Now Whoopi Is A Square

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

September 14, 1998 / 9:25 AM EDT / CBS

It was 1966 when America was first introduced to the game show Hollywood Squares, and it ran for 14 consecutive years.

Now the new Hollywood Squares is premiering, and CBS 'This Morning' Co-Anchor Mark McEwen was invited to fill a celebrity square for the first week of games.

Sitting smack dab in the center square is none other than Hollywood Squares executive producer and Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg.

Why Hollywood Squares?

"Oh, for a lot of reasons," says Goldberg, citing a lucrative deal with King World, which syndicates the program, and general weariness of cranking out feature films. "I just got very manic and started doing like three, four, five [movies] a year for 10 years. And that's good, 'cause now I have this nice little body of work that runs endlessly on television.

"It's like, there should be like the Whoopi channel," she adds.

Whoopi Goldberg (CBS)

But most importantly, says Goldberg, she's in it for the fun. Says she, "There are not a lot of places that you can go and be witty andÂ…laugh - and be yourself in doing it."

Although Goldberg occupies the center square - the "star position" - she says she would have preferred a bottom square in a corner.

"You know, I'm sort of the whistles and lights for a little while," she explains.

Goldberg plans to use her showbiz influence to fill the other eight squares with A-list stars. Among those happy to oblige was talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell.

"I watched [Hollywood Squares] when I was a kidÂ…and when I heard it was coming back, I was thrilled" says O'Donnell. "I said, 'I'm there, I'll do it.' It is the show for meÂ… I think it's going to be a huge hit."

Others in the squares for premiere week, in addition to McEwen and Goldberg, include Kathy Najimy of Veronica's Closet and Andy Dick of NewsRadio. Other stars committed to filling celebrity squares this season include Whitney Houston, Fran Drescher, Garth Brooks, Sharon Stone, Emma Thompson, and Dom DeLuise. Host of Hollywood Squares is Tom Bergeron.

Because the program is syndicated, broadcast times vary, so those who want to catch the new incarnation of Hollywood Squares should check their local listings. In many regions of the country, the game show will be broadcast at 7:30 p.m., just before primetime.

"I want [the audience] to have had fun," says Goldberg. "I want them to have laughed, before whatever comes on at eight o'clock. I want them to hve said, 'You know, those people were crazy,' or 'Boy, is that guy weird.' You know, it's just a little microcosm of foolishness before the adult entertainment begins."