New book ‘Behind the Curtain: An Insider’s View of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show’ exposes Hollywood’s biggest divas
INSIDER reveals who were the divas, who threw the craziest hissy fits and who was drunk on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
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A LONG-TIME producer of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno has dished the dirt on the biggest divas to appear on the show in a new book.
From backstage hissy fits and A-list drunks to decade-long celebrity sulking and diva requests, 22-year segment producer Dave Berg has lifted the lid on the biggest talk show nightmares in Behind the Curtain: An Insider’s View of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, the New York Post reports.
Here are some of the juiciest revelations in the book, which is released in the US today.
BIGGEST HISSY FITS
Berg reinforces the reputation of The Dark Knight’s Christian Bale as an aggressively difficult star.
Bale walked out on The Tonight Show because he felt the pre-show interview questions were “too personal”.
So what were the queries that cut so close to the bone? Berg asked Bale where he grew up, how big is family was and what his first job as an actor was. (Incidentally, it was a cereal commercial.)
“I was glad he dropped out, thus averting an awkward on-air exchange with Jay,” Berg writes.
Desperate Housewives’ Teri Hatcher was another famously difficult guest.
Berg describes Hatcher as having a Dr-Jekyll-and-Mr-Hyde personality. He called it “Teri One” and “Teri Two”.
“Teri One was charming, smart, witty and flirtatious,” Berg writes. “Teri Two was moody. She would call me late the night before her scheduled appearance, scream at me for not having better ideas, and then hang up. The next day, she would come to show as Teri One, acting as if nothing had ever happened.”
In 2009, Hatcher did not react kindly to being bumped for Barack Obama, in what would become the first appearance of a sitting president on a tonight show in US history.
How did she react? She demanded a Louis Vuitton handbag as compensation. The show sent her flowers.
BIGGEST DIVAS
Comedian Eddie Murphy handed over an absurd list of demands to tide him over during the 45 minutes he spent in his dressing room before appearing on the show.
This is what it included: “4 Snapple Fruit Punch, 4 Snapple Orangeade, 4 Snapple Grapeade, 4 Dr. Browne’s Cream Soda, 4 Dr. Browne’s Root Beer, Coke in glass bottles, bananas, cherries, Evian bottled water, Juicy Fruit Gum, Snickers, Milky Ways, peppermints, York Peppermint Patties, writing pads/pencils/pens, regular-sized towels, washcloths/small.”
Berg describes Paula Abdul as one of the show’s riskiest guests.
“Her behaviour was consistently erratic. She would cancel appearances for strange reasons, and when she did show up, her speech was often so slurred we could barely understand her,” Berg writes.
WHO PUT LENO IN THE FREEZER?
Helen Hunt was given some light criticism from producers about her appearance to promote her sitcom Mad About You and she refused to return to the show for 14 years.
Actor Benjamin Bratt also declined to reappear on the program soon after being bumped for an animal trainer.
In fact, The Tonight Show managed to beat The Late Show with David Letterman in the ratings by leading with cute animals instead of Hollywood stars.
For example, Leno managed to claim the rating crown even when Letterman booked Martha Stewart’s first late-night interview after her prison stay for insider trading.
“Facing near-impossible odds, we led with animals and won the ratings battle against Letterman and Martha by .4 of a point, approximately half a million viewers,” Berg writes.
WHO WAS THE BIGGEST DRUNK?
The show set up The Jay Bar, which was well stocked with beer and wine, to help nervous guests before their on-air appearances.
But director Quentin Tarantino was among the A-listers to overindulge. In 2003, he slurred his way through the interview in what Berg described as an “occasionally incoherent” performance.
Read more in the New York Post.
Originally published as New book ‘Behind the Curtain: An Insider’s View of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show’ exposes Hollywood’s biggest divas
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