11-02-10 - In NYC with Jimmy Fallon, Gary Dell'Abate and Molly Shannon!

In case you missed it...

IN THE NYC FISHBOWL, THE WWO FOUNDATION, AND WHAT TO WEAR
Rosie Radio began today with a fabulous introduction sung by some of the cast members from the Broadway show Promises, Promises!  Rosie loved the intro and thought it was fantastic.   She then introduced the singers who were Kristen Williams, Sarah Everman, Nikki Daniels and Margot De La Barre.  Rosie chatted with the singers about the various Broadway shows they've done and their dreams of starring on Broadway.  Rosie told them a funny story about when she starred as Rizzo in Grease on Broadway and a fellow actress fell into the pit during the hand jive!  She said all the other cast members kept going and covered for the actress but Rosie was so worried, she panicked and started screaming and crying!  Rosie loves the stars of the show Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes.  She said Kristin is "delicious, tiny and perfect" and Sean Hayes is like "a young Dick Van Dyke."  She thanked the performers for getting up so early and coming in for the show today and said she hopes to be back on Broadway herself one day!   

Last night Rosie went to Dr. Jane Aronson's World Wide Orphan Foundation charity event.  Mary-Louise Parker was at her table along with actor Kyle Maclachlan.   Mary-Louise Parker is on Rosie's girlfriend's list of celebrities she would like to have sex with should she ever have the opportunity!  So when Rosie went to her table with Tracy and saw her there it was quite exciting for Tracy!  Anderson Cooper accepted an award at last night's event where Seal provided the entertainment.

Before the event, Rosie went down the line of reporters and photographers to be interviewed with the hopes that someone would actually ask her about the cause that she was there supporting.  All the reporters asked her about was the recent news about Charlie Sheen and what she thought about Joy and Whoopi walking off The View.  Rosie gave her opinions on the topics and is sure that is all that's going to be on the entertainment news shows tonight.  She said the fact that 20,000 orphans die everyday in the world will be completely overlooked and all that will be talked about is her opinion on topics that don't matter.  She mentioned how much she loves Seal and how she loved the video he did with his wife Heidi Klum.   

When she was leaving the event she chatted with an elderly woman who was with her daughter.  Rosie introduced herself to the pair and the woman's daughter replied that she knew who she was and that she's seen her wear the outfit she was wearing at other charity events and really likes it.  Rosie thought this was a funny comment.  She always thinks no one gives a crap about what people wear.  Deirdre corrected her and said people give a crap!  She said there are television shows based on what you wear!  She assured Rosie that people notice those things.  Janette thought it was funny that the woman not only noticed but felt the need to point it out!  Regardless, Rosie said WWO is a great organization run by a wonderful woman and she was happy to report they raised about 1.3 million last night. 

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, JB RECLAIMS HER NEGATIVITY AND SPOT DROPS IN
Rosie then congratulated everyone on their one year anniversary for Rosie Radio!  She said it's hard to believe it's already been a year.  Janette said it went fast but at the same time it seems like so much has happened in the last year it seems longer to her.

Janette made a promise yesterday (after much pressure from Rosie) to try not to be so negative.  Rosie said she got so many responses on her blog that people like it when she's negative!  Janette felt unsure about the promise and said she doesn't want to try to be somebody she's not.  She's decided she's going to be the same "old bitch she always is."  She said in order to not be negative she'd have to stop talking and she doesn't really consider herself a negative person anyway!   

Just then, Spot from the Covino and Rich show stopped in to give the staff homemade brownies in celebration of their one year anniversary!  Rosie Radio and the Covino and Rich Show competed in the much contested Cupcake Decorating Contest earlier this year.  And Spot won!  Rosie told Spot she was very disappointed that he didn't enter the Martha Stewart Pumpkin Decorating Contest!  She told him that he was the guy they wanted to beat!  Spot explained he's not much of a pumpkin carver and more of a baker/decorator. 

JIMMY FALLON CALLS IN AND FAVORITE MOMENTS
Rosie then took a call from Jimmy Fallon who called to congratulate Rosie on her one year anniversary on radio!  Jimmy said he'll never forget when Rosie did his test show.  He said it is extremely hard to get any bookings for a new talk show and when he ran into her at the Simon and Garfunkel concert, she immediately offered to come in and do it!   Rosie once had a talk show too and said she knows that it's not easy booking guests when you're starting up a new show.  Then Rosie congratulated Jimmy because his show is "kicking butt" in the ratings.  And she told him he was hysterical when he hosted the Emmys.  She loved his opening number.  Jimmy said he knew if he could master that Bruce Springsteen number at the beginning the rest would be easy.  Rosie loved everything about how he hosted the show including how informal he made it.  Jimmy said you realize when you've been to those awards shows that the whole audience is really filled with people who lost that night.  He decided to make the Emmy's loose and fun for everyone.  He knew Neil Patrick Harris (who hosted the Emmy's the year before) killed and would be a tough act to follow too.   But he said when opportunity knocked he had to do it.  And the show Glee gave him a reason to do a big musical opening and still be topical.  Rosie told Jimmy she's so happy for him for all his success.  Deirdre said Jimmy wanted to come to the studio today instead of call in but he had a big photo-shoot scheduled.  Otherwise, he would have been there.

