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Joy Behar Page
Interview with Donny and Marie Osmond; Interview with Barry Manilow
Aired December 19, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOY BEHAR, HOST: As members of one of the most successful showbiz families in history, they made their mark in music, theater and variety shows and even hosted a daytime talk show.
They`re together now again, for the first time and they`re doing an album -- first album in 30 years. it`s called "Donny and Marie". How did they ever come up with that title?
DONNY OSMOND, SINGER: We paid a lot of money to focus groups to come up with that name.
MARIE OSMOND, SINGER: Actually I chose all the songs and gave him the job of, you know, coming up with the name.
D. OSMOND: Spit it out, Marie.
M. OSMOND: Donny and Marie. Took him, you know, about six months. But he was clever.
D. OSMOND: That is not true at all, at all. I chose all the songs.
BEHAR: You can call it, you know, Abbott and Costello, or something.
D. OSMOND: Guess what? We just found out we`re number three on the country charts.
M. OSMOND: Oh, I know.
D. OSMOND: I just found that out before we went on the air. Isn`t that so cool?
BEHAR: I heard. I heard about that. I`m telling you.
D. OSMOND: The last time we were on the charts was like 1847 or something like that.
M. OSMOND: I think so. Yes. No, but it`s called good life. We were saying, we`re living the good life. We`re very happy.
BEHAR: And why so long, 30 years?
D. OSMOND: Well, I had to get her to stop playing with dolls.
M. OSMOND: Had to get him to grow up.
D. OSMOND: Seriously, Joy, there really wasn`t --
BEHAR: Yes. What?
M. OSMOND: We were --
D. OSMOND: There was really no reason because we had our own separate careers and then this anomaly took place in Las Vegas and, you know, we had a six-week deal. Here we are three years later.
BEHAR: But you`re hot again.
D. OSMOND: It`s unbelievable, Joy.
M. OSMOND: I like this set. It is hot.
BEHAR: I was reading somewhere that some PR person told you that to reinvent your career, Donny, you should say that you have some kind of addiction. Is that true?
D. OSMOND: What do you think? What would happen if I did?
BEHAR: You would say no to that.
D. OSMOND: But would it work?
BEHAR: Would people believe that you were an addict?
D. OSMOND: Would it be a good PR stunt?
BEHAR: Well, it works for so many people?
D. OSMOND: Exactly. But what would happen years later? How would I talk to my kids? Dad, did you really do that?
BEHAR: No, you could tell your kids it was just a PR stunt.
D. OSMOND: I don`t play that --
D. OSMOND: I`m glad you`re not my PR lady. Let me tell you.
M. OSMOND: This is a thinking woman.
BEHAR: And then another thing, maybe this is true of you -- Michael Jackson said that you should change your name?
D. OSMOND: He did. Yes.
BEHAR: To what?
D. OSMOND: To Ralph Schwartz. Actually, I said he should change his clothes and -- never mind. Never mind. No, that was a joke.
BEHAR: I mean, these are the kinds of things that people need to know out there. As a celebrity you get this type of advice all the time. And you have to make your own decisions.
D. OSMOND: You`ve got to be true to yourself, Joy. You know that. I mean everybody`s got an opinion. Everybody says you should do this, you should do that. We`re victims of that. But you know? We stand true.
M. OSMOND: I don`t think victim is the right word.
D. OSMOND: Well, that`s the wrong word, excuse me. We are recipients of that kind of advice, and then you just have to say I`ve got to look at myself in the mirror in the morning. I`ve got to like that person. You got to be true to yourself and that`s what we`ve done.
BEHAR: Yes. It`s like Osama bin Laden, had to look at himself in the mirror all the time. You notice you see all these things, how he`s always looking in the mirror.
D. OSMOND: Yes. He`s not doing that much anymore.
M. OSMOND: So, how are we out there?
BEHAR: So, Marie, darling, you got married again.
M. OSMOND: I did.
BEHAR: Congratulations.
M. OSMOND: Thank you.
BEHAR: Now, this guy, let me just see if I understand it. You were married to him, many, many moons ago.
M. OSMOND: I was.
BEHAR: And you had a kid with him.
M. OSMOND: Yes, I did.
BEHAR: The child -- you got divorced. Is that allowed in Mormonism to get divorced?
M. OSMOND: It better be. I`ve been divorced a couple of times.
BEHAR: Because, you know, the Catholics don`t allow it. I don`t know if the Mormons --
(CROSSTALK)
D. OSMOND: And what do the Catholics do?
M. OSMOND: I think they do.
BEHAR: They do it anyway.
M. OSMOND: Well, what you`re saying is in our faith we get married in the temple, which is not death do us part, it`s an eternal commitment. And so, you know, in order to receive a temple divorce, there has to be, you know, legit reasons and have it be very --
BEHAR: So what were the reasons? You want to tell me?
M. OSMOND: Not really.
BEHAR: OK. That`s fine. You can say whatever you want. But you had a child. Did you get custody of the child?
M. OSMOND: Well, he`s 28 now.
BEHAR: But he stayed with you, the baby, the boy?
M. OSMOND: Well, I mean, we shared in visitation and things like that. Yes.
BEHAR: OK. So, now, you`re done with that marriage for whatever reason.
M. OSMOND: Oh, you`re talking about the second one?
D. OSMOND: No, the first one.
M. OSMOND: Oh, yes.
BEHAR: What is his name?
M. OSMOND: Steve. Same as your Steve.
BEHAR: Same as mine.
