Wendie Malick Discusses the Past and Present of Her Lengthy Career, and What’s Next for the Future of Entertainment
Los Angeles, CA (May 23, 2023): Veteran actor Wendie Malick is this week’s guest on Hollywood at Home – a podcast featuring behind-the-scenes conversations with entertainment industry personalities hosted by The Creative Coalition’s CEO Robin Bronk. Malick reveals Shrinking backstage chatter with Harrison Ford, up close and personal Hot In Cleveland moments with Betty White, embodying her Bojack Horseman character and her early career leap from Capitol Hill to Hollywood.
“Hollywood at Home” is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and more.
Listen now at:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-a-storied-career-with-guest-wendy-malick/id1521900273?i=1000614125411
For planned coverage, please link to:
http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast
Highlights from Hollywood at Home featuring Wendie Malick:
On meeting Harrison Ford for the first time for Apple TV+’s “Shrinking”: “I had never met Harrison before…he came up to me in the makeup trailer and just was so cute and said ‘I’m really glad you’re here’ and we started laughing. The second day we worked together, I had to kiss him, and I said, ‘do you mind if I bite your lip?’ And he said ‘no, that’d be great.’ So it was all good.”
On being a cast member on the animated series, “BoJack Horseman”: “They did table reads, which is really unusual for an animated show. And if you couldn’t be there, they had you just call in which is fun ‘cause, you know, you can work in your pajamas.”
On the “unpublished” backstory of her character Beatrice on “BoJack Horseman”: “Her mother was having a nervous breakdown, and her father sent her to an insane asylum. She just had this really traumatic childhood…that show was so trippy.”
On working with the legendary Betty White and being on TV Land’s first scripted show, Hot in Cleveland: “When they called me about that, I didn’t know what TV Land was. I don’t think many people did. I think a huge part of [its success] was we all had our fan bases and Betty [White] was going through that incredible Renaissance period after the Super Bowl commercial and Saturday Night Live. And she was just like the bell of the ball. I loved the premise — women should not be made to feel that they have to go out into the desert and just roll over because they’re over 50. And tackling things with such grace and dignity…we brought up issues.”
On the chemistry with her Hot in Cleveland cast mates: “We never really got together before shooting. Val [Bertinelli] and Jane [Leeves] and I did have lunch one day. The four of us never sat down together until that day of the [table] reading.”
On playing opposite Just Shoot Me! co-star David Spade: “He actually is incredibly sweet. He has that kind of edgy, sort of dark front that he puts on for people, but he has a huge heart and it is so much fun to be around him and have him make fun of you.
On art imitating life on Just Shoot Me!: “The one where they did the A&E biography of [my character] Nina. and it actually harkened back to my own life— they [included] Jerry Hall, who I did model with in the old days and Don Henley who produced one of my songs.
On working with the iconic George Segal: “ One of the sweetest, most hilarious human beings I’ve ever known. He was like a big teddy bear. His wife died before we came back after the pilot, so I think we became a sort of second family to him.”
On modeling: “I was at the TKTS booth in Times Square and somebody came up to me and said, “You’d be great for Wilhelmina.”
On her wackiest role: “I was a hooker on One Life to Live.”
On how HBO’s first hit scripted show, “Dream On,” changed her life: “ it opened so many doors for me, and helped people see me as a comedian, — prior to that I was always the murderer…or the judge or the ex-wife.”
More about Hollywood at Home:
Hosted by The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, “Hollywood at Home” brings listeners intimate portraits, key moments of discovery, and “art and soul” conversations with iconic entertainment industry personalities from the big screen to the boardroom, from L.A. to D.C. Listen now at http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast.
Previous guests include Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Marlee Matlin (“CODA”), Jason Alexander (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Alan Cumming (“Schmigadoon!, “The Good Wife”), Patricia Heaton (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The Middle”), Eric McCormack (“Will and Grace”), Willie Garson (“And Just Like That…”), Colman Domingo (“Euphoria”), Kerry Ehrin (“The Morning Show”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Ken Olin (“This is Us,” “Thirtysomething”), Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Julie Taymor (“The Lion King”), and Alfre Woodard (Clemency,” “Luke Cage”), among others.
More about The Creative Coalition:
Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating its members on issues of public importance. The Creative Coalition also creates award-winning public service campaigns, including #RightToBearArts, to promote the efficacy of the arts. Actor Tim Daly serves as the organization’s President. For more information, visit https://thecreativecoalition.org.
Media Contact:
Max Jordan
mjordan@thecreativecoalition.org
C: 240-506-7913
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