THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 4, 1997 TAG: 9702040291
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 75 lines
The long black limousine in WAVY-TV's parking lot was the tip-off. Celebrity in town.
On Monday, the VIP was the elegantly bald, beautifully dressed Montel Williams - talk-show host, actor, author, former Marine Corps corporal, former Navy lieutenant commander, former Virginia Beach resident and soon to be sitcom star. Just because CBS last year canceled ``Matt Waters,'' a drama in which Williams starred as a former Navy SEAL turned high school science teacher, doesn't mean the 40-year-old Williams is through with prime time.
Far from it.
He announced at the Channel 10 studios that he will soon star on UPN in a sitcom (``Me and My Girls'') about an uncle who is given the job of raising his three nieces.
``An instant family,'' Williams said.
His daytime talk show, seen on WAVY at 4 p.m. in competition with ``Oprah,'' will continue at least through 2001. It's on 167 stations covering 86 percent of the United States - and with a 4.3 national rating, it's second only to the mighty Oprah Winfrey hour.
Williams admitted that doing 13 episodes of ``Matt Waters'' - six have never been shown by CBS - and taping his talk show last year was hard work. Pressure, too. He did ``Matt Waters'' Saturday through Wednesday and taped six ``Montel'' shows on Thursday and Friday.
Now he's ready to do it all over again - five talk shows and one sitcom per week. And that's not the end of it.
``I have a deal with Paramount to do movies and other television projects,'' said Williams, looking cool and relaxed in designer duds including a vest - cool despite the fact he had been on the go since before dawn.
Before visiting WAVY, Williams signed soft-cover copies of his book, ``Mountain, Get Out of My Way,'' in Virginia Beach.
He's home here, having served with the Navy in Norfolk in the late 1980s. Williams moved up the ladder from Marine corporal to Navy prep school at Newport, R.I., to the U.S. Naval Academy to a commission - then served 15 years on active duty. The Academy ring is still on his finger. It's big. It's gold.
At a point in 1991, a voice inside told him to leave the security of Navy life and strike out for TV and movies, and the stage as a motivational speaker.
``I had faith in myself. I am mission-oriented. I am focused. It's the military work ethic.''
Williams and his colleagues on the daytime talk-show carousel have been criticized from the halls of Congress to pulpits to editorial pages for exploiting their guests to get ratings for dispensing sleaze disguised as entertainment. To that Williams said, ``About three years ago, I did stop and reflect on the programs I was putting on the air. We were pushing the envelope, perhaps because we perceived that people wanted more and more information.
``I felt it was time for us who produce these programs to stop and say, `Hey, there are certain things we should not be doing.' And we stopped doing them. I dare say we're the only show with a psychologist on staff to look after the guests.''
Yes, the guests. The panelists. Are they not at times ambushed on the air, surprised out of their jeans by some startling revelation from the past? Surprised, yes, said Williams - but warned far ahead of time that a shock may be on the way.
``Even before they get on the plane to come to the taping, we tell them that there may be a surprise in store for them. We ask them to sign a written release. They make a videotape release. Then, when the taping of the show is taking place, I will ask the guests if they are ready to hear what's coming next.
``If they say no, we let them go.'' ILLUSTRATION: TV talk show host Montel Williams converses with a
young fan Monday during a book-signing session at Barnes & Noble in
Virginia Beach. He was in town to appear on WAVY-TV and to promote
his new book, ``Mountain, Get Out of My Way.''
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
The Virginian-Pilot