M. OSMOND: Yes.
BEHAR: So then you get married to somebody else.
M. OSMOND: I did.
BEHAR: You had a couple of kids.
M. OSMOND: For 20 years.
BEHAR: You adopted a whole bunch of kids.
M. OSMOND: I can`t remember which ones.
BEHAR: Oh, good. That`s good. That`s right. That`s the way it`s supposed to be.
M. OSMOND: Absolutely.
BEHAR: And then you got rid of him. He`s gone now.
M. OSMOND: Yes.
BEHAR: All right.
BEHAR: On to number three, who happens to be number one.
M. OSMOND: Number one -- wow.
BEHAR: Which is fascinating, because -- I mean, I have trouble with it, to tell you the truth, why -- I would never remarry my ex-husband. I mean, if I wanted to marry him, I would have stayed married. What happened there?
M. OSMOND: Well, you know, it`s interesting. I think time, I think we were young, you know, you get a lot of pressure and opinions and all kinds of things that hit you, and I don`t know. Maybe we both just matured, grew up, and he`s phenomenal.
He`s an amazing -- we`ve always just been the same. I don`t know how to explain it other than there`s just a connection.
BEHAR: When did you meet him in the first place?
M. OSMOND: Through our son. You know, we had kind of gone our separate ways.
D. OSMOND: No, in the first place, the very beginning.
BEHAR: No, when you first met him.
M. OSMOND: Oh, like 100 years ago?
D. OSMOND: Tell me something about through your son you met your first husband?
BEHAR: Yes, 100 years ago.
M. OSMOND: He played -- he was in professional basketball, he played, and we met through BYU and I think somebody introduced -- was it one of you brothers, was it you or Jay. I don`t remember.
BEHAR: Nobody remembers.
M. OSMOND: It was a long time ago.
D. OSMOND: Tito was involved somewhere.
BEHAR: Just one more question.
M. OSMOND: Jermaine.
BEHAR: There was a sexual attraction that had carried over from those years?
D. OSMOND: Now, we`re getting into the good questions.
M. OSMOND: OK. So, what you`re asking was, was there always some kind of --
BEHAR: Was there a spark?
M. OSMOND: No, and it was one of those things that really -- Steven, son Steven, said, mom needs some help. And so, you know, he helped move some things, I was kind of left with all these kids, and it wasn`t initially, he was just always a really good friend.
BEHAR: When he came back into the picture.
M. OSMOND: Yes. No, I was definitely divorced and moving on with my life, and truly made a decision that I really just wanted to get my children raised.
I think that every woman does that. But, you know, my feeling is, is that you don`t really -- you really shouldn`t be looking for a relationship until you feel like your self-esteem is where it should be. I said that on Oprah. You marry at the level of your self-esteem.
BEHAR: Well, if you said it on Oprah, you can`t say it here. I`m sorry.
D. OSMOND: Can I ask you a question?
BEHAR: Yes.
D. OSMOND: You don`t agree with this. You just said that a second ago. Tell me why.
M. OSMOND: She was asking --
D. OSMOND: She said you don`t agree. Why?
BEHAR: Who`s interviewing who?
D. OSMOND: No, I`m turning the table.
M. OSMOND: I agree with her if it were my second husband.
D. OSMOND: No. What problem do you have with it? Because it`s true love. I mean, the way I`ve said it -- the way I said it earlier, it is a Cinderella story with bumps in the road with a beautiful happy ending. What`s your problem, Joy?
BEHAR: Right. No, I don`t have a problem with it, I`m just --
M. OSMOND: Who is he?
BEHAR: I think it`s lovely, I`m happy for her, I`m just inquiring.
M. OSMOND: No, but you`re curious. Because I think a lot of people would wonder, you know, about it. But we -- but I would say about two years ago we said, OK, let`s see what`s happened because we didn`t want to hurt our son. We didn`t want to hurt other kids. I didn`t want anybody to know.
And I fell in love. I fell madly in love.
BEHAR: Again, with the same guy?
M. OSMOND: Oh, my gosh, yes.
D. OSMOND: See, I`ve always had a great relationship with Steve.
BEHAR: Have you? You always liked him?
D. OSMOND: He`s always been a great guy.
BEHAR: So, you approve of the whole thing?
D. OSMOND: I not only approved, I condone this whole thing. Oh, yes.
BEHAR: Do you care?
M. OSMOND: Yes.
D. OSMOND: He`s been there for many, many years to help out the children, even in another marriage. OK? He`s been there for those kids.
BEHAR: So, he`s a good guy.
D. OSMOND: He`s a really good guy.
BEHAR: I`m so glad. Really.
M. OSMOND: You know, I didn`t even know until a year ago -- I guess my kids like put paint cans up and it spilled all over my basement. I was out of town, they were afraid of what their father would do. They called Steve and he came over and like, you know, cleaned up the paint and did the walls and I didn`t even know this.
BEHAR: What`s up with the other one? What`s his name?
D. OSMOND: We`re not going to go there.
M. OSMOND: No, I just say that it was so funny, though, I didn`t even know that. But he`s always very supportive.
D. OSMOND: He`s number two.
BEHAR: The number two husband. What was his name?
D. OSMOND: Number two husband.
BEHAR: OK. All right.
Now, so that`s good. I`m happy for you both. And you have a hit show in Vegas.
D. OSMOND: Unbelievable, Joy, what`s going on.
BEHAR: And you`re just back to being Donny and Marie.