Rosie asked the staff what their favorite memories have been.  Deirdre said her all time favorite memory was the "fish oil moment."  How it happened was Rosie takes all her vitamins during the commercial breaks while she is broadcasting.  One of her vitamins, which she was sure was a Vitamin E capsule, broke open so she asked what she should do with it (while she was on the air).  Janette said she should rub it on her face because Vitamin E is really good for your skin.  So Rosie did!  Then she quickly realized (from the smell) that she had rubbed FISH OIL all over her face!  They re-aired the audio from that day.  After re-listening Rosie said she didn't realize  Janette was the one who suggested she rub it on her face!  Rosie said it's all Janette's fault!  Janette said if she's responsible for one of the funniest moments on their show ever, she'll take it.

Rosie said her favorite moment was Jeannie's singing on air singing lesson with Seth Rudetsky.  Jeannie had told Rosie that one of the things on her bucket list was to have a professional singing lesson.  When Seth Rudetsky was in the studio Rosie suggested (in front of Seth) that Jeannie live out her dream on air!  Jeannie was horrified but didn't want to be rude to Seth.  She took the singing lesson live on the air all while giving Rosie looks that could kill for making her do it.  Today in the studio when Rosie started to tell her favorite moment Jeannie shot Rosie looks that could kill and almost walked out of the studio.  She said she was leaving today if they played it again.  She got really mad.  Rosie said if Jeannie's eyes had shot bullets they all would be dead!  Rosie said that Brendan or Lou would play it later and Jeannie said she could take them down if she needed to.
They played the audio of the time that Pete sprayed Shady's tail green with livestock spray.  Rosie was interviewing Jo Frost (the Supernanny) and her squirrel Shady came up on the window ledge in the radio studio.  Pete surprised the squirrel and sprayed his tail green right in the middle of Rosie's interview!  He was laughing so hard Rosie kept having to tell him to calm down.  The entire staff laughed as they listened to the clip. 

Janette said for her it's hard to pick a favorite moment.  Mostly she cannot believe all the changes they've been through in the past year!  She said two babies will be born during their run, Janette quit smoking, and Rosie stopped picking her face.

PORTIA DE ROSSI AND PARKER PASSES WITH PRIDE
Rosie asked if the staff saw Portia de Rossi  on The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday.  Rosie Radio will be interviewing her on Thursday (11/4).  Portia went on Oprah and discussed her book Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain.  Rosie said the interview was really sad and hard to comprehend how much pain she was in.  But Rosie is relieved that Portia seems happy now. 

Rosie said her son Parker got a D- on a test recently.  She got a call from the teacher and then she asked Parker about it later that day.  She asked him what happened in Biology and he said at least he passed!  Rosie said he was accurate but she hoped he would have more pride about his grades. 

MOLLY SHANNON
Rosie then introduced Molly Shannon who was in the studio today!  Rosie told Molly she heard she's been kicking ass on Broadway in Promises, Promises!  Rosie was so happy Molly could make it in for the interview because she had to get up so early!   Molly explained she's used to getting up so early because she has a 5 (Nolan) and 7 (Stella) year old at home!  Molly, like Rosie, lost her mom as a child.  Molly was just 4 when her mom passed away.  Molly and Rosie discussed what it's like to raise kids as a mom when you grew up not having one. 

Molly said she loves motherhood.  She finds it deeply fulfilling and gratifying.  They're both being homeschooled right now while she's on Broadway.  Molly started her run in Promises, Promises in October and will finish in early January.

Molly said she is a regular listener of Rosie Radio and that she listens to the show all the time when she's in LA.   Rosie said she didn't know if she could do radio well because she never listened to it.  Molly told Rosie that she's very natural and very good at it. 

