Regis isn't Perfect

"Norm," MacDonald's Friday night ABC hit sitcom, is a delight, with a wonderful cast, including Max Wright, whom I've been a steady fan of since his stint as "Willie Tanner" on "Alf." I had watched "Norm" occasionally, to see the opening-scene "counseling sessions" conducted by Norm's on-screen persona, Norm Henderson, in his capacity as a social worker ( fulfilling his sentence of community service, for his conviction of tax evasion ). These scenes--which frequently had featured cameos of various stars--have been dropped in favor of more time for plot exposition; and the result IS a better show. This year, the shows have focused more on the female members of the cast, to help draw more female viewers ( and in MY case, it worked ), and Norm's love life has become more complicated, due to Danny's erstwhile girlfriend, Taylor, having revealed her secret desire for him. This was revealed on the show with Rick Rockwell, who had been introduced to Danny by Norm, in an effort to dissuade him from marriage; for, having just discovered Taylor's secret crush on him, Norm had worried for his pal--or perhaps had secretly been rather pleased, and had wanted her; and considering his yearning for ex-gal-pal Laurie has gone unrequited, one cannot blame him. On the show where fans were invited to write jokes for four set-up-lines, Taylor and Norm had tried a night of passion.
All of these romantic storylines have helped to boost Norm's sex appeal to many women--including me!!!!!! He is hot!!! I always LOVED men with dimples!

At any rate, last November, I had been eagerly anticipating the appearance of Norm MacDonald on the second celebrity edition of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." The first, in May 2000, had been a huge success, garnering $$thousands for the celebrities' chosen charities, and $$millions for the ABC network in ad revenue. Of course, the network was eager for another edition. On that first one, being that it benefitted charity, the rules were different than normal: the other celebrities waiting their turn were allowed to give answers to the one in the hot-seat. Chef Emeril Lagassie proved valuable in any answer with a recipe, Dana Carvey and Rosie O'Donnell were all-over helpers. The rules seemed to be to give help up to the $32,000 mark--then they were on their own. The only celeb not taking full advantage of this, ironically, was Regis' then-morning-show partner, Kathie Lee Gifford, who had used up her lifelines early, and halted at $32,000. But being the second to play, perhaps she hadn't realized!
Sometimes it's tricky, calling one's spouse as the phone-a-friend. The first celeb contestant, David Duchovny had called wife Téa Leoni for help with his $64,000: "Which Italian city is home to the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo?: Florence; Rome, Venice, Sienna?" She'd gasped, "Oh, my gosh, honey, you're so screwed!": for she didn't know. "But you speak Italian!" he cried. Luckily, he'd guessed it right: Florence. [ Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence ] This was to instill confidence within him to guess at the next two questions. Sadly, he was to miss the $500,000: "'You be careful, out among them English': what film had that as the last line?: Braveheart; The African Queen; Dances With Wolves; Witness?" Duchovny thought he'd had it made: "Braveheart." But NO! It was Witness! Later, Duchovny was to complain that it was the wording that had made him believe that it was Braveheart--true enough, so would most people think so; but also the lack of a proper comma: "You be careful, out among them, English": "English" being the nickname given Harrison Ford's character by the Amish, not in reference to the English troops in Braveheart. He has been trying to decide whether or not complaining makes him sound spoiled; but since it's for a good charity ( the East Harlem School, Exodus House ), he ought to try.
[ Note: in April 2000 issue of Movieline, when asked whom he'd choose for phone-a-friend, he'd answered: "I'd have Téa sit in front of the Encyclopedia Britannica and I'd call her. I don't know why these people don't do that." Well, apparently, it didn't help. Maybe she wasn't on the ball enough to open the book. Movieline Magazine 4/2000]