D. OSMOND: I like this. Can you do that again?
M. OSMOND: You didn`t even want to see these.
BEHAR: Yes, those are beautiful. Yes. Very nice. Rings -- see, rings make my finger itchy.
D. OSMOND: So, you don`t wear a ring?
BEHAR: Well, I`m not married.
D. OSMOND: Who`s Steve?
BEHAR: Steve is my BF.
D. OSMOND: Oh. Are you going to get married?
M. OSMOND: She just said rings make her itchy.
BEHAR: We`ll be together this July for 29 years without being married.
D. OSMOND: What`s his problem? Why doesn`t he pop the question?
BEHAR: Oh, he pops it.
M. OSMOND: And what do you do back?
BEHAR: What do I do back?
D. OSMOND: Yes. You just don`t want to get married to Steve. Is that what it is?
BEHAR: No, I love Steve.
D. OSMOND: Do you like him?
BEHAR: I love Steve.
D. OSMOND: Why don`t you marry him?
BEHAR: Well, that`s why I don`t want to marry him, because I love him.
OK. Sit tight. We have much more to talk about.
M. OSMOND: I think we have issues.
BEHAR: You`re right about that, Marie.
D. OSMOND: We`ll be right back here on the Donny and Marie show interviewing Joy Behar.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(EXCERPT OF DONNY AND MARIE OSMOND`S SHOW IN LAS VEGAS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: That`s Donny and Marie and their hit Vegas show and they`re back with me now.
You guys are famous Mormons, I must tell you. You, Glenn Beck, who else? Mitt Romney.
M. OSMOND: You.
BEHAR: I`m not from Utah, I`m from Brooklyn. We`re Catholics.
D. OSMOND: Actually, you know what? There are more Mormons outside the United States than there are in the United States.
BEHAR: There are? Where are they?
D. OSMOND: They`re all over the world.
M. OSMOND: We`re trying to find them.
BEHAR: What will you do --
M. OSMOND: Have you seen those missionaries out there?
BEHAR: What will you do with them when you find them?
D. OSMOND: There are like 13 million-plus members of the Mormon Church.
BEHAR: You know, the "Book of Mormon" is playing. Did you see it yet?
D. OSMOND: I haven`t seen it yet. But I think it`s amazing --
M. OSMOND: No, but I heard. I heard.
BEHAR: What did you hear?
M. OSMOND: Well, I heard there were some very funny things. I heard there were some very irreverent things.
BEHAR: Very irreverent?
M. OSMOND: Yes.
D. OSMOND: Have you seen it?
BEHAR: Yes.
D. OSMOND: And?
BEHAR: It`s the greatest show I`ve ever seen.
D. OSMOND: You`re kidding me.
BEHAR: I love it. It`s up there with "The Producers" and "Gypsy" in my book. Fabulous. Hilarious.
D. OSMOND: No, no way.
M. OSMOND: That`s what I heard.
(CROSSTALK)
M. OSMOND: I heard there were a lot of non- truths in it, that where they always put, you know, I haven`t seen it.
BEHAR: I want to ask you a few questions about it, because I don`t know anything about Mormonism so that`s where I learned about it.
M. OSMOND: Well, I think that`s the wrong place to go.
D. OSMOND: That is not a good representation of our faith.
BEHAR: I`ve interviewed the sister wives, you know, and I watched that show "Big Love".
M. OSMOND: They`re not Mormons.
D. OSMOND: Again, that is not a good representation. Polygamy is not even a part of our faith.
BEHAR: Why not? It was a good idea, wasn`t it?
What`s wrong with polygamy? I like polyandry myself, you know, where the wife gets 10 husbands.
(CROSSTALK)
D. OSMOND: Polyandry -- I`ve never heard of that term.
BEHAR: Yes, like the word husband is -andry, a-n-d.
D. OSMOND: I did not know that. See what you learn on Joy`s show?
(CROSSTALK)
M. OSMOND: All I can say is he married them, right?
BEHAR: Yes, "Sister Wives", he married all of them.
M. OSMOND: That`s not our faith. That`s not our faith.
BEHAR: Wait a second, they`re a real family. They`re not jealous of each other, those women. I would say, like, when he goes to bed with the other one, aren`t you upset? No.
M. OSMOND: I saw your show.
BEHAR: Probably they`re like, good, let her do it.
M. OSMOND: And thus, she`s not wanting to get married.
D. OSMOND: Exactly. And, thus, Joy is not a Mormon.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: You know who was offended by it? Kathie Lee Gifford was offended by it. She`s not even a Mormon. What`s up with her?
D. OSMOND: I understand there`s some sacrilegious things in there. I mean, any time you use the name Jesus Christ in a sacrilegious type of context, I have a little bit of a problem -- BEHAR: There`s a song called "F you, God."
D. OSMOND: See? I`ve got a problem with that one, you know?
(CROSSTALK)
M. OSMOND: Well, you know what? Look at the 10 Commandments. Ok. The commandments say don`t take the Lord`s name in vain. I think that would be taking the Lord`s name in vain.
BEHAR: Yes.
M. OSMOND: And so, those are the types of things that we try to have reverence and respect for God. And so, you know, I mean we can always -- you can always laugh when things get uncomfortable or blue or whatever.
But you know what; I have to tell you, though, my belief is that I am so grateful to God for my blessings. I`m so -- I`m a woman in my business for 48 years. That`s not -- that`s an exception.
BEHAR: How old are you?