Rosie asked Molly about how it feels to do her first Broadway show with Kristin Chenoweth!  Molly loves it.  She and Kristin have been friends for years and that makes working together really nice.  Kristin has taught Molly all the tricks of the trade for keeping your voice in shape when you're singing on Broadway.  Molly said being on Broadway is really fun and reminds her of what acting is all about and not what it's like to be in Hollywood.  Molly also loves the fans and is so appreciative.  She and Rosie talked about how singing brings you so much joy.  Rosie said she is never happier then when she's doing a Broadway show.  Molly said being on Broadway is exhausting but she loves it.  She absolutely loves being in NYC and it's a dream come true for her.  Rosie promised Molly that she's coming to see her before her run is over.  Molly told her not to tell her which day she's coming or she'll get too nervous! 

Rosie asked Molly about how she learned the role in Promises, Promises.  Molly said she learned the part in LA in only three weeks.  She said they brought her to New York for only one week and then she went on!  She said she was terrified the first night that she'd forget her lines.  But she's got the part down now and she's having a great time!  And she loves being in NYC during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Molly said her husband is doing great and they're really happy and into being parents right now.  To Molly, acting is secondary to her.  She really loves being a mom.  Rosie and Molly talked about how being a mom can be healing for a child who grew up without a mother.  They also talked about how they had to fight to try not to relive their own stories of their childhood and be the mother they never had.  Molly said eventually she learned she can forge her own way as a parent and whatever happens it will be perfect.  Rosie said Nora Ephron once asked her why Rosie chooses her mother dying as the defining story of her life.  And more recently, her girlfriend Tracy asked her that same thing.  Tracy said to Rosie that she's had so many other life-defining experiences.  She asked her why she chooses to go back to the one that is so painful.  Rosie talked about how her mother dying really defined her entire life up until she was 40 years old and then she had to think what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

Molly relates to that feeling of something missing.  She said she always feels like there's something missing when she achieves something and then she realized it's because the one person she wanted to be there wasn't there.  Rosie said she was talking to her teenage daughter about self-esteem and Chelsea asked her how Rosie could possibly have low self-esteem when millions of people love her.  Rosie explained to her that being famous doesn't fix that.  Chelsea said it would be great for her if everyone liked her like that. 

Molly said her kids understand she's famous.  Molly doesn't mind if she gets recognized when she's by herself but she doesn't feel comfortable when her kids are with her.  She chooses not to take pictures with fans when her kids are with her so her kids don't feel left out.  Rosie said her son Parker has never minded that his mom is famous but it has bothered her other kids.   

Rosie and Molly discussed being on Saturday Night Live!  Molly really enjoyed her time on SNL and said she was with a great cast.  She doesn't miss the grind however and said being on the show is very tiring.  Rosie said when she was on SNL everyone was very grouchy and tired all the time.  Molly said it was a hard show to work on because you'd work very hard writing and planning out a skit only to find out at the last minute (sometimes literally as you were about to go on) that your skit had been cut.  

Molly loved it when Rosie hosted the show and how she demanded to work with all the women.  Rosie said she feels bad now that she refused to do Jim Breuer's "Goat Boy" skit.  She found out later that she really hurt his feelings and he was a big fan of hers.  Molly loved it how Rosie did her "Mary Katherine Gallagher" skit with her.  Rosie asked Molly how she came up with Mary Katherine Gallagher.  Molly said she isn't sure how she was so reckless and dangerous.  She said she looks back on that character and thinks it's lucky she didn't break her neck!  Rosie said Penny Marshall tells Rosie the same thing when she goes back and looks at the stunts she did when she was taping Laverne and Shirley.  Molly said her character Sally O'Malley is a character loosely based off her father and a woman she grew up with. 

Rosie said she cannot wait to see Molly in Promises, Promises because so many people have written to her and told her to go see Molly in it!  Molly thanked her for the compliment.  She said she went on Broadway.com and read some really mean things people were saying about her.  Then she thought, who cares if everyone doesn't like her in the role!  Rosie said she's learned that what you read on the Internet doesn't represent the people.  She said no one would ever come up to your face and say the things people say about you on the Internet. 

Molly said she could have a series "in the works" and she is in a new movie called Bad Teacher with Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake set to be released in 2011. 

