Article published November 18, 2009
Talk is cheap: DeGeneres' job is harder than it looks
By GREG BRAXTON
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Magic Johnson, Queen Latifah, Martin Short, John McEnroe, Megan Mullally, Whoopi Goldberg, and Tony Danza have a common talking point. When it came to hosting a television talk show, they walked the walk, but could not talk the talk.
A crew of top comedians - George Lopez, Wanda Sykes, and Mo'Nique - have just launched talk shows, venturing into a near-saturated field that includes David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, and the struggling Jay Leno. But as the three newcomers attempt to establish their own foothold, they have another goal - avoiding the missteps of previous popular entertainers and sports figures who flopped in making the transition to hosting a gabfest.
The "talk of shame" list includes Roseanne Barr, Michael Eisner, Chevy Chase, Joan Rivers, Lauren Hutton, D.L. Hughley, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Tempestt Bledsoe of The Cosby Show, and Sinbad. For many of the accomplished stars, it was a career low point. Memories of Chase's highly touted but disastrous bid haunt him so much that he refuses to discuss it.
Despite the stream of failures, programmers and celebrities are still drawn to the format. Shows are relatively inexpensive to produce, and comedians such as Leno, Letterman, Arsenio Hall, Craig Ferguson, and Ellen DeGeneres make it look almost effortless.
"For the most part, celebrities see how other hosts do this, not realizing how it's incredibly hard to do," said Mort Marcus, a co-president of Debmar-Mercury Co., a production and distribution company involved with several series, including The Wendy Williams Show, a talk show featuring the New York radio personality that had struggled early but has been gaining momentum. (Her syndicated show airs during the day on Fox and during the evening on BET.)
Added Debmar-Mercury Co-President Ira Bernstein: "It takes a real specific skill set. The good ones make it look easy."One restriction is the generic nature of the format, which demands various elements - a monologue, couches or chairs, a live band and banter between the bandleader and host, and taped audience participation bits. But more significant - and harder to handle for novice hosts - is their spontaneous nature.
"Doing a live talk show is to work without a script, which is really tricky," said one prominent entertainment publicist who asked not to be identified because many of her clients are booked on talk shows. "Just look at awards shows. You can make preparations for the monologue and give guests a sense of what is going to be asked, but there have to be other things that have to work if those things don't jell. Doing all the preparation and pretaping won't work if you're not able to work with the moment."
Rick Feldman, president of the National Association of Television Programming Executives, said several factors - the right host, writing and producing expertise, a bit of luck - must be in place for a talk show to catch on: "Sometimes it's just a bad idea, and other times, it's a good idea that is executed badly, marketed badly, or airs on the wrong station."
He pointed to Johnson's ill-fated The Magic Hour on Fox, which premiered in June, 1998, as a prime example of what can go wrong with a popular celebrity who ventures out of his comfort zone to host a talk show. Although the basketball legend was praised for his energy and charisma, critics blasted him for his colloquial speech and lack of comic timing.
"Fundamentally, a talk show hosted by Magic Johnson was not a good idea," Feldman said. "Magic is wonderful, but that kind of thing is not what he does for a living."
For many failed talk-show hosts, their stumbles are mostly a minor blemish on their resumes. Johnson is a successful businessman and commercial spokesman, and he is as popular as ever. Others are not as fortunate: Although Chase has found some success with NBC's Community, his talk show is still a sore subject.
The show instantly got off on the wrong foot. Chase appeared uncomfortable, ill-prepared, and, at one point, terrified. Wrote then-Los Angeles Times TV Columnist Howard Rosenberg: "There's bad and there's BAD!" The ratings kept dipping, and the show could not attract name guests. In October, 1993, the network pulled the plug.
Chase ultimately had the last word. In a statement, he said, "I'm very proud of the comedic elements that we were able to intersperse throughout the otherwise very constraining format."
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