On the second edition, the players had included Alec Baldwin--likely in hopes that he'd call on glam model wife Kim Basinger for help! But THIS celeb spouse wasn't any better than Téa Leoni! Alec had gotten this $250,000 question: "The remains of Cleopatra's palace were discovered in the late 1990's off the coast of what Egyptian city?--A: Alexandria B: Cairo C: Port Said D: Suez."
"I want to call that noted Egyptologist, Kim Basinger." But she couldn't answer a thing in 30 seconds. Fortunately, after the 50/50, Alec guessed correctly. But REALLY! Doesn't everyone know that Cleopatra's Palace was in Alexandria? C'mon! You had to have seen the movie! ( Alec quit after having been stumped by the next question: "Leonardo DaVinci wrote his famous notebooks using this unusual method?" Answer: Mirror writing. )
A surprising champ was model Tyra Banks, who was brilliant, looking quite the scholar in her reasoning abilities. She didn't win the million, though, having tapped-out at $125,000. But she was a help to subsequent players. ( Tyra had snagged the $125,000 with a spectacular guess that had surprised even herself: Q: "What is the word for a ring of coral islands surrounding a lagoon?" A: "Atoll." )

For several days leading up to the show's finalé, Regis had told his audience on Live! that the show with Norm and The View's Joy Behar "was the funniest; I hope they show the whole thing!" A few days before their segment aired, Norm guested on The View during their L.A. visit, with Joy tattleling: "If you think he's dumb now, wait 'til you see him on the show!"
I'd thought she was just kidding.
Watching Norm on "Millionaire" was by turns funny, and excruciating. He'd chewed 10 packs of gum during the show ( according to the VH1 "pop-up" edition, rebroadcast on New Year's Eve, 2000/2001 ), a calming habit, likely inspired by his hero, Burt Reynolds ( whom he does a dead-on impersonation of: favorites include SNL skits of Burt on "Celebrity Jeopardy," and Burt's "audition" for Darth Vader ). He'd not been much help giving fellow celebs answers ( though according to "Pop-Up," he'd not helped, because "he'd wanted to experience the show like a regular contestant." ). Still, he WAS very, very cute ( "Pop-Up" says the female staff of "Millionaire" had voted Norm the "cutest" celeb contestant, second only to Jon Stewart ). I had been thrilled when ABC had teased that "the last question will be for a million." Since Joy Behar had taken the hotseat prior to Thursday's end, that meant that Norm was the one who might win a million! I had really believed that he HAD won, because Regis had also teased, on Live!, that "one player will turn out to be the star--just wait, and you'll see what I mean."
To me, that meant that Norm won the million! I was so proud of him!! What a terrific man! Norm being the very first $million celebrity contestant! WOW! This would really raise Norm's profile tremendously! ABC will trumpet this every chance they'll get!: "Watch 'Norm' every Friday--The Million Dollar Winner!" His show will be assured renewal for the next 4-5 years! He'll probably be paid a huge salary, and begged to guest star on other ABC shows! Norm will be on every magazine cover, or at least be featured strongly! He'll be the hot "get" for talk shows, and movies! Every woman would be clamouring for dates with him! I then regretted not having gotten an interview with him before this. Likely he'd be too busy from here on!

When Sunday, November 19, 2000 came, I was thrilled, ecstatic, eager to see my new hero, the handsome Norm win the $million! I'd anticipated it all weekend! I'd literally jumped for joy upon Norm's assumimg the hotseat!
As I said, I thought that Joy was kidding about Norm: I thought Norm was doing a "dumb act." *Sigh.*
The auspicious beginning, with Norm's "fastest finger question" being specially created for him, due to his trouble throughout the series, should've warned me. The staff had created it on the spot: "Please put the following letters in order to spell a popular man's name: N-O-R-M." ( they didn't even mix up the letters. "Pop-Up" stated: "This made Norm mad." He'd wanted to prove himself capable of answering a real question. )

A surprise, was Norm's guest in the friend's seat:--Kato Kaelin! They had been friends for about 15 years, playing golf and tennis. "In fact, the charity I'm playing for today is the Palm Beach Tennis and Golf Club Resort." Reege assured that he was joking. Norm was playing for "The Hole In The Wall Gang," a camp for sick children, named for it's founder, Paul Newman ( the name in allusion to his role as "Butch Cassidy" ).