Molly asked Rosie about her new television show coming out in fall of 2011 and whether or not she was excited to be coming back to TV.  Rosie told Molly all about the time when Oprah came to her house!  She said Oprah was at her house for about four hours and Oprah asked her why she wants to do it with the OWN network and not one of the big networks.  Rosie said because it's HER!  She's excited to go back and to work for Oprah.  She said it will be an hour long program about a single topic.  She said it won't be as celebrity driven and solely about celebrity promotion.  Rosie said she'd like it to be more like the radio and have a conversation with her guests about real issues and real people.  Rosie said she's hoping they can still do the radio show too!  She said the radio allows her to be more authentic perhaps because there is no visual distraction.  She hopes to bring the authentic feeling of radio with her when she moves to television too. 
Molly said she likes that Rosie runs her own ship.  Rosie said that's because life's too short.  When she did The View she realized she didn't want to argue with a pregnant girl for a living and so she left.  She said it wasn't a big drama, she just didn't want to participate anymore.  Molly said Rosie was great on SNL too and was fearless!  She said she knew exactly what she wanted and Molly loved that about her.  Rosie said that's because she's made the rules up her whole life because she grew up without parents.

Molly mentioned Rosie's interview with Howard Stern about a year ago.  Rosie said for years, Howard used to bash her.  Then she got married to Kelli and Howard started to change his tune about her.  Rosie said she always respected Howard and the way he stood up to the FCC.  She knew when she went on his program that the only thing Howard responds to is the truth so she decided if she was going to be on it she would be nothing but truthful.  Thanks to Howard, Rosie is on the radio and now going back to TV!   

Rosie thanked Molly for doing the interview and for coming in.  She wished her success in Promises, Promises and told her she was going to come see her in it!  Rosie then invited listeners to call in, because they were giving away two tickets to see Molly on Broadway!

MORE FAVORITE MOMENTS
Rosie Radio then played the audio from the day that Janette chugged a beer on the air!  Janette had bragged that she could chug a beer in 9 seconds and Rosie didn't believe her.  So the next day she brought in a beer and did it on the air!  Janette admitted she got a little drunk that day!  That was also the day they tried the drink Chelada.

Janette then recalled some of the other major life changes that have happened to the staff since the radio started a year ago.  She said Lou got a girlfriend.  And Deirdre lost weight, blew out her knee and got rid of her boyfriend.  Janette said that Pete got a Death Star.   He said it took him 16 hours over 3 days to complete it.  As soon as he completed it, Pete said he wanted to take it apart and put it back together again. He said he has a couple of minor quibbles with overall design but that it is mostly awesome.

Rosie wasn't going to mention it, because Pete just had a new baby, but she finally asked Pete why his shirt was so wrinkly!  Deirdre said she couldn't see anything else but his shirt!  Pete ignored them and gave a baby update.  He said his new little girl Ellie is two weeks old today and is now weighing in at 4 pounds 13 ounces!  

Rosie Radio then played the clip of Jeannie's singing lesson with Seth Rudetsky!

Then they played the clip of when Ozzy Osbourne stopped by the Rosie Radio studio when she was interviewing Howard Stern.

GARY DELL'ABATE

Rosie then introduced Gary Dell'Abate (AKA Baba Booey), the Executive Director of The Howard Stern Show.  Rosie welcomed him on the show and asked him how he got the nickname Baba Booey.  Gary explained that about 15 years ago he mentioned that he was thinking of purchasing some animation art of the cartoon character Baba Looey.  Only he misspoke and referred to the character as Baba Booey.  Howard took it and ran with it and the rest is history!    That was 15 years ago and now its become a Howard Stern fan call out to each other!  Rosie and Gary talked about the time a Howard Stern fan got on with Peter Jennings when he was covering the OJ Simpson car chase!   Gary said it's become a part of pop culture and the phrase has been on 30 Rock, SNL and even The Simpsons!

Gary said that the staff on The Howard Stern Show likes to ridicule any error he makes.  Rosie asked him about the time he threw out an opening pitch at CitiField.  Gary said he's always been a huge Mets fan and in 2006 he got a chance to throw out the opening pitch.  He did it and it went fine.  Then they asked him to do it again at CitiField. He doesn't know why but he got all worked up that time and even started training for the big day!  He was so nervous before the pitch he was dry-heaving on the side of the field.  He said he then proceeded to throw out the "worst first pitch by a straight man in the history of baseball."    He knew it was really bad when he hit the umpire in the mask who was 10 feet to the side of first base!  Gary said the entire event was traumatizing.


Rosie told Gary that she loves his new book entitled They Call Me Baba Booey.  She said she was surprised to read that his mom suffered from mental illness and had electroshock therapy when he was a child.   Gary explained that he didn't know what was going on at the time but when he got older his father explained to him that his mom was sick, but not sick with an illness, she was sick in her brain.  And his father assured Gary that it wasn't his fault.  Gary said when he told that story to Howard, Howard said that his father saved his life by telling him that!  He said so many kids blame their parent's problems on themselves.  

