princess 1,712 Report post Posted July 26, 2004 Oprah Develops New Taste for RestaurantMonday Jul 26, 2004 3:00pm ESTBy Stephen M. Silvermanpeople.comRocco DiSpirito, move over: Oprah's getting into the restaurant biz.The media queen was so impressed by what she bit into at the Art Café and Bakery in coastal San Luis Obispo, Calif., that she decided to buy into the place, the Associated Press reports."It turns out this was the most expensive sandwich I've ever had," said Winfrey 50. The filling that changed her life: chicken curry.Cafe owner and chef Margaux Sky, who had considered selling the eatery due to the long hours and modest profit margins, was taken aback by Oprah's offer, which came after her O magazine did a photo shoot on the premises."It was just a sandwich, you know what I mean?" said Sky.The amount of money Oprah forked over hasn't been revealed. Winfrey and Sky never met, and Oprah wasn't even at the café to see it for herself. But Oprah apparently tasted the sandwich while visiting the home of Tim Bennett, president of Winfrey's Harpo Productions, and got hungry.What she wanted, she said, was a turkey burger. What she got instead was the chicken curry sandwich that happened to be there from Burnett's sister-in-law, Sky."Enjoy it, because tomorrow she's shutting down her cafe,'" Bennett told Winfrey.The next morning, Bennett "called and said if I wanted to stay in business, the check was in the mail," Sky recalled. And thus, a business relationship was born."Women try to do too much instead of reaching out and asking for support so they can do what they do better," Winfrey said, according to AP. "Always do your best, because you never know who's watching." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted August 5, 2004 'Oprah' Extends Through 2010-11 (Thursday, August 05 01:30 PM) LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Oprah Winfrey will get to celebrate at least the silver anniversary of her daytime talk show. Winfrey has agreed to a three-year contract extension with King World, which syndicates "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which will take the show through the 2010-11 TV season. That season will be the show's 25th. "The thought of taking the show to its 25th anniversary is both exhilarating and challenging," Winfrey says in a statement. "The years ahead will allow me to continue to grow along with my viewers and will give my production company the time and opportunity to use the show as a launching pad to create and develop additional projects." The renewal is pretty much a no-brainer for King World, which has locked in the show at several ABC-owned stations through 2010-11. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is easily the most popular talk show in syndication, and in the May sweeps it posted its best ratings in seven years among households and several key female demographics. Beginning in 2004-05, Winfrey will produce 140 episodes of the show per season, up from 130 in the past. She'll stay at that number through 2009-10, then drop back to 130 the following year. "Oprah Winfrey is one of a kind," says Roger King, CEO of King World. "And, as the numbers from this past season prove, she's at the very top of her game. We couldn't be more pleased with her decision to continue 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' into the next decade." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hollywoodfreak 0 Report post Posted August 5, 2004 Cool, I love love love Oprah! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted August 17, 2004 people.com SELECTED: Oprah Winfrey, 50, was picked Monday to serve on a jury in a murder trial. "It's not every day that you have a celebrity on a jury," a spokesman for Chicago's Cook County prosecutor's office tells Reuters. The billionaire will be paid $17.20 a day for her court service. The case on which she will serve concerns Dion Coleman, charged with shooting to death Walter Holley after an alleged dispute over a counterfeit $50 bill Holley had accused Coleman of passing. "I'm just hoping it doesn't take longer than a week because I've got shows to do," Winfrey told ABC before being chosen from a pool of 300 prospective jurors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted August 24, 2004 people.com Oprah Winfrey, fresh from jury duty but deep into summer reruns, will run a new episode this Thursday, on which Gwyneth Paltrow will give her first interview since becoming a mother in May.Paltrow plans to speak about not only daughter Apple but also her secretive 2003 marriage to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and the 2002 death of her father, director Bruce Paltrow, says the Hollywood Reporter.Also on the episode, Jude Law, Paltrow's costar for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, will appear, as well as the jurors from the Chicago murder case that Oprah just served on. The jury convicted Dion Coleman, 27, of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Walter Holley, 23, following a fight over a fake $50 bill.The Oprah Winfrey Show will then revert to reruns, until the new season premiere on Sept. 13.In other TV news, Oprah's discovery, Dr. Phil McGraw, will flex his considerable muscle on CBS, which has postponed the fall premieres of 60 Minutes, The King of Queens and John Goodman's new sitcom Center of the Universe by a week ? to Sept. 29 ? to make room for his Sept. 22 special, A Dr. Phil Primetime Special: Family First. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted September 13, 2004 EOnline.com CAR FAIRY: Oprah Winfrey celebrating the premiere of the 19th season of her talk show Monday by giving each audience member a car. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest saltandpepper Report post Posted September 13, 2004 Oprah is very materialistic. Must be great to get a new car for just being in the audience though. Now there will be more worshiping at the altar of Oprah. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
QTPIE 0 Report post Posted September 13, 2004 a quote from an article on Yahoo.. She said most members of the audience had been specially selected from letters sent in advance by viewers on behalf of themselves, friends or family who were in need of a new car. But the audience members were kept in the dark about the nature of the show until it was taped. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/n...sure_oprah_dc_6 It's not like just anyone got the cars, they were people who were in need Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted September 13, 2004 Oprah's Big Car GiveawayEOnline.comby Sarah HallSep 13, 2004, 11:00 AM PTOprah Winfrey: reigning queen of daytime talk, book club guru and newly minted automobile fairy.The gabber celebrated the start of the 19th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show Monday by awarding each of the 276 members of her audience a brand new car.Teasing her season opener, Winfrey had guaranteed viewers something momentous. She even had an emergency medical crew standing by in case anybody in her audience was overcome by the magnitude of the surprise."We're calling this our wildest dream season, because this year on the Oprah show, no dream is too wild, no surprise too impossible to pull off," Winfrey said.In order to maintain the element of suspense, Winfrey initially called 11 audience members onto the stage and gave each of the elated chosen ones a Pontiac G6.As the rest of her audience looked on enviously, gift boxes were distributed throughout the crowd and Winfrey told them that one box contained a 12th set of keys.But when the audience opened the boxes, they each discovered their own set of keys, as Oprah crowed, "Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car!"Audience members responded by erupting into screams and many began weeping, making for excellent close-up fodder. The group then rushed out to the parking lots at Winfrey's Harpo Studios to check out their new rides, each decorated with a red bow.Winfrey said she chose her audience members based on testimonials from their friends and family members about their specific needs for a new car. One couple drove a car with more than 400,000 miles on it; another woman drove a car that her son said "looks like she got into a gun fight."Gifting her audience with cars wasn't the only act of generosity Winfrey performed in her opener. In another segment on the show, she teamed with Tyra Banks to surprise a 20-year-old girl who grew up in foster homes and homeless shelters with a four-year college scholarship, a $10,000 shopping spree and a makeover from Banks' America's Next Top Model team.Winfrey also aided a family with eight foster children on the verge of being kicked out of the house they were renting by giving them $130,000 to buy and repair the home.If 19 seasons on the air rates each audience member a new car, it's hard to imagine what Winfrey will be giving away when she hits season 25?the yakker recently extended her contract to keep hosting her syndicated chatfest through 2011. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted September 13, 2004 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest saltandpepper Report post Posted September 14, 2004 That story about everybody in the audience needed a car isn't so true but I'm not blaming Oprah for that.A lady from the city that I live was there and won one and she said her present car is just fine and almost new. She was still very glad to win a new one though.I saw her on the local news last night talking about it.Good for her. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MMM1 1 Report post Posted September 14, 2004 2 people from my city won a car, also. I wish she could have included people in the audience that have No Car at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zion 0 Report post Posted September 14, 2004 I need a house, do you think Oprah would give me one? Maybe I should write her a letter... