| Talk Show Appearances - 2010 | ||
|
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, January 22 Clicking on the thumbnail images will cause larger versions of the images to open in a separate window. 1. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, January 22 Jimmy observes that Tracey must do a lot of prosthetic work; it's like you're buried alive, she says, but it can be really interesting. He notes that some of her characters don't use prosthetics at all, just that "beautiful Tracey Ullman face." Contact lenses and teeth really help with those, she says. Then he asks if she is doing anything on Jersey Shore. She could do the poof, she says, pulling up her hair and starting to imitate one of the JS girls [Snooki? I don't watch reality shows, so I don't know and don't really care -- RR], calls on Jimmy to show us his abs (he declines), then pulls up on Brendan's shirt in a search for his abs -- but he's got a support belt on, she says. "You know how much beer and pizza I had to consume to achieve this actor's choice of body?", says Brendan. Jimmy then asks if the UK has any reality shows. Yes, and they're worse over there, Tracey responds. There, the minute a girl walks in the door, she's likely to ask "do you want me to get me tits out now?" No preamble or anything, just "Should we have sex now?" and "I can do a bigger poo than you." It's just so base over there, she says, mentioning Channel 4's Wank Week. Jimmy recalls being over in the UK and, while slightly drunk, turning on the TV and seeing someone sleeping. He kept it on for 10 minutes, wondering if anything was going to happen; nothing happened. He wondered if the British equivalent of Ashton Kutcher was going to come out and say, "You've been punk'd". Ah, the joys of Big Brother 24/7. Tracey mentions that her son will watch that ("look Mum, they've farted"). Jimmy then mentions Simon Cowell. Tracey says that she had thought about portraying him in State of the Union, but she'll actually do his "sister" Simone or Simona, who shares her brother's characteristics. He's not being horrible, she says; he's just being English, being honest. She never used to do celebrity impressions before, she says, but now that she is, people are more interested in the impressions than in her being herself. She does a little bit of her Arianna Huffington impression, which she said wasn't hard to develop. Her impression of Rachel Maddow took more work, pointing out her goofy laugh. There was one time when the fake chin she used for Rachel started to come off during a scene. Then Jimmy pulls out a picture of Tracey made up as Matthew McConaughey, with six-pack abs and pubic tufts. She saw it on the wall at the prosthetic studio and asked makeup man Matthew Mungle if she could wear that. No one would ever ask him that, he said, especially not a woman. She's proud of the pubic hair tufts and note that her dresser fancied her like that. Yes, she could have had sex with her dresser! Jimmy starts to introduce a clip from State of the Union in which Tracey is portraying Penelope Cruz, but before he can set it up, she comments that he is like a guy a group of girls would like to accompany them; he'd make them laugh and wouldn't try to shag any of them. He starts to laugh but then catches himself; he's not quite sure he agrees with that. This turns into another Jersey Shore riff. At the end of it, she is concerned that we're going to think badly of her for getting carried away and acting like a slag. Jimmy says no, and so does the audience. Finally, we see the clip: in it, Tracey is portraying Penelope, who is being interviewed about her new movie in which she plays Salma Hayek and the difficulties she's experienced because "tits happen." And on this note, the segment ends with everyone dancing to the Roots. 2. Live with Regis and Kelly, January 25 Mark Consuelos was filling in for Regis Philbin, still recovering from hip surgery. As a clip plays from State of the Union featuring Chanel Monticello in a dance number, Kelly Ripa introduces Tracey, whom she compares to royalty. She's impressed that Tracey became a US citizen a few years back. She (Tracey) thinks of herself as a hybrid these days; after living here for some 25 years, having had her children here, and all that, she thought it was time to take the test and win the right to vote. How was the test, asks Mark; interesting, she replies (and that was all she said about it). She tells of going downtown L.A. for the swearing-in ceremony with 15,000 others in attendance, seeing the patriotic film with the moon landing and the waving wheat fields, and hearing "God Bless the USA", from which she sings a few lines before turning apologetic: does the show have to pay royalties for that bit? Kelly asks if she cried; no, she says, she didn't; it just felt very nice. Then there were the two booths as one left the ceremony for joining the Republican or Democratic parties.Kelly then asks Tracey if the Britons think she's lost her accent due to her time over here. She doesn't agree with that at all, although maybe a few Americanisms slip in from time to time ("hey, man"), and she doesn't say "popping out to the shops" anymore. Mark asks what is the biggest difference between the US and Britain. There isn't much difference anymore, she responds, but there used to be. Back when she first came here in the '80s, there were lots of shows that were sweet, soft and nice: "Mom - let's eat pizza - I love you", while the UK shows were more cynical and hard-assed. Things have changed: there's a lot more political satire on here nowadays. We've started taking your shows and remaking them here, Kelly says [that's true -- RR]. She also says that she didn't believe it when her producer told her that Tracey turned 50 this year; you're a young 50, she tells her. Mark quips that he and Kelly are really 75. Did you celebrate, Kelly asks Tracey. Yes, she says, down in Jamaica (the island, not Queens). She danced to a reggae band for 3 hours on her birthday, thanks to her husband Allan, who