Regis teased Norm with the first Q&A, about the method of a novice typist: "hunt and peck": "Wrong! No, I'm just kidding; just wanted to see how you'd react. You got it, for $100!"
Norm decided to tease back: "You know, if it was me, I'd keep going,..." [ audience hoots ]
Reege plays along: "But it's charity; the kids could use it..."
Norm: "All right, give me the $100."
Reege: [ a little worried ] "You're kidding, right?"
Norm: "I'm dead serious. I've got to get out of here." But as Reege looked as if he'd take him up on it, he'd swiftly assured him he would play on.
The initial questions were a little too easy. They'd ranged from those prompting Norm to supply a joke: "What a majorette would most likely carry?" ( "A Major!" joshed the glib Norm ), to supplying ready-made hilarity: "Where does a rider normally put his feet while riding on a saddled horse ? A. Bit B. Harness C. Stirrups D. Manure."
$2000 was "What network is Larry King on?" Norm wanted to show off: " 'The O'Reilly Factor' is on Fox News Network; 'Hardball,' with Chris Mathews, is on MSNBC; 'Sportscenter' is on ESPN;" he hesitates for effect--"and Larry King is on the WB!" He then gives the correct answer: "CNN." [ "Pop-Up" gives trivia: "Norm was on Larry King once in April, 1998--Kato Kaelin was on six times." ] Norm then does a Larry King impression, then it's on to the next question, which had asked Norm to choose which Alice Walker novel Steven Spielberg had made into a film--Norm was sure that of the choices: "The Color Purple is the only one she wrote--right? I said, right?" looking back at the audience section for the help that he'd been entitled to--yet finding that his OWN lack of helping the previous contestants was bearing ill fruit for him. They gave him confirmation, after awhile, for the $4000.
Kato decided to joke: "Joy has her hand in my lap." [ the camera was on them--her hands were in her OWN lap! AND her boyfriend was sitting on her right. "Pop-Up" told us that Joy had made a "naughty joke" at that point--but that it was cut out! Also, that Joy was thrilled to be seated next to Kato Kaelin--that she'd gotten her picture taken next to him--for her Christmas card! ]
Regis thought he'd stumped Norm with the $16,000: "Which of these is not a type of fish: "Sorrell; Scrod; Sole; Skate?" But Norm needed no help here: "Sorrell." Rather taken aback by the uncharacteristic alarcrity, Regis hastened to caution him. But Norm knew his fish, and won that round. Norm went on to add a filíp in the $32,000 round, by correctly identifying Paul Bunyan as the featured statue in the movie "Fargo," in Brainyard, Minnesota: Of Johnny Appleseed, The Lone Ranger, and Crazy Horse, "Paul Bunyan is the only one that makes sense." ( Indeed--it being in Minnesota ) But already trouble brews, as Regis had tried to talk him out of such a hasty answer. Norm cinched it, though; but he nearly got into trouble by too close a scrutiny of Regis' reactions to his musings. This problem was to grow worse with each new question.
Norm was in real trouble with the $64,000. From here on, he'd have to rely on his lifelines; and this Q&A, likely created with the notion of an easy "gimme," was a stumper for Norm MacDonald: "In 1999, who raised more than half a million dollars for charity with the auction of his guitars?" The auction of Eric Clapton's guitars had been world-famous, with countless news stories in every media; yet Norm had never heard of it. "Local thing, right? A New York guy, right?" watching Regis' face carefully for clues. The audience groaned in disbelief and dismay. Norm used his audience lifeline for this, though he'd thought that it was so obscure they, too, might be stumped. They weren't; and Norm secured $64,000.