D. OSMOND: She`s 94.
M. OSMOND: I`m 170. No. But, you know, I thank God every day. I look at my life. I`ve been through ups and downs and everything --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: How come you don`t thank Donny?
D. OSMOND: Well, she doesn`t really appreciate everything I do for her.
M. OSMOND: But those are the things. You can laugh at things, you can be irreverent to things. You can find -- you know, do we have to say - - ok, well, it is what it is, but that is not a representation of who we are.
BEHAR: But, you know, a lot of Mormons are coming to see it.
D. OSMOND: That doesn`t mean everybody can -- but there`s blasphemous things going on.
M. OSMOND: You say you`re a Catholic and also Jewish. It`s like --
BEHAR: I`m not Jewish, I`m Catholic -- I`m Italian Catholic.
M. OSMOND: Italian Catholic -- I thought you said Jewish earlier.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Well, you might as well be.
D. OSMOND: Aren`t we all. I mean when you get right back down to Adam, we`re all the same thing.
(CROSSTALK)
M. OSMOND: True. But I mean there are many, many levels of belief within all faith. I mean, I study all religions. I mean, I read the Tonuch (ph). I`ve read everything.
BEHAR: Tonuch, what`s that?
D. OSMOND: What is that?
M. OSMOND: The Kabbalah.
D. OSMOND: She just wrote the Tonuch, you should read it. It`s at Amazon right now.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: It`s a knock-knock joke. Who`s there?
D. OSMOND: I love this show. This is the greatest show.
BEHAR: Cheers. All right.
So, explain the magic underwear to me because that I don`t know about.
D. OSMOND: You know what, I`d rather not. I`ll tell you why.
BEHAR: Why?
D. OSMOND: Yes, we were --
BEHAR: And you`re wearing them?
D. OSMOND: Yes, I am. And I`d rather not get into it because it`s not secret, it`s just so sacred.
BEHAR: It makes people laugh when you say magic underwear.
(CROSSTALK)
D. OSMOND: I`ll tell you something.
M. OSMOND: Because, Joy, they don`t understand.
D. OSMOND: If you could go through the temple, OK? The ceremony there, it goes back to the same ceremony in Solomon`s day, all those sacred temples back then, not everybody was allowed in there. But the promises we make to God, you know, this magical underwear or whatever you want to call it, all it is, is an outward expression of an inward commitment.
BEHAR: But why underwear? Why not the magic shirt, or the magic socks? Why not a ring? Why?
(CROSSTALK)
D. OSMOND: But you know what`s interesting. Way back in the days of Jerusalem days, the Old Testament days.
BEHAR: Oh, really back then.
D. OSMOND: They used to wear those things on their forehead, you know, to remind them or something on their hand or arm, it`s the same thing.
M. OSMOND: You go back --
D. OSMOND: It`s a reminder of the promises you make to -- those commitments and commandments that you say, God, I promise to keep them.
M. OSMOND: I just think that, you know, are we different? Are we weird? No. We have more fun than anybody on the planet. So --
D. OSMOND: You see how many kids we have?
M. OSMOND: If you want to know what we believe in --
BEHAR: I know you have a lot of kids.
D. OSMOND: Seventeen last count.
M. OSMOND: Well, what else can we do?
BEHAR: Osama bin Laden had 53 siblings. How many have you got?
D. OSMOND: The only thing we`ve got in common with him is the letter "O". OK?
BEHAR: That`s right. The big "O".
D. OSMOND: That`s it.
BEHAR: Do you think Mitt Romney could win being a Mormon? Or do you think that --
M. OSMOND: I don`t know. Could Kennedy do it being a Catholic?
BEHAR: He did it.
(CROSSTALK)
M. OSMOND: I mean remember -- that`s what I`m saying.
D. OSMOND: Very good comment. Very good comment.
M. OSMOND: It was the same kind of thing that went on for him, well, he`s Catholic. He`s Catholic.
D. OSMOND: But you know what I think --
BEHAR: What?
M. OSMOND: Why don`t they look at people as who they are?
BEHAR: Because that`s the reality.
(CROSSTALK)
D. OSMOND: Especially "Book of Mormon" being a hit on Broadway, I think people are understanding more about Mormons that we`re not weird.
M. OSMOND: Well, don`t say that because I heard it doesn`t have anything to do with Mormon belief.
D. OSMOND: The term Mormon now is just not weird anymore. It`s just like -- we`re just like the Catholics, we`re just like the Jewish people.
M. OSMOND: Just be careful where you get your information from because there`s so much out there that`s not true.
BEHAR: Ok.
D. OSMOND: It`s like going on Googling something and saying that`s the gospel truth. No. There`s so much stuff out there.
BEHAR: Donny, believe it or not, as much fun as we`re having, we`re going to have even more fun when we come back. We`ll be right back.
D. OSMOND: Ok. All right.
M. OSMOND: Are we coming back?
BEHAR: Yes, we are.
D. OSMOND: I`m out of here.
BEHAR: We`re coming back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with Marie and Donny Osmond.
D. OSMOND: Hey, hey, hey, it`s Donny and Marie.
M. OSMOND: I love her. Change the graphic.
D. OSMOND: She`s funny.
BEHAR: Now, you know, you two are somewhat competitive.
D. OSMOND: No.
M. OSMOND: No, really?
BEHAR: Friendly sibling rivalry. I realize that. But you won on "Dancing with the Stars" and you fainted.
M. OSMOND: Thank you so much. I hit my head so hard. I won, right?
D. OSMOND: Whatever.
M. OSMOND: I did it first. I did it first. And we all know that the girls dance much harder than the boys do, so I made it in the finals. Thank you very much.