flew her, family and friends there for a big celebration. We see him offstage, and he now has a white goatee. Kelly comments, "he's cute". Tracey says the goatee makes him look like he's understudying Polonius in Hamlet [having recently seen a production of Hamlet when this aired, I definitely agree with her -- RR]. They've been married 26 years now, she goes on to say; the way they work together, they're like the Desilu of England. In fact, working together was how they met [in Girls On Top -- RR]. And they're even in a sketch together in the premiere episode; Allan does a cameo as Bernie Madoff, to whom he bears a resemblance when he's not wearing a beard. After the break, Kelly says that what is so great about Tracey is the way she really transforms into every character she plays. We see a few examples by way of photographs: Debbie Rowe, Ruth Madoff, and Matthew McConaughey (this draws a stifled whistle from the audience). Mark asks Tracey if she has a favorite character; not really, she says for she always wants to move to the next character. She then explains how the McConaughey impression came about: she saw the torso on the wall at her makeup artist's studio and said she wanted to wear that. Kelly says she wore a chest plate once, but it was a woman's chest; she was portraying Jessica Simpson and so needed to be voluptuous. In real life, she naturally looks more like Matthew McConaughey. Mark quips that it's so nice to see him with his shirt off for a change [in real life, it would be a change to see him with it on -- RR]. Tracey says he must call up the photogs and say "I'm going out on my surfboard now". Now comes a clip from tonight's episode: we see Tracey as Rachel Maddow and Arianna Huffington in the makeup chairs at MSNBC. And on that note, the segment ends. 3. Joy Behar Show, January 26 The segment opens with a clip from the first episode of the new season of State of the Union, in which Chanel Monticello is telling the passengers "iPods away!", after which Joy Behar introduces Tracey, who wishes that the clip had played longer, for it would have gotten to the dance tribute to Michael Jackson. It was choreographed by her longtime collaborator Joe Malone, who had danced in many Jackson videos. It'll be on iTunes, she says, referring to the complete episode. Joy asks if she has a favorite character; no, she responds, she wants to be someone for 50 minutes and then she's ready to move on. But she notes that portraying a single character a la Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote would be calmer than what she's doing now. There's no character she won't attempt, she says. Case in point: Barney Frank, the congressman, who talks like he doesn't have his teeth in, as she demonstrates for the viewers. Had she considered doing, say, Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh? She had thought of doing Trish Limbaugh, Rush's sister, but it ended up being much too blustery, so she did Simone/Simona Cowell instead (and Joy might be next). Has she ever heard from those she's imitated, asks Joy. Not so far, Tracey replies, although Meghan McCain did tweet that she saw her impression and "LMAO". She observes that her hairstyle today makes her look like Snooki from Jersey Shore ("I love those kids"). Joy asks Tracey what is the difference between her and Sybil. She's a happy schizophrenic, Tracey says, not tortured, but she is happy to be herself at the end of the day. Joy then asks what is the first thing she does to get a character down; she'll look for a word or a phrase, she responds, for that is her thing: she keys in on voices. Other kids at school kicked footballs; she'd imitate the teacher or family members. She gives an example as Laura Bush: "Everybody's a hero." Or how about Rachel Maddow and her goofy laugh, which she proceeds to demonstrate. She never used to impersonate celebrities, she says, but with everyone being so celebrity-obsessed these days, you'll get more attention imitating a celebrity than you do as yourself. Joy observes that many people think that comedy is a defense against something, something painful. Was there anything like that that steered her toward comedy? She's not one of those who are sad or tragic in real life, says Tracey; she likes to laugh. She points out that she can't do standup like Joy -- no going around the country, staying in Travelodges and talking about the airlines. The travel was mainly in the Tri-State area, Joy points out -- Snooki territory. She did get defensive about her curly Jewish hair when younger. Tracey notes that her uncles told her she looked like a troll, and they still do to this day. You have to be able to laugh at yourself in her family, she says. Joy then asks Tracey if she got excited when she saw herself in the movie The Queen. No, she was quite ticked off, she replies, for the producers didn't ask for permission for that clip of her to be shown. After the film came out, somebody came up to her and berated her for having said those uncomplimentary things about the monarch, while someone else came to her and said he approved of what she'd said. Regardless, the producers should have asked permission, and they didn't. To settle the matter, she insisted that they make a substantial donation in the name of Princess Diana to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. Would she ever portray the Queen, Joy asks [she did play the composite Her Royal Highness in TTO -- RR]; don't get me started, Tracey answers, for it'll become a condemnation of the class system. Joking about the Queen in the UK is like dropping a lead fart; some will, some won't -- you'd be surprised at who wants the royal honors, the knighthoods, etc. They (the royals) say the same things when they meet you: "You've been very busy, haven't you?", which is pretty easy to respond you: "Yes I have, actually." Joy announces that they'll be back with Twitter questions after the break; we can hear Tracey say "Clitter" as the segment ends. As the second segment begins, we see part of another clip