"What feature in the night sky do sailors in the Southern hemisphere use to navigate?: Carpenter's square; the Southern Cross; the Southern lights; Betelguese," was the $150,000 question. Norm sensed the correct answer: "Well, Southern Cross is the only one that makes any sense--right?" Uh-oh! Norm was once again looking for Regis' affirmation. But Regis wasn't giving anything away--or he didn't know. And once again, Norm commenced to make a mess of things! Back and forth he went, coming back to Southern Cross, always peering closely at Regis, attempting to discern the answer in Regis' facial expressions. Finally, he gave up, decided to phone-a-friend: Sam Simon, who'd helped out Drew Carey. [ Simon served as co-creator of "The George Carlin Show", director, and creative consultant to "The Drew Carey Show", developer and executive producer of "The Simpsons" as well as co-creator and executive producer of "The Tracey Ullman Show." Also wrote screenplay for The Super (1991). "Pop-Up" reveals that it was rumoured that Simon had had a "crazy genius" in the room, to help him answer, but that he hadn't needed any help in answering this one: ] Of course, Simon was "100% certain" that it was the Southern Cross. "Yeah, so was I!"said Norm, feeling the waste. "A lot of good these lifelines are to me!" Regis chided him on not trusting his first instinct. But Norm countered by telling him that he'd been about to choose Southern Cross, until Regis had "made a weird face": "I was pretty sure it was the Southern Cross, but I looked into your eyes, and you made this freaky face." [ VH1 "Pop-Up" displayed Regis' pained expression--but that was a constant throughout Norm's appearance! NOT because Reege was trying to give Norm clues--but because he was exasperated by Norm's flip-flopping! Note to future contestants: DON'T wear out Regis! ] But the $150,000 was his.
The $250,000 question had asked: "The Reina Sofia Art Center is located in what European city?: A: Madrid B: Lisbon C: Rome D: Vienna." Norm had been savvy enough to catch on that Reina Sofia sounded like a Spanish name, and had felt strongly that it would be Madrid --that is, if it was NOT Lisbon! But Norm was worried that his having pondered so, aloud, would compromise the next lifeline: "If I ask for the 50/50, there isn't some joker in the back who will put up BOTH Madrid and Lisbon...?" Norm hesitated.
"Nah!" assured Regis. "That was locked in months ago!" Norm gives the go-ahead. But indeed, the 50/50 has left A: Madrid and B: Lisbon! Norm gives Reege quite a reaction to THAT! But Reege assures that it was NOT "some joker in the back" playing tricks; and the VH1 "Pop-Up" also assures that the 50/50 results aren't random; they're chosen at the same time the question is written.
Regis tries to help on THIS one: "...your first instincts were for Madrid--and your instincts have been so sharp, so pure, so right." Encouraged by this, Norm goes with his first choice: "Madrid." It nets him the $250,000!
$500,000: "What Broadway musical features material written by Samuel Becket and John Lennon?: A: Hair B: Godspell C: Cabaret D: Oh! Calcutta!" This would seem to be a "gimme" for most people. But Norm, "...not being gay, I'm not familiar with musicals." *Groan* Considering that A: Hair B: Godspell C: Cabaret are all regular type musicals, written by lyricist/composer, and D: Oh! Calcutta! is the different one, it would seem to be an easy guess; and Norm was veering toward that, but THEN Regis' nerves had worn almost completely out with Norm's kamikazi flip-flopping. VH1's Pop-Up had revealed that during the commercial break, Reege had tried to caution Norm NOT to be reckless with the charity's money--but Norm had been sure that he'd win the $million! On-camera, Norm was deliberating aloud, and Reege was getting frayed nerves. Norm finally decided with an uncharacteristic alarcrity: "D: Oh! Calcutta!" [ "Pop-Up" revealed that "Once a contestant says "final answer," Regis has to accept it. Norm had swiftly said "final answer," before Regis could talk him out if it." ] Regis obviously hadn't had a clue as to the answer, for he was relieved that it was "Right, for $500,000! ...When we come back, Norm MacDonald is going for one million dollars!"

