By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
March 21, 1995
The fans came early to the Near West Side with some of the most difficult-to-score tickets in town. Most had called in their orders weeks ago, never imagining they’d be watching history take place.
After quitting prematurely, a Chicago legend was coming back to form.
No, not Michael Jordan – it was Oprah Winfrey, returning to live TV after five years of taping her blockbuster daytime talk show. The live broadcasts resumed at 9 a.m. Monday on WLS-Channel 7, with guests Vanessa Williams, Gloria Estefan and Roberta Flack.
(In other cities, episodes will air on tape later each day.)
With its impressive musical lineup, Monday’s episode could’ve been dubbed “Club Oprah.” (Anita Baker, who also was scheduled to appear, couldn’t make it because she was ill.) Jordan’s youngest sister, Roslyn, also made an appearance that sated the Michael-hungry crowd.
Though one audience member grumbled that Winfrey was staying away from controversial questions (apparently referring to Williams’ fall from grace after her Penthouse photo scandal), Winfrey seemed to take a been-there-done-that approach to the live broadcast. She was more interested in showcasing the music, and the rest of the audience appeared to love the songfest.
While Williams and Estefan each sang two songs, Flack stole the show with her crowd-pleasing medley of ’70s hits (“Killing Me Softly,” “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”). During a commercial break, Estefan told Flack, “(You) were my biggest inspiration.”
If the pressures of shooting a live show fazed Winfrey, she didn’t show it. The host was friendly and chatted easily with both her guests and the 300-or-so members of the studio audience. When Williams sang “Save the Best for Last,” Winfrey silently mouthed the words along with her.
Though she never messed up, Winfrey at times was just plain goofy. Fidgeting with her black, baby-doll minidress, Winfrey joked, “This Wonder Bra is working me today!”
When they announced the return of live broadcasts last week, producers said they wanted to capitalize on Winfrey’s connection with the audience. Tim Bennett, president of Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, told the Sun-Times that going live would show that the host “rides the edge.”
So did Winfrey connect with her audience more on Monday than at previous canned shows? Not really. She always has been a dynamic presence on television, and that comes across whether the shows are live or taped. Consistently friendly with fans, Winfrey actually had less time to mingle during breaks due to the tight schedule – though when one fan asked to see the host’s earrings closeup, Winfrey obliged.
Except for sound problems during a couple of the songs – both Williams and Estefan asked during breaks that the monitors be checked – everything else seemed to run smoothly. The closest call was during one of the last commercial breaks, when a staffer ran off the stage with Flack’s chair. With seconds to go, he dashed back onto
the set and put the chair in place, just in time for Flack to sit by the time cameras rolled. The subsequent applause seemed to be as much for him as it was for the guests.
For the audience, the advantage of the live broadcast was knowing that once cameras started rolling at 9 a.m., they’d be out in an hour. The downside was that there were no bathroom breaks.
Some have speculated that this live thing is merely a gimmick, but one advantage is clear. Winfrey has been known to feed the audience when tapings run over, and the live shows are sure to reduce her food budget.