from the first episode of the new season of State of the Union: it's where Arianna Huffington tells Meghan McCain that she's a lovely young Democrat, a remark to which Republican Meghan takes strong offense. Bipartisan satire, Joy observes. It's so tempting to portray Arianna, Tracey says, for she has been good to her: "people like you being me more than they like me being me." Joy asks her if she tweets or does Facebook. No; in that respect she's anti-social. With those sites, they seem to attract people from your past that you frankly never want to hear from again. Joy points out that she might actually like Facebook for the potential of fan interaction, but Twitter can get people into trouble. Tracey asks if Joy got into trouble with Twitter, but Joy refuses to say any more on the matter. Now for the first Twitter question: are you disappointed you're not involved with the Simpsons now? Well, Tracey replies, she does hear from them every quarter in the form of a nice check. She is proud of them. And it turns out that Joy and Julie Kavner were in a movie together, This Is My Life. Second Twitter question: is there anything she would like to do professionally that she has yet to do? There is indeed: a Peter Sellers Dr. Strangelove-type film where she could portray multiple characters with a storyline that sustains itself for 90 minutes or so. Third Twitter question: any plans to imitate Sarah Palin or Nancy Pelosi? No on Palin, Tracey replies, for Tina Fey did the definitive Sarah Palin impression, and she has in fact portrayed Pelosi: it was in the very first State of the Union episode, where she received a Botox injection. Would she consider portraying the Obamas, asks Joy; they don't organically come to her, she responds; maybe next year. Now Michelle's mother may be more of a possibility -- have her involved in some organic gardening -- or maybe she could portray the chef from Chez Panisse. Joy makes a final comment about Tracey being multitalented and multiorgasmic ("Clitter!"); Tracey checks Joy's shoulders and finds that they are pads; and the interview comes to an end. 4. Rachel Maddow Show, January 28 This summary is based in part on the official transcript for the show as well as the original broadcast. Rachel Maddow describes being imitated by Tracey as the intersection of two circles, "flattered" and "embarrassed." As a sequence of clips from several of Tracey's shows plays, Rachel sets up the final clip, the one featuring Arianna and herself. The clip is cut off, and Tracey is on the set. This is the first time they have met, and Tracey says she's a huge fan of Rachel's. She pulls out the glasses used for the impression in that clip, ones she found at a pharmacy for $11; she'd put them on there, and "I just wanted to be you." She had makeup artist Matthew Mungle develop a fake chin for the impression because Rachel has a long face (they tried a fake nose, but it mader her look too Hebrew). Unfortunately, during filming, the chin developed a crack. Filming continued, and the crack was removed electronically during post-production. $10,000 well spent, she says. Rachel asks her how she picks whom she wants to imitate. Why did she pick Barney Frank? Tracey never really answers, for she starts to wonder if Barney Frank does have removable dentures and asks Rachel if she knows (she's never asked, either). Then she mentions that the makeup artist in the sketch was the actress who played Miss Yvonne in Pee-Wee's Playhouse and The Pee-Wee Herman Show. Rachel says that what she found strange about the sketch was that she is very much like how she was portrayed in the makeup room: a little dab, not much fuss, and away she goes. Did you know that, she asks Tracey; not for sure, but she imagined she would be that way, and Rachel's real makeup artist confirmed it. Tracey can be like that herself. Then she compliments the makup department, noting that some places can cover you in that Caribbean orange sunset stuff. Rachel notes she asks for that on days she needs cheering up. Changing the subject, Rachel asks Tracey if it's harder to imitate a celebrity or to create a character from scratch. She notes that in this day and age, you get more attention if you imitate someone famous than if you're just being yourself, but it can be difficult at times. Arianna was a cinch to do, for the voice is more or less Eva Gabor. Then she decided to be bipartisan this year and impersonate Republican Meghan McCain (word is she liked the impression). Now Rachel has a bit of a meta-moment, for she prefaces her next comment by saying she feels like she's Tracey imitating her. Now for the comment: the thing she finds most intertaining about politics right now is what's happening with the Republican Party, the tea party movement, etc, but there aren't that many famous Republicans right now. There's Sarah Palin, but Tina Fey's got that impression locked up. Would Tracey consider doing, say, Michele Bachmann or Ann Coulter; she might, she says, observing that one is "glamorously bonkers" while she has a low opinion of John Boehner. Rachel then brings up Tracey's dual citizenship (native Briton, naturalized American): did she or could she choose to retain citizenship in both lands? Yes, Tracey says, she could and did. She gets the best of both worlds that way, the American and European perspectives. Her daughter Mabel is working for the government in the UK, so she's clearly into politics as well. Now back in the early 2000's, Tracey goes on to say, she got concerned that her green card might be taken away if those in power (Dick Cheney and the like) were offended, which helped prod her into becoming a citizen. Now she is, and she feels psychologically liberated to impersonate people and, as Rachel puts it, "make them both uncomfortable and incredibly flattered and happy." As the segment ends, Rachel comments that the $11 pair of glasses Tracey used are filthy. 5. Watch What Happens: Live, January 28/29 Tracey appears with Kristen Johnson and host Andy Cohen. Prepared
by Roger
Reini |