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Heavy Metal TV Mom Sharon Osbourne Says Cancer Has Spread

Aired July 19, 2002 - 11:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Heavy metal TV mom Sharon Osbourne says that her cancer has spread. Osbourne tells "People" magazine that she's going to be starting chemo in a few days. Her illness is going to become part of a storyline on MTV's very popular show "The Osbournes." After all, it is reality TV.

Todd Gold is a senior editor at "People" magazine, and he joins us this morning from Los Angeles to talk about Sharon Osbourne.

And, Todd, good morning to you. Thanks for getting up nice and early out there.

As I understand it, you actually sat down and talked with her about this for a while.

TODD GOLD, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: I sure did.

HARRIS: Tell me, what was that like, and how did she seem to be holding up?

GOLD: She was doing great. It surprised me how well she was doing, very upbeat, extraordinarily courageous, and sharing her battle so soon after the discovery of the cancer. And it was really touching and emotional, because it's a portrait of, despite the Osbourne's wackiness, how devoted she and Ozzie an the family are to each other.

HARRIS: Speaking of wackiness, I have to think this will change some f of that in the show, don't you think?

GOLD: I don't know. As serious as Sharon gets and as serious as Ozzie gets, their irrepressible sense of humor, you know, surfaces at all times. So, yes, it's very serious, but according to Sharon, she is really living life to the fullest each day, and that's her message. You know, there is no moping around Sharon Osbourne.

HARRIS: You know what, I don't I have seen anyone go through chemo treatment publicly. I mean, that's the kind of thing you and your family, really, you rally around each other and you go behind closed doors and that sort of thing, and she's going to doing this in front of the camera the entire time?

GOLD: Yes, I think it intrigues her. It is kind of a remarkable journey, and remarkable she is willing to share it with the public. And if we think about, you know, how aware the public is suddenly become in the past year of colon cancer, you know, it's going to be -- it's going to multiply even more. And she, by sharing this, is really going to save lives, and I think she is really intrigued by that.

HARRIS: How did Ozzie and the kids take it, though?

GOLD: They were devastated at first, The whole family was in shock. Sharon and the kids were in New York when she found out, and they cried. They flew back to L.A. immediately. Ozzie was at home alone. And knowing how dependent he is, you can only imagine how he fell apart. He had to be sedated.

HARRIS: No kidding?

GOLD: Yes, but he came through, he bucked up, and found the courage to be a real pillar of strength to Sharon, who's always been his strength, and they -- you know, they spent the first night together just laying if bed holding each other before her doctor's appointment. And then a few days later, a few days after her surgery, early last week, she finally pushed Ozzie back out on to the road, and told him to get back to work, same with her daughter, Kelly, and life had to go on as normal. She wasn't dying. She was in fact living.

HARRIS: This is absolutely amazing to think about this unfolding in front of the camera. You know, other thing is, as I understand it, she found out only because Ozzie forced her, and because he had had a colonoscopy and he just made her go, and she found it almost totally by accident here?

GOLD: Pure chance. And really, Ozzie did save her life. He -- Ozzie is a hypochondriac, one of those closet hypochondriacs, and he takes physicals every couple of months. They found that he'd had a colonoscopy two weeks before they found Sharon's, and he -- they found two polyps in Ozzie. He had them removed. They were benign. And he just got the scare of his life, and then pushed Sharon into seeing the doctor, something she hadn't done for years. An lo and behold, they found cancer. She had been feeling just fine before that.

It's amazing, like this hole story. It is -- whatever you think about the Osbournes, you find out something new in this story.

HARRIS: That's amazing. And the other thing about this, too, is she actually will probably save lives by having this experience in the open like this.

What I'm wondering, is you've known her for a long time, and you obviously know the family then this. This has to, in some way, change the dynamics in the way this family has been growing up together and communicating with each other, don't you think?

GOLD: I think it'll change it slightly. It'll deepen the relationships which are already deep. I mean, the really marvelous thing about this show is that the Osbournes are a rock 'n' rollers. They are very different than the average family. But the reason we like this show, is that at the core, the family loves each other. The center of all the action is the kitchen. They talk before they go to sleep. They really, really are devoted to each other. Ozzie and Sharon celebrated their 20th anniversary.

HARRIS: Twenty years?

GOLD: You really can't say they celebrated. They marked their 20th anniversary, the day after her surgery. She was moved to ICU. It was terrible. But, yes, they've been together 20 years.

HARRIS: In this business, that's incredible.

GOLD: It is. As Ozzie told us, his world is Sharon and Ozzie. It is not just Ozzie; it is not Sharon. It's really a partnership.

HARRIS: And I don't know how to ask this in a delicate way, but I'm going to just come right out with it. Have you talked with anyone from MTV? I have to think that they must be thinking they can smell a big ratings winner here.

GOLD: You know, MTV -- this was news to MTV. When they read our story, they found out that Sharon was thinking of opening up her chemo to their cameras. Prior it that, they had no idea. Their out right now filming Ozzie and Kelly on the road. Sharon has been at home preparing for chemo. But, yes, they are excited. This is a big show. And it's going to take it to a whole other level.

HARRIS: And as we said before, if nothing else, this will open some eyes and maybe educate people out there as well, too.

Todd Gold, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

GOLD: Thanks for having me on.

HARRIS: And congratulations on a very interesting piece there in "People" magazine.

GOLD: Thanks.

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