| Talk Show Appearances - 1989 | ||
| Late Night with David Letterman, Feb. 24 Good Morning America, Feb. 27 Tonight Show, Sept. 26 Late Night with David Letterman, Dec. 19 Clicking on the thumbnail images will cause larger versions of the images to open in a separate window. 1. Late Night with David Letterman, Feb. 24
After Dave introduces Tracey, she comes out to the accompaniment of her hit song "They Don't Know." He's having a hard time remembering the song; it was a number 8 hit, she reminds him. She shows off her "Paulina P. mermaid look",thanks to some strategically placed hair additions. Then she complains about the women who are taking fat and collagen from their rears and injecting it into their lips. It looks ridiculous, she says. And so do the contact lenses that turn your eyes blue; they make you look like you came from the Village of the Damned. She and her family have just moved into a new house, which they bought from a Czechoslovakian plastic surgeon. She expresses concern about his taste in decor -- and if his medical skills were anything like his taste in decor, then.... The neighbors are still adjusting to the new arrivals, but she hasn't "gone L.A." -- she's "still a screaming Londoner" at heart. After the break, Dave is holding the picture sleeve for the UK version of her single "Move Over Darling." The sleeve shows Tracey in a very brief bikini -- pre-breast feeding, she points out. They complain about losing the Emmy award to Irving Berlin; perhaps Dave will get it next year, she says (actually, she'll win it). Her show has been on for two years, and one thing she has learned is not to have any more kids or animals on the show. She tells about the nightmarish experience working with an orangutan, which had to wear a diaper all of the time that it wasn't working, and then there was the trainer making the silly noises to get the orangutan to do its thing. The conversation turns to MTV; she doesn't care for the heavy metal crap now airing there. And one more thing: why can't Smokey Robinson, Rod Stewart or whoever use women their own ages in their videos. She takes particular exception to one video of Rod's which features a young couple and Rod posing as a voyeur. She then talks about her daughter Mabel for a bit; Michael Tucker said that she was going to be either an actress or a dictator of a South American country. Dave asks her if she's doing a new film. Yes she is, where she'll be working with Kevin Kline and Lawrence Kasdan (this is "I Love You To Death"). 2. Good Morning America, Feb. 27
Charles Gibson is interviewing Tracey this morning. There are several impersonations of Julia Child on the set this morning (she had appeared earlier). He observed that it was nearly impossible to characterize The Tracey Ullman Show in two sentences, and Tracey agrees. She can't do it, either. She observes that they can get away with more on the show by being on the then-fledgeling Fox network. And the ratings? "A pile of rubbish!" She can't believe the ratings are as low as Nielsen says they are because of the reactions she gets from fans. They show a clip from TTUS (from the sketch where the dancer forgot to put on her panties). She continues to complain about women injecting collagen into their lips and breast jobs that look like orange sorbets. Changing the subject, she talks about playing a black woman on a recent sketch. It was in great spirit, not racist in any way -- if Eddie Murphy can play a white man in "Coming To America", why can't she play a black woman? Charles asks when the sketch is coming on; Tracey says "It's been on! You missed it!" and playfully slaps him on the leg. The official Johnny Carson website (www.johnnycarson.com) says that Tracey appeared this evening along with Jamie Lee Curtis and Cloris Leachman. As this is not in my collection, I can neither confirm nor summarize it. 3. Late Night with David Letterman, Dec. 19
Tracey comes out after being introduced, and once again Paul and the band play "They Don't Know." Dave still doesn't remember the song. She is sporting what she called a "Czechoslovakian gymnast look" tonight, and she comments about Dave's "nautical blazer." She then mentions the costumers on her show, who are known to use such phrases as "itchy con carne" and "icky con carne." This was another last-minute appearance for her, as the producers needed to find a replacement guest. Unfortunately, this meant that she and Mabel would not be able to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall that night, and Mabel was rather upset. Dave promises to take them to the show tomorrow. After the break, Tracey talks about her experiences on the L.A to New York flight, such as the angry New Yorker who refuses to stow his footrest, which results in Lionel Richie Muzak being played in an unsuccessful attempt to calm him down. She mentions that she'll be turning 30 shortly, and she's noticing certain implications -- for one thing, her taste are shifting away from MTV and more towards PBS gardening shows. This leads to one of the signs you know you're in L.A.: the ads for "goof-free banking" and the promos for the local news, which disgust her. And so do the "slimeball Realtors," who are sending things like a cheap, 50-cent spaghetti scoop in an attempt to drum up business. Prepared by Roger Reini |
