On this Episode, Kelly is joined by the one and only: Ricki Lake! She is a TV and film actress, producer, and television show host. You can see her star in Hairspray, or host her Ricki Lake talk show, which ran for 12 seasons and aired over 2,000 episodes!
Kelly starts by asking Ricki where she was born. Ricki tells him about growing up and going to school in Westchester and the city. She talks about taking the train in to Manhattan to go to a performing arts school. She and Kelly try to figure out if they share a mutual connection from her high school. Ricki talks about her parents' family business and how she was a true New Yorker.
Ricki then talks about how 9/11 affected her life trajectory. She talks about living in the West Village at the time and witnessing the plane fly down the Hudson River. She talks about how her home birth was such a powerful experience for her, and that mixed with the events and her contract ending influenced her to move to LA.
Ricki then talks about how she ended up moving back to New York 20+ years later, when her house burned down in the Malibu fires. She talks about her house and what she was doing when the fires started. She tells us how she and her husband stayed to try to fight the fire and save their home, but ultimately decided to leave everything behind. She talks about how difficult it was to rebuild, and she talks about all of the things that she's lost in the process.
Kelly then asks her about her move back to New York. Ricki talks about how she had a feeling that she didn't want to stay in LA anymore. She talks about how she got the opportunity to spend a few months living in Chelsea at a friend's apartment and how she was able to rediscover the city that way. Kelly asks her about her necklace, and Ricki talks about how she was able to obtain some of the ashes from her house and create a diamond from it, symbolizing her rebirth.
Kelly talks with Ricki about Hairspray! Ricki talks about her casting process and how she went from auditioning for a movie because of a flyer up at her school to getting the lead role in the movie musical. She talks about working with John Waters and Divine, and how the whole cast became a family. Kelly then asks her about her Ricki Lake Talk show, and she gives him the inside scoop on how she got the role.
Kelly then asks her about some of her other work in documentary film, dancing with the stars, and her second TV show, The Ricki Lake Show. She talks about how documentary filmmaking became a personal passion of hers. She talks about how The Business of Being Born still helps new mothers through childbirth. She tells Kelly about how much she loved getting to do Dancing with the Stars, even though she avoided doing it for so long. Kelly let her know that he thought she should have won her season, but Ricki accepted her third-place position. Ricki then talks about why she wanted to go back and do another talk show. She talks about what she was hoping would be different and how that didn't end up being the case. But she was grateful to win an EMMY for her work, but laments that she lost it in the fire.
Finally, Kelly has a surprise that he'd been saving for Ricki all show. He tells her and she is absolutely shocked and delighted.
But above all else; Ricki Lake is a New Yorker
Kelly Kopp's Social Media:
@NewYorkCityKopp
Ricki Lake's Social media
@RickiLake
Jae's Social Media
@StudioJae170
Chapters
- (00:00:00) - Ricki Lake on Being a New Yorker
- (00:02:19) - Ricky on 9/11
- (00:06:15) - Cannizzaro on 9/11
- (00:08:57) - Ricky on Starting a Talk Show at 24
- (00:12:58) - One New Yorker's Story of The Fire
- (00:14:56) - Malibu Firefighter on the Fire
- (00:20:16) - A Broadway Star Gets Her Back
- (00:24:14) - Katie Levine on Broadway's
- (00:26:37) - Jennifer Aniston on Hairspray
- (00:27:04) - Jay Leno on Hairspray
- (00:28:05) - Fat Girl In John Waters' 'The Fat Girl'
- (00:30:19) - Tracy Turnblatt on Working With John Waters
- (00:32:37) - John Waters on Dancing in Hairspray
- (00:34:09) - Dancing With the Stars... Robin Williams
- (00:37:42) - "Go Knicks!" Fans at tonight's Manhattan Henge
- (00:38:28) - Ricki Lake on Her Second Talk
- (00:42:21) - Ricki Lake On Her First Ricki Lake Show
- (00:44:21) - Kelly on Ricki Lake's Dating Game
- (00:46:30) - Donnie Wahlberg on Hairspray
- (00:47:16) - I Had The Best Plastic Surgery Ever
- (00:51:21) - Ricki Lake Gets Real About Her Love For Cleveland
- (00:51:58) - Mickey Lake on Taking the Subway
- (00:53:30) - Ricky Lake: It's an Honor to Be a New Yorker
- (00:54:21) - The New Yorkers: Episode 291
