go on stage until the end of October, and this woman who had not left the house since Sept. 11 (she lost her husband on Sept. 11) was at my show. She came back stage and was like, "I'm so grateful to have a good laugh." She put value back into what I was doing.

Q. Do you write your own material?

A. Yes, and I write it for the show, which will be fun. I never worked with writers before. We want to do a lot of comedy that is not necessarily scripted.

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