BEHAR: What do you mean dance harder?
D. OSMOND: That`s probably true.
M. OSMOND: The guys stand there and hold their hands while they spin 15,000 times. We go through their legs, and over the top and kick our legs up. And they stand there and go, isn`t she pretty? Isn`t she lovely in her spandex and 6-inch high heels?
D. OSMOND: OK. Let`s hand it to her, she`s right. It really is about the women.
M. OSMOND: Wow, thank you.
D. OSMOND: It really is about the women. No, it really is. Because when you watch "Dancing with the Stars," if you watch the woman, OK, because of their dress or lack thereof, but it`s really down to how the women dance. I was fortunate enough to win.
BEHAR: Who was your partner?
D. OSMOND: Kim Johnson. She`s right at the top of the leader board.
(CROSSTALK)
M. OSMOND: But I mean look. Look. There you go. Her legs, he spins her.
D. OSMOND: Yes, but he`s lifting her.
M. OSMOND: Look at her. I mean, he stands there and her legs are like --
(CROSSTALK)
D. OSMOND: Give it up, Marie. Can you tell that she`s really envious? Mirror ball envy. That`s what it`s called. Mirror ball envy.
BEHAR: I don`t want to mention names but some of the contestants are heavy to lift.
D. OSMOND: Kirstie?
BEHAR: I didn`t say that.
M. OSMOND: I love her.
D. OSMOND: I bring her name up because I think she`s -- I`m making a prediction here, she`s going to make it into the finals.
BEHAR: Because --
M. OSMOND: Hey, I lost 40 pounds on this.
(CROSSTALK)
D. OSMOND: Because everybody admires Kirstie for what she`s -- she`s losing weight, she`s losing shoes. It is amazing what she`s doing --
BEHAR: She`s losing shoes?
D. OSMOND: Yes.
BEHAR: She`s losing her temper here and there also.
D. OSMOND: Well, but that`s -- with Max, you have to lose your temper a little bit.
BEHAR: Why, what`s wrong with Max.
D. OSMOND: Max, I tell you, the ego of --
M. OSMOND: He`s intense.
D. OSMOND: I know Max and he`s such a good friend of mine but there`s only so much room for egos on that stage and he takes it up -- you know, the whole thing.
BEHAR: I see. I like that about you, that you would say that.
(CROSSTALK)
D. OSMOND: It is what it is. I mean, it`s a competition. I don`t know if Kirstie can win, but I love her for the fact that she`s hanging in there, and she can move. She can dance.
M. OSMOND: She is a good dancer.
BEHAR: She`s a dancer. That`s true. I agree with that.
OK. Now, what about the dolls? Are you still collecting your dolls?
D. OSMOND: Yes, I -- oh.
M. OSMOND: I design them.
BEHAR: I mean, are you still selling them?
M. OSMOND: This is my 20-year anniversary. Isn`t that crazy?
BEHAR: I love your dolls. I have one.
M. OSMOND: Do you?
BEHAR: Yes, you gave me one.
M. OSMOND: Oh, that`s right. On this show, I remember. Yes.
But this is our 20-year anniversary, and not only -- I mean, we`re known as having the most beautiful porcelain dolls in the world. Isn`t that crazy?
BEHAR: You have your dolls. You`ve got your thing at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. You got your new CD. Who`s better than you?
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: You`re married 33 years.
D. OSMOND: Thirty-three years. I had just a son graduate on Friday. He`s Dr. Osmond now.
BEHAR: He`s an MD?
D. OSMOND: He is a physical therapist. He`s Dr. Osmond now.
BEHAR: OK. Yes. So, and the album "Donny & Marie" it`s called.
M. OSMOND: Yes.
BEHAR: And you can pick it up everywhere.
D. OSMOND: It`s everywhere.
M. OSMOND: Go to Wal-Mart. It`s right here.
D. OSMOND: Joy, I got to tell you. It`s so exciting after all these years and we`re back together again doing this. We didn`t know what would happen when we went back to Las Vegas. It`s an anomaly that took place. We`re just grateful.
BEHAR: You seem like you`re in a very good place, both of you. We thank you for doing the show.
D. OSMOND: Thanks, Joy.
M. OSMOND: Thank you.
BEHAR: And don`t forget to catch them at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. And we`ll be right back.
M. OSMOND: And as a matter of fact, they put the album cover right on the building. You can -- you drive down the strip and it`s --
D. OSMOND: It`s an ego picture.
M. OSMOND: And it`s the album cover.
D. OSMOND: We`re out of time. Go to commercial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Barry Manilow`s new album is called "15 Minutes" and it`s about people being famous for 15 minutes, not that he`d know about that personally because he`s been famous for 35 years. Joining me now, and I love having him here is my old pal, Barry Manilow.
(APPLAUSE)
BARRY MANILOW, SINGER: An audience. Wow.
BEHAR: 35 years, Barry, you`ve been on top.
MANILOW: I`m so old. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Don`t say that. 35 years, I -- no.
BEHAR: But you`re not older than anybody who`s around at your age, you`ve just been famous for 35 years.
MANILOW: Has it really been -- it may have been 35 years. You`re right.
BEHAR: Besides the fact that you have a phenomenal talent, you have, as they say a God-given gift, what else do you really -- how else do you explain yourself?
MANILOW: I love music. I love my music. And I never really -- I think we`ve talked about this, I never started off wanting to be a performer.
