Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 23, 1990 TAG: 9006230396
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JERRY BUCK ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But she's never at a loss for words as host of "The Marsha Warfield Show," seen weekday mornings on NBC (at 11:30 a.m. on WSLS-Channel 10 in the Roanoke viewing area).
Warfield sees the new talk show as a natural evolution of a career that began as a stand-up comic.
"In the beginning as a standup there wasn't a lot of give and take between me and the audience," she says. "But I began to notice lately there's been more communication, more back and forth. I think when you reach a certain comfort level, which develops over time, you can let the audience take over for a minute. You know you can take control back."
Although her talk show features celebrity guests, it relies heavily on audience participation.
"We have a topic for each show, but it's the audience that decides how we're going to handle it," she says. "We pick topics that people can relate to. We don't try to predict how an audience will react, because they'll always lead you in another direction.
"The Marsha Warfield Show" is a hybrid. It has elements of "Oprah," "Geraldo" and "The Tonight Show," as well as Fox's old "Late Show" where she got her first opportunity to work as a host. Like "Oprah" and "Geraldo," her show depends on audience participation. And like Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," she treats it with humor and lightness.
"I don't do the same kind of show that Oprah Winfrey and Geraldo Rivera do because they're journalists and I'm an entertainer," she says.
"I'm a stand-up comic and I have to approach my show from another viewpoint. I have to inject humor into my show. It's like humor's been banned from daytime. Oprah and Geraldo can get into sex and other formerly taboo subjects, but I think people want to laugh."
Nevertheless, Warfield forgoes the trademark monologue of the humorous talk show.
"Monologues are `watch me fail,'" she says. "I don't think I should set myself up like that. We try to handle our subjects in a humorous way. And if it's not funny, it's still interesting. We want to talk about issues.
"I'd like to know how Paul Newman feels about the environment rather than his last picture. We have an audience that wants to talk to celebrities and get their opinions and give their own. It's like talking over coffee the way people do in the morning. We find out something about everybody. I like it when you get something that's unpredictable."
Warfield's first shot on a talk show came in 1987 on Fox's "The Late Show," as one of the guest hosts after the departure of Joan Rivers. That's where Arsenio Hall, who did a longer stint, first attracted attention as a talk show host.
"Two things came together at once to make my show happen," she says. "I had it in the back of my head to do a show. I said, wouldn't it be great to have my own talk show of some kind. At the same time I found out NBC was looking for somebody for a morning talk show.
"So, I was looking and NBC was looking and thank heaven we found each other."
Warfield joined "Night Court" in 1986 after the death of Florence Halop who played the court matron. Halop had replaced Selma Diamond, who had died the previous year.
She says she believes that this coming season will be the last for "Night Court," which made its debut in January 1984.
Warfield hasn't abandoned her stand-up career, but she has less time for it now. "I've done that the longest, so I can put it aside," she says.
"But when I get the monkey on my back, I can always perform in a local comedy club."
by CNB