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted November 23, 2004 Oprah Giveaway Targets Teachers Tuesday Nov 23, 2004 8:00am EST By Todd Peterson people.com Christmas came early for a studio audience of 300 schoolteachers and educators during a special taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show. At the show, taped Saturday, the teachers were delighted to learn they were the recipients of the annual "Oprah's Favorite Things" ? this year a $4.5 million giveaway that gives back to a deserving group. Audience members received gifts totaling about $15,000 per person, more than three times as much as last year's $4,800 gift packages. Among the goodies bestowed on the deserving educators: a 30-inch widescreen LCD TV, washer and dryer, Sony Notebook computer, weeklong getaway at a Miraval Resort and more. The educators were asked to a special taping of Oprah's show last Saturday under the premise that they had to work during the rest of the week. On the set, Oprah said, "You give, and give, and that is why I wanted to give you the hottest ticket in television," as she displayed the generous prize packages for the audience members, who began yelling and wildly jumping up and down. "Oprah's Favorite Things" is just the latest in what has been a generous year for the talk-show host. She also gave away more than 270 Pontiac G6 cars to audience members earlier this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted January 28, 2005 EOnline.comCALLING IT QUITS? The New York Post reporting that Oprah Winfrey has told TV executives at a Las Vegas party that she plans to retire when her contract is up in 2011. However, the daytime talk-show queen has twice before hinted she would quit only to reverse course. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rebelgirl 1 Report post Posted June 20, 2005 http://thebosh.com/archives/2005/06/oprah_refused_e.php Clerks at the Paris Hermes store must be kicking themselves. Page Six reports that employees of the pricey boutique in France refused to let mega-mogul Oprah Winfrey inside because they did not recognize her at the time. A spy who witnessed Oprah's dismissal said, "Oprah didn't have her hair done. When she tried the door, they refused her entry because they have been 'having a problem with North Africans' lately' and obviously had no clue who she was." Because of the slight, Hermes should not expect their infamous Kelly bag to be featured as one of Oprah's "favorite things" in her yearly Christmas episode. (By Kate Lanahan) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cydonia 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2005 Winfrey Plans To Discuss "Racist" Hermes on TV American talk show host Oprah Winfrey believes she was refused entry to theHermes shop in Paris, France because she is black, and she is planning todiscuss the incident when her TV show resumes later this year. The luxurygoods company was forced to issue an apology to Winfrey last week, after thetalk show host was turned away at the door of the Paris store earlier thismonth, while she was shopping for a gift for pal Tina Turner. A friend ofWinfrey, who was recently named the most powerful celebrity in the US byForbes magazine, tells the New York Daily News, "If it had been Celine Dionor Britney Spears or Barbra Streisand, there is no way they would not be letin that store." Her spokesperson adds, "Oprah does have plans to discuss theincident on air when she returns in September." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cydonia 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2005 June 27, 2005MARK CARO ON OPRAH'S DEEP (OR CHEAP?) HUMILIATION (Posted by Notebook guest blogger Mark Caro)My first reaction to last week’s Oprah-Hermes flap, in which the Parisboutique apologized to the talk-show queen for turning her away afterhours, was to want to write something like this:Thank you, Oprah, for striking another blow for the common man andwoman—and America, too.Our hearts all go out to you. There you were, in Paris, wanting to buya present for your friend Tina Turner, and Hermes wouldn’t let youinto the store. Sure, they say you showed up at 6:45 p.m., and the store closed at6:30 p.m. Sure, the store was preparing “a private public relationsevent inside.”But they just don’t get it over there in France, do they? You’re anAmerican. You have a God-given right to shop whenever and wherever youwant to.And you’re Oprah, so you can do whatever you damn well please. Don’tthose people over there understand that celebrities are royalty?Regular rules do not apply!Besides, as your people thought it was important for us all to know,you were buying a present for Tina Turner. What do the French haveagainst Tina Turner?Your friend Gayle King said you described the incident as “one of themost humiliating moments” of your life.I feel your pain. Once I went to a Dairy Queen and some low-life wassweeping the floor and the door was locked, and I yelled, “I need aBlizzard!” The dude just