[ Coming out of commercial break, "Pop-Up" tells us that "No contestant has ever gotten the Million Dollar question wrong." Sure--because if they DON'T know the answer, the contestant cheesed out, preferring to take the money and run! ] "For One Million Dollars: During the Cold War, the U.S. Government built a bunker to house Congress under what golf course?: A: The Breakers B: Greenbrier C: Pinehurst D: Broadmoor." The obvious answer was a golf course that was fairly close to Washington D.C.--or at least on the East Coast. A: The Breakers is in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; B: Greenbrier is in West Virginia; C: Pinehurst is in North Carolina; D: Broadmoor is in Colorado Springs.
But Norm, ever the problem, held to his notioning that someone backstage had told him that it often was NOT the most obvious. Problem is sometimes it IS! Problem also was, Norm felt certain that "the most obvious" was Pinehurst! Greenbriar, in West Virginia is closest to Washington D.C.--but Norm, though a golf player, was unfamiliar with these courses. [ "Pop-Up" said that Norm was trying to remember if he'd seen a story on this, on 60 Minutes. Obviously, the answer had been tantalizingly close--he'd kept mulling it over, testing it out between Pinehurst and Greenbrier. BOTH seemed familiar, like they might be the one!
Meanwhile, Regis was going bananas. HE had no idea what the answer was, yet, unbeknownst to him, Norm was STILL attempting to test his reactions. Back and forth Norm went, always peering closely at Regis' face. But Reege was so fed up, and nerves frayed, he'd only displayed pained expressions of irritation at every turn. To Norm, clueless of how annoying he'd become, that only meant that he was unable to discern which was the correct answer:
"All right; just give me the money," says a defeated Norm.
Regis needed to be sure: "Do you want to walk?"
"No; I was going to answer a question, but you told me to walk."
Throwing up his hands in exasperation, Regis exclaims "I give up! It's too much for me!--What do you want to do?"
"Well, I think Pinehurst is too obvious, so I was going to say Greenbrier--what's the matter? Greenbrier...wait a minute; what are you making that face for?"
"I'm scared to death!"
"Ah, forget it. Just give me the half million."
Regis had to be clear on this: but Norm assured him that he was through.
But then Reege checked the answer: "Wait a minute! Did you say Greenbrier?...You would've got it right!" Norm's chewing gum nearly fell out of his mouth, jarred open in dismay. The show ended, the other celebs gathered around Norm, trying to comfort him: "It's a half-million; be happy!" "Well, at least you got the $500,000--as much as Rosie and Drew Carey! I'm sure that Paul Newman will be grateful."
[ The VH1 "Pop-Up" told us that Paul Newman was indeed grateful, and had phoned Norm to thank him. Also, that Norm's phone-a-friend, whom he'd wasted on the "Southern Cross" question, had known the correct answer was "Greenbrier." Thus if Norm had saved that lifeline, he would've had the $million!! ]

