JAY LENO: My first guest, an Emmy winning actress, in fact she hold the record for most Emmys for best actress. She stars on Murphy Brown, which is airing on Mondays at 9:00 on another network, CBS. Please welcome the lovely Candice Bergen!
Candice walks out, 'What’s Goin’ On' by Marvin Gaye is the song playing in the background.
CANDICE BERGEN: I’m having a good time already!
JL: Well, thank you for coming.
CB: Thank you for having me!
JL: I know you don’t usually do these type of things, you look like you’re nervous.
CB: It’s not my skill.
JL: Well that’s odd to me because you’re so skillful, you’re so natural on the show. What seems hard? What is awkward?
CB: Nothing, nothing. You make it so easy. I even got a Yanni CD, I’m so happy! [Also] Baskets of food, candles...
JL: Bath oils, whatever you need!
CB: I’ll be back next week!
JL: Now your show is in the news again. It’s pretty amazing, over a ten year run that this show has been on, every couple of years, you guys manage to break into the news again. Were you surprised by all the controversy over this latest thing?
CB: Yeah, we were surprised by the amount of it, but certainly it was a little controversial.
JL: Well, we should explain. We did the joke in the monologue, your character, because of the breast cancer, she smokes marijuana--
CB: To relieve the symptoms--
JL: --for medicinal purposes... As most people in California do.
KEVIN EUBANKS: laughing Thank you, Jay.
JL: So did you get the crazy mail?
CB: No, actually mostly the response we got was how moved they were by the episode because the episode was very touching at the end and wonderfully written. And the DEA, the drug czar, spoke out, but he had not actually seen the episode. And Dan Quayle weighed in also.
JL:: Did he call again? Didn’t he learn the last time when you’re going to get burned?
CB: For the rest of my life I’m going to get nailed by him. It’s something to look forward to.
JL: Do you think this was bigger than the first Dan Quayle thing, or smaller?
CB: Oh no the first one was big and it went on for months.
JL: Whoa! It was big.
CB: And it did go on for months.
JL: Because in this one it looked like you kind of inhaled.
CB: Yeah, wall of course it was herbal.
JL: Herbal?
CB: It was herbal.
JL: I brought something. Well you mentioned the basket and I did get this for you character. (Jay takes out basket.) Some Twinkies, Ding Dongs. just some lovely things to take back. Some munchies I guess you people call them. I guess you call them munchies, you people?
CB: (Candice is laughing hard) Me?
JL: You hippie-type people. No.
CB: That’s so considerate of you.
JL: Well there you are... Now quell another rumor here. Because all over the Internet, the rumor is ‘Omigod it’s ten years the show’s been on, looks like it will be the last one, they’re going to kill her off. Murphy is going to fall into a meat cleaver or something.’ You’re supposed to die. Is any of this true?
CB: No. What an insane choice to make.
JL: I know, but that’s the rumor.
CB: We could just shoot ourselves in the foot. No Murphy certainly isn’t going to die. We’re going to go out with a big bang.
JL: A big what?
CB: Murphy is a survivor. We’re going to go out with some noise.
JL: But it won’t be a funeral thing?
CB: No.
JL: Because you’ll want to do that big reunion show in like 20 years.... Is this definitely the last?
CB: Oh I swear to god. I swear.
JL: But I mean CBS, you know it’s a huge show, it does well, they back the truck up: ‘Okay, listen, we got to have you here, whatever you need. A ton of dough, free food in the cafeteria. Whatever you want.’ You can’t be persuaded?
CB: No It’s so great to go out on this kind of high, as it were. (Candice laughs.)
JL: You might not even be aware the show is over, yourself. But you know, you watch the show and it does look sort of like a well-oiled machine. I mean the characters are so engrained, everybody knows their parts, do things go wrong?
CB: They rarely do, but sometimes when the deck is stacked, sometimes when we work with a lot of kids. Sometimes things would go on, sometimes when we would work with the odd animal. Sometimes we’ve had more than the odd animal. Sometimes we’ve had lots of animals on the show.
JL: Now they sent us over an outtake. What is this clip? Do you know what it is?
CB: This is about the odd animal. This is a herd of pigs that we had once in Corky’s apartment and our director, Peter Bonerz, can be heard over the clip, telling Joe Regalbuto to stroke the pig, because the pig won’t stop squealing. And understandably! So this is that clip and sort of your average scene.
JL: Okay, and here’s an outtake here, go ahead, Murphy Brown.
(Clip is shown, Candice explained it pretty well.)
JL: You know its interesting, I always wondered about this because when I was a kid, I’m in my 40’s, everybody knew about your dad, of course Edgar Bergen, before they knew about you. But now its sort of the other way around. We have a lot of interns and I mentioned that you were on the show and I said, "You know, her dad is Edgar Bergen," and they kind of knew. How many of you people don’t know Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy? (some applause from the audience) Not too many. Your father was probably the most famous ventriloquist, wasn’t he?
CB: Yeah. It wasn’t a crowded field. But the fact that--
JL: Well....
CB: I don’t mean to demean it, but he was really more famous for creating the character that became an icon, that was sort of like Mickey Mouse, Charlie McCarthy, at the time. And for wonderful writing, and for being a ventriloquist on the radio which was sort of a--
JL: Yeah, interesting. Show the still. (Still photograph of Charlie McCarthy and a fairly young Edgar Bergen.) Now your dad, obviously the one on the right.
JL: Now is this true, I used to hear these things like Charlie, the dummy, had a bedroom in the house bigger than yours.
CB: Well he had my room and when I was born he was moved next door which was the guest room, so yes, it was true. And he had a desk, in my father’s office. And he had a wardrobe and assorted heads with different facial expressions.
JL: I was thinking of Michael Jackson’s kid. Oh my god. (There was a joke about Michael Jackson’s kid in the monologue.)
JL: Now did you think [Charlie] was like a brother when you were little? Did you think like, "Daddy’s going in to talk to Charlie." Was it like that?
CB: Well I was always called Charlie’s sister. Except his head would be taken off and he would be laid in the trunk and that was always a happy time for me.
JL: Did you think that would happen to you? "Daddy please! Don’t take my head off!!"
JL: And you were a dancer, as well?
CB: Yeah, well....
JL: A ballerina?
CB: ....Let’s just limit that.
JL: Oh, no, we have some wonderful footage here.
CB: I’m sure you would.
(Clip of old family movie of Candice as a child ‘dancing’ in a ballerina costume.)
JL: Notice the natural grace?
JL: Certainly not on marijuana in that photo.
CB: No, just white.
JL: And you did modeling, as well?
CB: Yeah.... For a minute.
JL: And I believe there was some nude modeling, wasn’t there?
CB: Oh, geez.
JL: Wasn’t there?
CB: Yeah. Go ahead and show it.
JL: Do we have the nude...
(Still of a baby picture of Candice)
JL: There you are again.
CB: So what’s left to know?
JL: No no no. You know you’re doing a terrific show. In one sense, I will miss your show but I think it’s real smart. Here you go out on the tenth year of the show and the writing is as smart and as bright as it’s ever been. You’re a wonderful actress and congratulations. I see why you’ve won more Emmys than anybody else. The show will be on next Monday, nine o’clock. Now you have to go now, don’t you?
CB: Thank you, Jay.
JL: Okay, Candice, thank you very, very much.
END

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