shrugged and said, “We’re closed.”I said, “Open up! I need it for my friend John Cusack!” He said, “I’m sorry, but the cash registers are all closed down andeverything is turned off.”I’ve never felt so humiliated in my life.So good for you, Oprah. Last week the U.S. Senate apologized for thecountry’s history of lynching, Sen. Dick Durbin apologized forlikening Guantanamo Bay to a Nazi prison and Hermes apologized for notletting you shop after it had closed.The world is finally getting somewhere....OK, so I decided not to write that, and not just because that endingis a bit over the top. Here’s the reason:Oprah’s spokespeople implied that the incident was racial in nature,calling it her “‘Crash’ moment,” a reference to the current hit movieabout racism in Los Angeles. I may be a smart-ass who’s under theimpression that if Oprah’s ego were a movie character, it would beGodzilla, but she has accumulated some credibility over the years.If she has a racial complaint to air, I’m inclined to take itseriously rather than assume she’s crying wolf.The problem I have now is that she plans to air this complaint whenher show kicks off its new season in September—at least that’s what aHarpo Productions spokeswoman told the Associated Press.Oprah, if something happened to you that was serious enough for you tomake it an international issue, something that you’re terming a“Crash” moment -— the African-American woman in “Crash,” after all, isthe victim of sexual assault -— then talk about it now, for heaven’ssake. Don’t wait almost three months just to give your show a lift.Transforming this incident into TV programming just cheapens it. Address the situation now, and it can be what you might call alearning moment for us all. Milk it for your own commercial interests,and you’ll only further the impression that it’s Oprah’s world and we-— and those Hermes nincompoops -— should just consider ourselveslucky to be living in it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BobbyD 2 Report post Posted June 29, 2005 Now, I'm one for equal rights(see the Gay Marriage postings)...And battling Karl Rove and the forces of Darkness......but I can't really get on board the Racism Hermes Oprah....Train. I'm sure they would've re-opened for Britney or Lindsay or Paris...But I would've had a smirk on my face if the doors had closed on them as well. Do I really care? That means they couldn't get a $20,000 bag that evening. Maybe someone was trying to tell Oprah to save her money? Or spend it on something more worthwhile, like hunger, tsunami victims, families of troops donations or something? But a gift for Tina Turner? Is Tina broke? Oprah would've gotten more sympathy if she was stopped by the police, followed around a store by security guards, declined housing...then we march! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted June 29, 2005 Couldn't agree with Blogger Mark & BobbyD more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BobbyD 2 Report post Posted June 29, 2005 This is totally a Chappelle Show/Chris Rock Show skit waiting to happen....A group of people picketing outside a Hermes store, with signs that say, NO OPRAH...NO PEACE! GIVE GIFTS TO THE NEEDY...TINA TURNER!! OPEN THE DOORS FOR OPRAH..YOU'D DO IT FOR BRITNEY!!! OPRAH NEEDS A BRAND NEW BAG!!! Sorry, back from a party...So I'm floatin'... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kappy22 1 Report post Posted June 29, 2005 "OPRAH NEEDS A BRAND NEW BAG!!!"The best one I've heard yet - You have got to send that one into SNL! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedandBlue 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2005 I was waiting for someone to comment on this incident! If it truly was a racial thing, that's terrible and should be addressed. However, "I've never felt so humiliated in my life"???? Because you couldn't get into a designer clothing store to buy yet another bag that costs as much as a new car? If it was so humiliating, why did she see fit to release the story to every major news source so that it got extensive coverage? I agree with the blogger and Bobby D. Ridiculous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cydonia 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2005 Oh good, I'm not the only one who feels this way. If I had shown up 15 mins after the store closed, they wouldn't have opened it for me. Oprah has forgotten her roots. She claims to be in touch with the common person, but she's not. She's rich, pampered, spoiled and totally out of touch with reality. My heart bleeds that she couldn't waste her money on an overpriced watch.What makes me more mad is that Hermes is going to get dragged through the mud for no good reason. But this is the price they pay for saying no to St. Oprah. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
princess 1,712 Report post Posted June 30, 2005 Sorry, back from a party...So I'm floatin'... Dontcha love drunk posting? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
