Talk Soup
“Talk Soup" was my baby when I was hosting. I was really in my element. I read about the show in a trade magazine and asked my agents to submit me. I had a great audition, and then I waited…and waited…and waited…and waited. It took them more than six months to pull the trigger. They were afraid the show wouldn’t work with a female host. Finally, they let me guest host the show, and I received the most fan mail out of anyone that had ever guest hosted! So they kind of had to hire me then. Thanks to all the fans who wrote in—you got me that job!
My favorite part of the show was the rawness of the comedy. We worked really hard on writing jokes, but we were prepared enough to throw it all out if something struck us in the moment. The show really felt live, even though it wasn’t, and it felt like things were unfolding in front of the audience in a really authentic and unstudied way. Plus I got to wear tiny cowboy hats and yell “Texas justice!” at the top of my lungs. Classic.
Here’s what a typical day was like: Show up, do hair and makeup, act like an idiot for 30 minutes, have beer and Skittles for lunch, laugh all afternoon at fart and poop jokes until Skittles come out of my nose, spend a few minutes reviewing the script for the next day, set one of the writers’ cubicles on fire, go out with the writers and get in a bar fight, go home, condition my hair, pet my basket of puppies, and sleep.
But as most good things have to come to an end, I eventually left the show. It felt like the reign of Jerry Springer-style daytime talk was waning, and I was starting to get acting offers. It made sense to bring the show to a close. I will always look back on that time in my life with a huge smile on my face.
