Wednesday, May 29, 2013

"O" What A Surprise: How Oprah Surprised Kelly, Michael and Me On-Air Live!



Photo Credit: Debbie Mitchell
On Tuesday morning I got up early and rode my bike over to an Upper West Side studio for the taping of "Live! with Kelly and Michael."  As always the ABC show was filled with a lot of energy, the audience was packed, and Kelly and Michael were in their usual happy form. Since it was the day after the three-day, Memorial Day weekend, the pair used the first part of the program to talk about their time off, and a few other fun topics before they got to the guest line-up. 

Tyler Perry with Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan on Live! With Kelly and Michael  Photo Credit: Debbie Mitchell
The first guest up was Tyler Perry, who was on promoting his two new shows, "The Haves And The Have Nots" and "Love Thy Neighbor." Both sitcoms are on Oprah Winfrey's OWN network. The last time Tyler was on Live!, he attempted to call Ms. O.  for Kelly and Michael to say "Hi," but no luck; she didn't answer.  So Kelly and Michael ribbed him about the failed attempt and asked him to try again on Tuesday's show. Tyler being a good sport did get Oprah on the phone but she had a bad reception and we couldn't hear her.  Disappointed with the poor reception Tyler promised to call Oprah back hoping to hear her better.

Live! With Kelly and Michael   Photo Credit: Debbie Mitchell


Well, the next time we heard Oprah's voice was when she surprised the audience and show hosts by walking right onto the set.  The looks on Kelly and Michael's faces were priceless; they had no idea Ms. O. was in the house! The audience was up on their feet and went wild with applause. Tyler and Oprah are the latest dynamic duo in the entertainment industry and a lot is riding on the launch of Tyler's shows.  The two talked about their friendship, working together, and their collaboration on OWN.

As a producer it's no easy task to hide a guest who is appearing on a show. To actually pull it off and surprise the hosts is a whole different story. Live!  long time Executive Producer Michael  Gelman told during commercial break told us that Oprah hid in the smelly and not-too-posh  studio props room instead of the greenroom in order not to spoil the surprise.  Kelly joked that she was sweating a lot m more because of Oprah and told the former queen of daytime that she could see the sun shining in her eyes.  Ripa was giddy with true excitement.  Michael Strahan joked during the commercial that Gelman took a chance with the surprise since the excitement for him in seeing Oprah could have caused him to wet his pants :). Overall it was a well planned surprise ambush.  Kudos to producer Delores Spruell Jackson for pulling it off.



Since Oprah didn't leave her seat during the commercial breaks, I tried to get an over the shoulder shot of me with her in the background.  Look closely through all those people and you can see her. Not bad! See what happens behind the scenes when the cameras stop rolling?  Thanks Donovan for capturing this shot for me.


It took almost 27 years for me to be in the same room with Oprah again. Yes, I met her before and she actually spoke to me the last time; it was brief but I'll never forget it.


Debbie Mitchell, Caroline Reyes, Oprah Winfrey, Angela Thames, Essence, The Television Show (1986)

Thanks Tyler Perry for the great surprise and good luck with your new shows!

To read a about my memorable meeting with Oprah and the advice she gave me years ago click here.
TV/Social Media Producer Debbie Mitchell is an Emmy nominated producer who is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA)  and  is currently a member of the James Beard Broadcast and New Media Awards Committee.  If you are a brand interested in blogger outreach campaigns, a blogger or personality interested in television placement follow Debbie Mitchell @SocialTVDeb.

More Ready4Air:

at

No comments:

Post a Comment