BEHAR: No? What did you want to be?
MANILOW: That was not my thing. That was for crazy people. That was not my thing. I loved accompanying those people, and I loved doing arrangements for them, and I loved orchestrating and I loved writing songs. Anything in the background I was happy.
BEHAR: You didn`t want to be a performer.
MANILOW: I didn`t want to be upfront. I never thought about it. That was not my thing.
BEHAR: Right.
MANILOW: And suddenly "Mandy" came along, and I had to learn on the job how to do this, because I didn`t know what to do with my legs. I didn`t know what to do when I stood up. I didn`t know how to talk to an audience. I didn`t know how to perform. I never thought about it, you know? But the audiences seemed to like my awkwardness, and they -- they were always on my side.
BEHAR: But you had a charm about you, too. I mean, besides being musical. But so "Mandy" really thrust you into the middle of everything.
MANILOW: It did.
BEHAR: So how did you deal with that in the beginning? Because a lot of young performers have that issue now, people become famous like that.
MANILOW: And that`s what this album is about. That`s why we wrote this "15 Minutes" album. We got the idea -- I`ll tell you what kicked me off with this idea was that -- those weeks that the press was hounding Britney Spears, remember that?
BEHAR: Yes.
MANILOW: Driving her crazy.
BEHAR: You mean when she had the baby in the car and all that?
MANILOW: No, no, no. No, when they were hounding her, they wouldn`t leave her alone, and she finally went a little nuts and shaved her head and that whole thing.
BEHAR: Oh, that`s right, I remember that.
MANILOW: But it was horrible to watch. Here`s this young, beautiful girl trying to have a career and make music. I could relate to that, and they wouldn`t leave her alone.
That`s what gave me the idea to do an album about fame, and these days what fame does to people and how do you handle it. Because when I started, when "Mandy" hit me, there was not the paparazzi following me around like that.
BEHAR: No.
MANILOW: They were interested and there was a picture here or there, but it wasn`t crazy like it is today. So I didn`t have to deal with that kind of thing. What I had to deal with was being famous and people not telling me the truth.
BEHAR: Oh. What would they tell you? What were the lies they told you?
MANILOW: Oh, you`re great, you`re great, can I have your autograph? You`re the best.
BEHAR: And there`s something wrong with that?
(LAUGHTER)
MANILOW: You know, I have this -- my deep, my dark night of the soul was in -- about four years in, and I was in Florida, and I realized that everybody around me I was paying. All my friends had kind of disappeared. And I was paying my -- I was paying my assistant and the cook and the guy that drove me and -- and I said, what happened? Where did everybody go?
BEHAR: Yes.
MANILOW: And I had to make a decision whether I wanted that life or whether I wanted to be a guy again, you know? And I was on the road, they didn`t know where to get me, I didn`t know where to get them, and I had to make a decision. I`ll tell you, when I got back to my family and my old friends telling me, hey, what are you doing? That was the most helpful thing for me. I got -- I went back to being me.
BEHAR: That`s a lovely story, and it`s a good lesson for people out there.
MANILOW: It is. That`s my advice, if anybody cares, that, you know, because they`re going to do that to these young kids.
BEHAR: Never forget your roots.
MANILOW: Never forget your roots. Those are the people that will tell you the truth. They`re going to say, hey, what are you doing? That`s the most important people in your life.
BEHAR: Right. My roots, every three weeks I have to deal with.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: But what about Lady Gaga? She was on my other show the other day, and she seems pretty grounded, this kid.
MANILOW: I love her. I love her.
BEHAR: She`s adorable. You know she has just knocked Oprah off the Forbes most -- what is it, the most powerful women in entertainment? She`s No. 1 now.
MANILOW: Good for her. Really, I think she`s great. And she`s inspiring, I love the things she says. I love where she came from and how she got famous. And she, like I am and like so many of us, she was into her art. She was into her music and didn`t care what people thought of her. She`s an original. I wish her the best.
BEHAR: Well, she comes from a place of insecurity, though, this girl.
MANILOW: I saw that, too.
BEHAR: Which I think we all do in this business.
MANILOW: But she`s so honest. She shows it to us, you know?
BEHAR: That`s right. That`s right.
MANILOW: She doesn`t care.
BEHAR: What would you say to her to try and hold on to it? In the last two years she`s really become a big star. And she`s very young. She`s only 25 years old.
MANILOW: I say, keep going, baby.
BEHAR: She writes the songs, too, like you do.
MANILOW: She does and she sings.
BEHAR: That make the whole world sing.
MANILOW: You know, and dance.
BEHAR: And dance. Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
MANILOW: But she`s also, you know, she is such an original. You know? I say, keep going, you know? I`ve got no advice except for keep going, believe in yourself and keep going.
Sure, that insecurity, we`ve all got it, we`ve all got that insecurity.
BEHAR: You know, because when we are kids -- all the people in this business seem to have been misfits in some way mostly.
MANILOW: I have a song about that, it`s called "All the Time," it`s about being a misfit. And when we put it on that album, I got more letters about that one than "I Write the Songs" that was on that same album.
BEHAR: Really?
MANILOW: That`s how many misfits there are out there.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: We have plenty of them in this room. Are you kidding me?
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: but we love a misfit because that`s what we all are.
MANILOW: Especially when you`re younger.
BEHAR: But I mean, she was bullied, kids told her she wasn`t pretty, they didn`t like her nose, she said.
MANILOW: Same thing with Streisand. Same thing with so many of us.
