Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Sisters Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen Star in New Drama

Aired April 24, 2001 - 09:00   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.
LAURIN SYDNEY, CNN ANCHOR: Another close family is working together right here in Hollywood. Sisters Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen are playing on-screen siblings in a new PBS drama.

Our Sherri Sylvester had the pleasure of talking to these very talented women.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHERRI SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "The Old Settler" is not about the Old West. It's about two sister who live in Harlem together during World War II, and joining me now are the ladies who play those two sister, Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen. Thanks for joining us.

PHYLICIA RASHAD, "THE OLD SETTLER": Hey.

DEBBIE ALLEN, "THE OLD SETTLER": Hi.

SYLVESTER: The two of you executive produce and Debbie, you direct. You have directed Phylicia before.

RASHAD: Yes.

ALLEN: Yes.

SYLVESTER: But you've never played sisters before on the screen?

ALLEN: No, no, this is a first, which is great. I think that was probably, for us, one of the biggest attractions to doing this piece because it was pretty obvious who was going to be Elizabeth, who was going to be Quilly and the relationship and then the banter. I mean. we were very much in real life parallel to the sisters to a certain degree -- to a certain degree.

(CROSSTALK)

RASHAD: ... she is the quiet one and she is the mouthy one.

ALLEN: No, but the quiet one is the one you have to watch. See, she'll be the one to run off with some young man whereas the one that talks all of the time is innocent and never does anything.

(LAUGHTER)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE OLD SETTLER")

RASHAD: Double please, triple please.

ALLEN: Oh, all right. Hush and sing.

RASHAD (singing): Didn't it rain, children, rain all night long, didn't it?

ALLEN: Boo.

RASHAD: Didn't it?

ALLEN: Boo.

RASHAD: Didn't it?

ALLEN: Boo.

RASHAD: All night long, didn't it rain?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: And you are "The Old Settler," I guess we need to say that, which is kind of amusing that they call you the old lady. You have an affair with a younger man.

RASHAD: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

ALLEN: Much to my chagrin.

RASHAD: Only because she wishes it were she?

ALLEN: That's right.

(LAUGHTER)

ALLEN: I think it's nice. You know. it kind of introduces women to a part of a fantasy that I think is a big fantasy for most women. I mean, we know that men act out on all of these things all of the time, but women usually don't and certainly not with younger men.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE OLD SETTLER")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You ain't too old. You're just a little older.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYLVESTER: The two of you in real life, do you have a banter?

RASHAD: Absolutely.

SYLVESTER: But you've never fought over a man, is that is right?

RASHAD: No.

ALLEN: Hair pins, bobby socks...

RASHAD: Belts.

ALLEN: You know, the car, whose turn...

RASHAD: Whose turn it is.

ALLEN: You know, hair things like that. There was a time when, you know, the younger sister really gets on the older sister's nerves.

RASHAD: Absolutely.

ALLEN: But now, we're best friends. We are absolute best friends, and we are facing a lot of the same wonderful things together. Our children are growing up, you know.

RASHAD: And that's really something, when your kids grow up and you look at the fact that oh, oh, this is really happening. And in a few hours, it seems, in a few hours, they're really going to be out of the nest, and the house is going to be very, very different.

(LAUGHTER)

SYLVESTER: Thanks, both of you, for joining us. We appreciate it.

RASHAD: Thank you.

ALLEN: Yes, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com