Rosie said when she was on The Howard Stern Show she talked with Howard about how he used to try to make his mom happy because she was sad a lot.  Gary said his mom struggled, went to a shrink and self-medicated with the prescriptions she was given by doctors.  She would also save all the pill bottles and try to have them refilled at the pharmacy.  After his mom was put into a home Gary went to her house and threw away what had to be 200 pill bottles!  He said it felt great to finally do that.

But Gary's mom tried to protect him too and this had nothing to do with her mental illness, only with her being a strong Long Island housewife.  He told Rosie a story about a kid who lived next door who used to beat the crap out of him.  His mother had enough so she took him next door to reason with the boy's mother.  The boy's mother wouldn't be reasonable so they started pushing each other.  Eventually she reached down and ripped out her flowers and started hitting the woman in the head with the flower roots!  The police were called and they put his mother in the back of the police car.  He was about 10 years old at the time. 

And one time his mother called Howard's mother!  He also doesn't blame that on her mental illness.  He said that was just his mom trying to stick up for him.  Gary explained the story.  He said on The Howard Stern Show they used to make fun of him relentlessly for his teeth.  One day, Howard was giving it to him pretty good about his teeth.  He had been with Howard for 17 years at the time.  Later that night he got a phone call from Howard.  He said they talk all the time at work but it wasn't that often that Howard would call him at home.  Howard kept apologizing for making fun of his teeth so badly on the air.  Gary had no problem with it and after pushing, found out that his mother had called Howard's mother because she was so upset!  Gary was furious and told Howard tomorrow to get on the air and give it to him twice as bad as he gave it to him today!  He then called his mother and said "You're calling my boss' mother?!  Are you kidding me?!" 

Rosie said that Kelli's parents once called her publicist because of something Rosie had said about them in the public.  She said that it's surprising when that happens to you as an adult?!  Gary said the only worse thing is when a person doesn't hear the story themselves and they hear it from a friend and it gets all distorted.  Rosie asked Gary if he's ever regretted saying anything on the air?  He said no but he has regretted doing something.  Howard would often play "butt bongo" with various guests where he would play bongos on a woman's butt as she laid across his lap.  One day he didn't want to do it so he asked Gary to do it.  He kept calling his wife and she was acting very cold and distant and he didn't even understand why!  Eventually he got home and she kept giving him the cold shoulder.  Then it dawned on him that her reaction was over the segment where he smacked a stranger's butt!
They Call Me Baba Booey is available today!  Rosie said it is a beautiful read.  She didn't know that his brother was gay and had died of AIDS in 1991.  Gary said it used to be such a stigma to be gay.  And AIDS was a very scary thing and no one had ever survived AIDS.  Gary knew his brother was gay and lived in New York but was not prepared when he found out he had AIDS.  He said he lived for a long time in denial about it until he really started to look sick.  Gary knew his brother was going to die because no one had ever lived through it.  Gary said his brother never even told him he was gay.  He just figured it out when he took him to see Sylvester and Gary looked around and realized he was the only straight person in the audience.  Gary said he still thinks about his brother every single day and has worked with the organization LifeBeat for 16 years to help fight AIDS and raise awareness.   He said any time he's tired, or feels like he can't do something he remembers his brother.  

Rosie asked Gary how he met Howard.  Gary went to Adelphi in Long Island and majored in Communications.  Then he met a guy at NBC who told him about a job opening.  While he was at NBC he heard about a new radio guy named Howard Stern.  Imus was the big star of the station at the time but this new guy in the afternoon named Howard was supposedly crazy and funny and a good guy to work with.  He was looking for a job at the time and they had an opening. He still remembers, at the time, thinking if he could only get one year out of that job he could use that year's experience and get another job from it.

Rosie said that Deirdre threw Gary's book across the table when she heard how much money he makes.  Gary said he does very well but he does NOT make 15 million a year like some website is claiming he makes.  He said not to believe that.

Rosie quickly asked Gary what was the craziest thing he ever did on the show.  Gary said it was the time a porn star was on the show and "something happened" and he got hit in the eye with "it."  He said it was like someone threw a bucket of water on him.  He ran to the bathroom to wash out his eye because he literally didn't see it "coming."  LITERALLY. 

Rosie loved Gary's book and told him he should be proud of it because she knows writing a book is not easy.  He said as soon as he was done with it he told his publisher (or the radio station, I'm not sure) that he wanted to go on Rosie's radio show to promote it.  He said he knew this was the place he wanted to be interviewed about it and she was the one he wanted to ask the questions.  Rosie recommended that her listeners go buy Gary's book!  

Rosie closed the show wishing them a Happy One Year Anniversary!

and that's what you missed - kw