BEHAR: Yes, when you look at the old Streisand stuff, I remember when she broke out on PM East (ph) with Mike Wallace, she was 19 years old.
MANILOW: Me too. Me too.
BEHAR: And I said, oh, my God, what an incredible talent. She did look a little bizarre, she didn`t look like everybody else, that`s all.
MANILOW: That was good.
BEHAR: But when you look back on her specials, she was beautiful.
MANILOW: Absolutely.
BEHAR: Very interesting and pretty and -- but at that time, she was so out there in her looks.
MANILOW: Well, just like Lady Gaga.
BEHAR: Yes.
MANILOW: I think she`s got a big career ahead of her, this Lady Gaga girl. Because she`s a real talent. Have you ever heard her sing?
BEHAR: Yes.
MANILOW: She sings great.
BEHAR: I love her special.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: She`s wonderful.
MANILOW: I think she`s the real deal.
BEHAR: But other people say that she copies Madonna. What do you think about that?
MANILOW: No, no, no. Inspires. I say she`s inspired. Madonna is her hero, isn`t it?
BEHAR: Yes.
MANILOW: She`s her hero. So you know, I say.
BEHAR: Who inspired you?
MANILOW: The songwriters inspired me, people like the Beatles, the jazz musicians, people like Bill Evans and Gerry Mulligan. And I`ll tell you, the people that inspire me these days, I think you`ll think I`m nuts, my musicians. I like the way they live their lives. I like how committed they are to their music. The guys that work for me, that play for me.
BEHAR: Yes.
MANILOW: I look around and I say, those are the guys I want to be like. Really. You don`t want this craziness. I want to do that. They are totally committed to their work and to me. I`m very grateful to them.
BEHAR: That`s nice. But you know, I was reading something about the fact that Bob Dylan`s turning -- is 70 this year. Who else, Joan Baez is turning 70, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel are all turning 70 this year. And Paul McCartney is on his way, Barbra`s on her way. These are all great musicians. And what did they have in common? And this article in "Time" said that when they were 14 years old, that was when rock `n` roll hit the scene and they were all influenced by rock `n` roll. Maybe not Barbra so much, but the rest of these rockers. Isn`t that interesting?
MANILOW: Interesting, and they gave us that kind of music. They did. That wasn`t the kind of music that got me, although I respected it and I loved it.
BEHAR: You were more like Streisand in that way.
MANILOW: I was more in that world. I was more in the older world of songs that were written by Irving Berlin and George Gershwin, and I was still studying that and kind of arrangement by Nelson Riddle (ph) and by Don Casta (ph). Certainly I knew that the other stuff was around, but it took me a while to catch up.
BEHAR: And there was Sinatra.
MANILOW: And there was Sinatra.
BEHAR: There was Sinatra. You know, I still listen to Sinatra on Sirius Radio. I still listen to him. He`ll never get old. Like you.
MANILOW: He never makes a mistake. Every single cut is always fine. I never hear a bad --
BEHAR: Every single one now.
MANILOW: I --
BEHAR: I don`t agree.
MANILOW: I never hear one that I don`t like.
BEHAR: No, "something in the way she moves," that was a bad cut.
MANILOW: Really?
BEHAR: And something stupid that he played.
MANILOW: Well, once he started going to that other--
BEHAR: And "dooby dooby doo" (ph)?
MANILOW: Yeah -- once he started to--
(LAUGHTER)
MANILOW: Yeah. What a stinker -- what a terrible singer.
BEHAR: But everything else was great.
MANILOW: You know?
BEHAR: But everything else was brilliant.
MANILOW: You know, what I always hear, you know, "from the wee small hours of the morning"--
BEHAR: I`m a fool to want you, when he was in love with Ava Gardner, and all that geshraing (ph) that he does in the song is brilliant.
MANILOW: Brilliant. I love it too.
BEHAR: OK. We`re going to hear a lot from Barry today. We`re going to hear him play his new song, so stay right there. We`re musical today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BARRY MANILOW SINGS "COPA CABANA")
MANILOW: You like this song?
BEHAR: I love that song, Barry.
MANILOW: You do? I saw you loving it.
BEHAR: I do, I could just groove on that, you know. And that was "Copa Cabana" for those of you who don`t recognize the tune, one of my favorites. And look at this picture of you, Barry, you can see it on the monitor.
MANILOW: I knew you were going to do that.
BEHAR: OK, before Lady Gaga, there was Barry Manilow.
MANILOW: You know, I was doing it for a laugh, you know? And the critics took it seriously.
BEHAR: Really?
MANILOW: Oh, my God. They killed me.
BEHAR: Oh, so what?
MANILOW: I was doing like Danny Kaye, I thought that`s what Danny Kaye would have done.
BEHAR: But it goes with the song.
MANILOW: It does. What am I supposed to do, wear a tuxedo?
BEHAR: No, no, well, we had a shot of -- there you are -- no, there you are in the copa (ph) thing -- we had another shot of you in a tuxedo, but we`re not showing that because you look too good in that one.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: But you know, before Lady Gaga, you were very hip with the costume thing.
MANILOW: I was, but it was always for a laugh, you know. I was always having fun with it, and my audiences always knew I was doing that kind of thing.
BEHAR: Yeah, yeah. You know, I realized when we talked to each other sometimes--
MANILOW: Mind if I give us an underscore? Mind if I have--
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: While I`m speaking? Sure. I always wanted a musical accompaniment to my fabulousness.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: But I was going to say that you and I were both raised in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn.