MY OPINION:

On Regis Live! the morning after, he'd discussed it further, claiming that he hadn't steered him wrong, that Norm "was all over the place"--going from Pinehurst to Greenbrier, to back and forth again. Regis hadn't realized that it wasn't that Norm was undecided; he just testing Regis' reactions to each of the choices. Because Regis had made a pained expression--which Norm had referred to as a "weird face" --Norm had felt that Regis was trying to steer him elsewhere, to another answer. But Reege was pained with EVERY choice, leaving Norm perplexed, and deciding to quit--even though he'd had the correct answer!!

I think, though, that initial "joke" of Regis, declaring Norm "wrong" on the easy $100, had more than a tinge of hostility to it. Norm had become irritating to Regis even before achieving the hotseat. People generally think of Reege as genial, placid, friendly--but even he has a breaking point. All of those stories about his irritation at Kathie Lee were NOT fabricated, I fear.
Take, for instance, his MAJOR "get": an interview with Presidential candidate, Gov. George W. Bush. This plum had come during "SurLive-r Week," i.e., a week with the stars of "Survivor"; and on this day, Thursday, Susan Hawk was the co-host. In watching the rerun of the show, knowing what was to come, I could see Regis' irritation level build and build, boiling like a volcano--not quite ever erupting, but he was peeved. On later shows, he was to complain over and over about how Susan had interrupted "what could be our next President" to tell her own story: Mr. Bush had begun a story about a pony of his, and Sue had commenced to telling of her own childhood pony, Sugar. In Regis' retelling, she was driving him to [ volcanic ] despair, as they only had a limited amount of time to talk. But that is not Sue's fault! It was producer Michael Gelman's idea to structure the show so tightly, most guests being allotted only 5-minute spots. He ought to have structured it more loosely, allowing more than the "generous" double-time of ten minutes! Why didn't he have Bush as the co-host? They'd missed a beat, there! They could've outdone ALL the other talk shows who'd hosted the Campaign 2000 candidates! Fact is, Mr. Bush had impressed me with his graciousness toward Sue; he'd divided his attention between Reege and Sue, not shortchanging her a bit, not displaying any dislike nor impatience with her, answering all of her questions, despite Regis trying to rush past anything she had to offer--and her questions hadn't been dumb, either: She'd asked about the issues that he was campaigning on. Mr. Bush was gracious, answered everything. Regis is the one who needs to go back to charm school!

Thursday, September 20?, 2000:
The handsome Governor George W. Bush entered the set of Live, radiating energy and charisma. It was evident that Regis was thrilled and proud; but even more so, when he noticed that Mr. Bush had savvily donned a tie and shirt from the Regis Collection ( and Reege had lifted Bush's tie, to show everyone the label! ). Mr. Bush did not ignore Sue Hawk; he told her that he'd watched Survivor, "especially coming down the stretch--I was fascinated to see who was going to survive--just like me!" said the candidate who'd *****. "I feel like I'm going through Survivor!" Sue advised him to be careful in doing his final speech: "Just watch your animal analogies!" warned the Survivor best remembered for her Shakespearean-style soliloquy, referring to Kelly as a rat, and Rich as a snake. This speech had made a great many of the audience hate her ( but others, like ME, thought it was GREAT! One of TV's GREATEST moments! ). George had enjoyed bantering with Sue, but Regis was irritated at her taking ANY time away from HIM, and tightly remarked: "Isn't she a riot, Governor?" George affirmed that, but without irony. He'd genuinely enjoyed her!: "I like her spirit!"
That brought Reege up short: "She's a good lady."
George: "She is. That she is."
If Regis was carping at Sue for being "frivolous," or "wasting time," then that was rather hypocritical, as he'd then asked Bush this "vital" inquery: "What was the last movie you've seen?"
Bush jovially answered that he'd seen one on video, as it cost a lot of money to take his entourage to a theater. Sue says a word of agreement, which sets Regis on his hackles: he won't let HER take over this interview! He reclaims his position as topdog, by asking: "So do you ever watch the BIG show? The Millionaire Show?"
"I DO! ALL the time!" swiftly laughed the savvy, Texas Governor. Reege then asks the "burning" query: "What does the 'W' stand for?"
Bush answers "Walker." Sue then jumps in with her own:
"There's another--'Walker, Texas Ranger.'" Regis is SO irritated at THAT, that he coldly turns his back on her, trying to ignore her; but Charming Mr. Bush gives her a pleasant rejoinder: "He's a good friend of mine, by the way: Chuck Norris." Regis takes out some family photos, showing George W. as a small babe in his father's ( George H. Bush ) arms; one of a young and handsome George W. holding twin baby daughters, Jenna and Barbara; ( one of whom, he'd remarked, he had just had dinner with, at the Waldorf Astoria. Sue pleasantly remarked upon the girl--Barbara-- just having entered Yale. He enjoyed and appreciated that, and replied warmly. Sue asked him if she'd brought a boyfriend home ( which would've been interesting, in hindsight! Maybe he was the one who got into trouble, later on! ); but Regis wanted to move on. He displayed a photo of "W" as a tot on a pony. GWB laughs at his then-lack of muscles ( but he was ONLY about 3! ). He says that the pony's name was "Widowmaker" ( an ODD thing, to have a pony with such DANGEROUS-sounding name, for such a little boy! )
Sue is reminded of her own childhood pony, Sugar: "We had her a long time, then I had to sell her. I cried so hard! Hardest thing I've ever done!" George W. replies charmingly, but Regis was SO fed up with her, that he *****
George explains why he wants to be President: "I'm going to usher in a period of personal responsibility. I'm going to be personally responsible for all the decisons I make, and each of you are, too; if you're a mom or dad, you've got to love your children--love them with all your heart and soul... I love people, I love my country, --I love Wisconsin!" says the winner of the Wisconsin primary, looking at Sue.
"We got some good food, there," answers the Wisconsin native. The irritated Reege again cold-shoulders her.
"You've got a good Governor, there," answers Mr. Savvy Bush. He goes on to discuss his political agenda for education ( state vouchers for private schools, should parents prefer them to less-stellar, and struggling public schools ); on cutting too-high taxes; on the ever-rising cost of fuel. To all of these, Sue makes agreeable remarks, mentioning the tax cash-back with which he was hoping to provide citizens. She brings up Social Security, which subject Bush seizes upon with relish. During all of this, Regis looks impatient, shuffling his notes grouchily, finally gruffly remarking,"Governor, I think you'd better take her with you!" Sue, clueless of his wrath, likely assumed he was complimenting her; as likely does Mr. Bush, who was well-satisfied with his day at Live!

