THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 12, 1996 TAG: 9607120053
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 64 lines
ROSIE O'DONNELL as Mary Poppins?
The idea tickles O'Donnell, known as Ro to her friends. ``Well, I'm not quite Mary Poppins. I can't sing so good, but I sing to my baby every day, and I sing in the shower. Still, I don't do anything magical. An umbrella, to me, is just to keep the rain off.''
In the new film ``Harriet the Spy,'' O'Donnell is a nanny of a sterner type. Her character, Golly, is the loving and wise nanny in the upper-middleclass home of sixth grader Harriet Welsch. The film is based on Louise Fitzhugh's 1964 novel, which has been a staple with impulsive young girls.
``I read it at about age 10,'' O'Donnell said. ``My little sister Maureen read it first. It was her favorite book. I stole it from under her pillow. I was in the fifth grade and she was in the fourth. She and I had notebooks and we became spies.''
Golly is a softer image than the usual persona for the tough-talking Brooklyn stand-up. ``I like being in movies that are kid-positive and female-positive. I'd much rather have a 9-year-old say `Hey, you were Betty Rubble' than have a 40-year-old say `I really enjoyed all the nuances you brought to that role.' ''
The new Rosie must have something to do with the fact that she's a new Mom. Her adopted son, Parker, whom she calls Boo-Boo, had his first birthday recently. ``He says `MAMA' like a Nazi storm trooper,'' she confided. ``Very aggressive.''
As for herself, she remembers, ``I was raised by the neighbors in Long Island, N.Y. My mom died. The main thing I remember about my mom was a rickety old station wagon we had and she'd say `Go, Bessie,' coaxing it to get to the top of the hill. There were five of us kids, Eddie, Danny, Roseann (that's me), Maureen and Timmy. I was a tomboy. Played shortstop or pitcher - and kick the can.''
Her mother died of cancer when Rosie was age 10.
In the second grade, she played Glenda the Good Witch in a production of ``The Wizard of Oz'' and she's been ``on'' ever since, although she thought a good deal about becoming an elementary school teacher.
Barbra Streisand and Bette Middler were her early inspirations.
Her syndicated TV show is seen Mondays through Fridays at 11 a.m. on WAVY-TV. It's one of the quickest hits in daytime TV history.
``I'm committed to it for four years,'' she said. ``The choice to do it was twofold. One, I was tired of all that dirty talk on TV. I wanted something like the `Merv Griffin Show' back, and it looked like no one else would do it. I have celebrities on, and we don't talk dirty - not usually. Secondly, and a big part of it, is that I have a nursery for Boo-Boo right in my office. I can bring him down to the studio.''
``It's a nice gig,'' she said. ``I go in at 7 a.m. and I'm out by 1 p.m. As we do the show more, we should be able to do it even faster than that.''
That schedule leaves her plenty of mommy time.
``I always knew I'd be a mother, but if I waited around for the right relationship, I'd be 91. I'd have to chase the baby with a walker. I feel that this is my baby, just as much as if I gave birth to it. Sure, I think about the fact that he doesn't have a daddy. Who will he bring to Daddy's Day at school? He'll have a family atmosphere anyway.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Rosie O'Donnell as nanny/mentor Golly with Michelle Trachtenberg who
plays Harriet, in ``Harriet the Spy.''
KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY by CNB