MANILOW: We were.
BEHAR: As well as Mel Brooks was raised there and Allan King. What is it about Brooklyn, and Barbra Streisand is from another part of Brooklyn, and Neil Diamond is from Brooklyn. What is it about Brooklyn?
MANILOW: It`s so awful, we wanted to get out as quickly as we could.
BEHAR: Is that what it is?
MANILOW: No, no, no. You know, what I learned was street smarts and so did you. You know? We were -- they shot us out of Brooklyn at, you know, 100 miles an hour. I was ready for my life to begin. I didn`t tiptoe out of Brooklyn. I got on the BMT and I ran.
BEHAR: You ran. As fast as you could.
MANILOW: Ran. Not away, but I ran to my life. I did.
BEHAR: But your family was not wealthy, right?
MANILOW: Oh, no. No. We had nothing.
BEHAR: We didn`t have much either. A lot of people in those days didn`t. But you know what, we don`t say we were poor, we say we were broke. Because poor gives another connotation, that you don`t have anything.
MANILOW: Listen, they worked, they worked, they did everything they could, you know? They raised me great, I`m a gentleman, you know, I was a good guy, and, you know, they knew I was musical, they didn`t know what to do with me. Grandpa took me to, you know, into Manhattan to try to get me to sing something, they stuck an accordion in my hands.
BEHAR: An accordion?
MANILOW: Yeah.
BEHAR: Couldn`t afford a piano. How would you get this in the apartment?
MANILOW: When my mother remarried this guy named Willy Murphy (ph), he changed my life. He brought with him music. Music, a stack of records that may as well have been a stack of gold. Because all I had known was "Hava Nagila" on the accordion. You know? But this guy brought with him a stack of albums of Broadway show music and classical music and jazz music, and it really opened my --
BEHAR: See, that`s the thing that makes people famous, I think, when you have an opportunity.
MANILOW: That`s right.
BEHAR: You know, Barry, I could talk to you all day, but we really want to hear you play.
MANILOW: OK.
BEHAR: Now this song is called "Bring on Tomorrow."
MANILOW: Right.
BEHAR: Take it away, Barry.
MANILOW: All right.
(BARRY MANILOW SINGS "BRING ON TOMORROW")
BEHAR: That was just wonderful, thank you.
MANILOW: Thanks, Joy.
BEHAR: And that is from Barry`s new album, "15 Minutes," and we`ll have more with Barry Manilow in just a minute.
MANILOW: Thanks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with the very talented and lovely performer Barry Manilow, who just treated us by playing a song from his new album called "15 Minutes." And the other thing about you, Barry, is I know that you write jingles, too.
MANILOW: I did.
BEHAR: I don`t think people realized that a lot of those very, very catchy little tunes that you hear out there are yours.
MANILOW: You know, that was really better than college for me. Working in the jingle industry, because I was up against some really talented writers and I had to get -- my melody had to be better or catchier than the other guy`s melody, otherwise I would lose the jingle. Like--
(singing): Whenever you`re driving, wherever you`re bound, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Thirty-five years later, I got $500 for that one.
BEHAR: Really?
MANILOW: But $500 at that time, it was like--
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Do you get residuals?
MANILOW: No, they buy you out.
BEHAR: Oh, they buy you out.
MANILOW: They do.
BEHAR: Mel Torme recorded that, I once remember--
MANILOW: Really?
BEHAR: Yeah.
MANILOW: How about this?
(singing): I am stuck on a Band-Aide and a Band-Aide`s stuck on me.
BEHAR: I love that.
MANILOW: $500.
BEHAR: McDonald`s, too? What about McDonald`s?
MANILOW: $500 again.
BEHAR: $500 for that too? All right.
MANILOW: I sang on --
(singing): You deserve a break today, so get up and get away to McDonalds.
You remember that, but we --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: That`s romantic. That song is romantic.
MANILOW: That`s right.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: When you said, "at McDonald`s," I got like so romanticized.
MANILOW (singing): Get a bucket of chicken, finger-licking good, have a barrel of fun, goodbye hohum, say hello to your family, come on everyone, get Kentucky Fried Chicken, have a barrel of fun.
That`s not romantic.
BEHAR: No, no, not like McDonalds. That was really--
MANILOW: McDonald`s, that was--
BEHAR: And State Farm is very, very romantic.
MANILOW: It`s beautiful, no, that could be a real song.
BEHAR: That`s beautiful too.
MANILOW: That could be a real song.
BEHAR: Another one? Do you have another one?
MANILOW: What else did I do? I did-- I did--
BEHAR: Did you ever lose one to somebody else?
MANILOW: Oh, yes, all the time. You know why I lost one--
BEHAR: What haven`t they picked up?
MANILOW: You know why I lost one? I did one for American Airlines, and I ended it going, the melody going down. And they said, you can`t go down on an American Airlines commercial.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: That`s hilarious. All right, I only have 15 seconds. How about one more -- one for my show maybe?
MANILOW: Oh, yes?
BEHAR: Yeah.
MANILOW (singing): Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Behar.
BEHAR: That`s great. Thank you, Barry. I love you so much! You`re the best.
Barry`s new album, "15 Minutes" is out June 14th. And if you`re in Las Vegas, get tickets. It`s the best show in Las Vegas, to see him at the Paris Hotel.
Thanks for watching. I hope you had a great time. Good night, everybody.
MANILOW: Thanks, Joy. Thank you, everyone.
(APPLAUSE)
END
