Ricki Lake Readies For Year 7
Ricki Lake first entered the talk show circuit in 1993; since then there have been 50 other talk shows that have come and gone.
Now the youngest daytime talk show host, she is gearing up for the seventh season of Ricki Lake.
She spoke with CBS This Morning's Co-Anchor Mark McEwen about her career.
"I think by the good grace of somebody upstairs, I was the first to branch out and try something different at a time when there really was an opening in the marketplace," Lake says.
Lake credits as key to her success her audience's loyalty.
The show, taped in New York, could be considered Generation X's answer to daytime talk TV. Its sassy title programs have included "You Have No Friends and Today I'll Tell You Why" and "Back Off, Boys, I'm A Lesbian And You'll Never Have Me."
Ricki Lake also occasionally includes live bands as well as gimmicks, such as an on-air lie detector and DNA tests.
Being honest and real is easier than playing a part, says Lake, pointing out she was a viewer before a host.
"I was watching TV, watching Oprah, Phil, yelling at the TV set. I would think, why aren't they asking this question? Not that Oprah isn't the best. But what I do is simply do what I would do on my living room couch," she adds.
Being in the right place at the right time was how she got the job and David Letterman was partly responsible.
"Stuart Krasnow saw me on Letterman. David and I had this rapport going. And he thought I would be good for the job," she says.
Of course her show and programs like it have come under criticism for their content.
"I can't speak for all talk shows. I speak for my own. We do everything professionally, responsibly. It is real. You have the choice to change the channel," she adds.
"I love what I do," Lake says. "We have had amazing moments. We had gang members turn [into] regular people.Â…We do a lot of good. If people watched the hour, they would see amazing stuff."
Her first acting gig came with 1988's Hairspray. John Waters hand picked her for the role, and at age 18 she went to Baltimore for the movie.
"It was like a fun ride," she recalls. " And it didn't feel like work. It still doesn't feel like work."
Now she has a small part in the next John Waters movie, Cecil B Demented with Melanie Griffith. She will be involved in its shooting in October.
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