The interview chillingly reminded me of those I'd seen Barbara Walters struggle through, nearly 30 years ago, while the co-host of the Today Show. Frank McGee, the BIG-shot host, forced a policy of only allowing her to ask one question to his four. Sometimes, watching the two in a joint interview, McGee's resentment was uncomfortably palpable. You could just READ the iciness in his back, turned stiffly on her! In later years, Barbara was to burst free of the restricted interview format, and become THE premiere interviewer, intermixing charming banter along with harder questions. The result is freer, less stressful for the interviewee, and garners headline-producing moments. I think that Sue Hawk, with a bit of work, could manage to become a decent interviewer. She just needs a mentor that's NOT jealous! Sue had been smarter than Regis has purveyed, being obsessed with how she'd ostensibly eaten up his time with a story about HER pony!
Still--Sue doesn't really seem to want a job as an interviewer. At the beginning of the show, Reege had been about to introduce the segment with audition tapes from the public, and had asked Sue if she wanted the job. "Are you kidding? No. Are you nuts? It'd be easier being pregnant! It looks so easy from back there! I can see why Kathie Lee quit! It's great visiting--but the job--forget it! And that's my final answer! But if you wanna take some time off--'cause I work better alone..."
"I think you spent too much time on that island."
At the beginning of the show, Reege had appeared more than willing to share the duties, and spotlight of interviewing Mr. Bush: "Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think that you'd be in a position to question what could possibly be the next President of the United States of America?--Have you got some good questions for him? I mean some real, legit questions about who's going to be in your White House, starting next year?"
When it came to the big moment, the interview, Regis had felt somewhat robbed of his moment, by what he viewed as Sue's usurpment of his plum, an interview with a future President. But Mr. Bush had enjoyed talking with Sue, as she was one of the people, a celebrity, sure, but more like a "real person" than any seasoned Hollywood or New York celebrity. That was a vital point for him to get across, that he cared about the people.

Maybe I'm being too hard on Regis. In rewatching these shows today, I realized that Regis' appeal skyrocketed when he teamed with Kathie Lee BECAUSE of his irritated-attitude toward a willing other party; i.e., Kathy Lee and he would spar in a friendly way, give each other little shots and snipes--and it was meant to be seen as banter--people enjoyed it! The relationship dynamic that Reege has with others is one of irritation, exasperation, give-and-take shots--but softened with warmth, and brightened with genuine pleasure. Trouble is, in the waning days of Kathie Lee, the warmth had seemed to evaporate. Regis seems most nervous when he's anxious to impress, as he was with Future President Bush. Regis was wringing his hands over and over; and his note shuffling perhaps was indication of nervousness. Perhaps he was envious of the ease which Sue had displayed: when introduced to Future President Bush, Sue had grasped and patted his hand like with an old pal, and had sweated nary a drop. Maybe it's because Regis excells when involved with mutual banter and mild insults, and with someone like Bush, that would be inappropriate ( though there was a moment where Bush gave Reege a shot: Regis had been so anxious to please, and, rubbing his hands together nervously, had asked "Did your father ever tell you that I played tennis with him?"
"Yeah; he told me that he won!" To this Reege gave an ironic joke-take ).
And to be honest, Sue WAS unseasoned as a co-host: she had unfortunately stepped on George's and Regis' "lines"--but Regis did likewise to her. This illustrates why Regis had to have another regular cohost: in order for each to get used to each other's rythms, not stepping on each other.
Mr, Bush had made quite a joke: Regis had asked "Do you feel that the best man always wins?" "Well, I didn't feel that way in 1992!" Ha, ha. The election where his dad, George H. Bush had lost to Clinton. The audience begins to laugh; but Sue had stepped on the audience's reaction with a pithy homily: "It's not always the fastest or the best man, but the man who says 'I can.'" A good saying, but she'd stepped on the audience's reaction, cutting it short.

As for Regis' attitude towards Norm, "Pop-Up" had said that Regis had assured that he liked Norm very much, and would even choose him for a phone-a-friend ( but I DON'T believe that he was serious, no way!! ). "Pop-Up" also says that Norm is a huge fan of Regis' and bore him no resentment. Well, sadly, I must've missed the Live! show, where Norm guested, and they discussed the show.

And the Norm Macdonald episode is still the most talked-about of the celebrity Millionaire shows. On the morning after, on Live!, Reege had told:
"My daughter called me from Notre Dame: 'Dad! Did you talk him out of it?'; and this morning on Good Morning America, they were talking about it: 'Regis, with his body language'--what body language? You spend 45 minutes alone with Norm Macdonald on TV!!!" And on David Letterman, in May 2001, Dave brought it up to Reege, in explanation of his own anxiety about appearing on a future celeb edition: "Norm was some sort of idiot savant, and you talked him out of it..." There are quite a few websites devoted to it; see the links below.
COPYRIGHT ©2001, SUSAN BROWN

1960: Greenbrier Golf Resort: The West Virginia Wing was added, at the same time, construction of a top secret relocation center for the US Congress was built into the mountain under the new wing. Tours, group events and unique theme parties available
acmecity.com Games: The Q & A to Norm's try at the million
Norm Success; 2 years after leaving SNL, is touted for game show
Archives: The Reporter Online Review of Norm live concert
Greenbrier.com web_mag; in gratitude to awareness raised by Norm Macdonald, Greenbrier donates a luxury vacation package to The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp
Sunday Gazette-Mail - More on Greenbrier donation
Pinehurst Golf - Sandhills Golf
The Breakers - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
The Broadmoor Colorado Springs
Who wants to become a Millionaire Message Board
Norm In The News normpage
Your Inner Regis--Ian Shoales Ill Humor

Special Links