Interview: John O'Hurley Goes to the Dogs

To most television viewers, John O’Hurley (photo credit, Virginia Sherwood/NBC) is best known for his role of J. Peterman on “Seinfeld,” or his nearly 12-year daytime-television career on shows including “The Young and the Restless,” “All My Children,” “Loving,” “Santa Barbara” and “The Edge of Night,” or being crowned the ultimate champion on the very first season of “Dancing With the Stars.” However, this is the time of year when John goes to the dogs — literally.

On Thanksgiving Day, from noon to 2 p.m. in all time zones (directly following the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade), John will be hosting the ninth annual “National Dog Show Presented by Purina” on NBC. And believe me, they didn’t have to twist his arm to get him to return to his hosting duties!

Daytime Dial: I know you’re a dog lover, but what are some particular aspects about “The National Dog Show Presented by Purina” that keep you coming back?

John O’Hurley: Well, I think for us it’s the happiest day of the year. We go there, and we are surrounded by 2,000 dogs. Our favorite time is not really what’s going on in the ring there, but rather when my wife and I take a walk backstage and see all the breeders and all the dogs, and walking up and down the aisles. It’s pretty spectacular to see 165 different breeds.

DD: Now, I know you already know quite a bit about dogs, being a dog owner and all, but you must learn a lot more about them just through your hosting duties.

JO: Well, thank goodness I have David Frei with me, who is the most knowledgeable man in the world of dogs, and there’s nothing he does not know about them. So a little of that has rubbed off on me in a good way.

DD: I’m excited that this year they are introducing a bunch of new dog breeds. Especially the Cane Corso, which is a mammoth but is the sweetest dog in the world, and also the Bluetick Coonhound. What are you excited about?

JO: Definitely that! We did our photo session, and David and I — you want to talk about never working with kids or animals! — we had to work with all six of them. To try to get one photo together, it took nearly four hours. It is exciting to introduce that many new breeds, and they are all beautiful dogs.

DD: What part of the actual hosting duties do you look forward to most when you do this?

JO: My favorite part is when the Irish Setter comes into the ring. It represents to me what a beautiful dog should look like. The way the hair is cut — it’s such an athletic movement when the dog comes in, and it’s just beautiful to me. So I always look for the Irish Setter.

DD: This show always has such a huge audience. We’re pushing 20 million viewers. To what do you attribute its great success?

JO: Well, I think it’s an extraordinary piece of programming. This is a great show on a family day. If you put this show on any other time of the week, I don’t think it would do near as well. It just happens to be sitting there on the perfect family day and gives something that everybody wants to watch. Rather than football, which is regional and certainly male-oriented. But this is a show that the family can watch.

DD: You had told me in one of our previous interviews that your son, William, loves to accompany you, loves to be involved backstage. Will we see him again this year?

JO: Yep, he’ll be there. He’s very excited. He loves going to the show.

DD: It’s like a kid in a candy store, except with dogs.

JO: It really is. Since this is a benched show — and I think you know what that means — it means they all have to stay there through the entire show. It’s one of the great events for parents to bring children to. If you go backstage, you’ll see a lot of the attending audiences are parents and kids. It’s just a wonderful idea to bring them up and down so they can see all the different breeds. They can talk to the breeders and get some tips if they are in the market for a pet. Then they’ll get the right answers about whether this dog actually parallels their lifestyle, which is really the message we try to get out every year.

DD: On another subject, I personally would like to start a campaign now for you, as a song-and-dance man with a wicked sense of humor, that you need to guest-star on “Glee.”

JO: Well, isn’t that funny. They’ve been talking about it, as kind of a family member or love interest for Sue (Sylvester, played by Jane Lynch). And I think between the two of us, we would actually corner the market on arrogance and pomposity.

DD: Well, I’m going to help forward that campaign. I think that would be wonderful. I thought that was my original idea, but I’m glad to see that other people are thinking the same way!

JO: Actually, a dear friend of mine had dinner with two of the producers and they said they had already reached that idea.

DD: I know that Steve Harvey is doing a bang-up job hosting “Family Feud” now, but I still get tons of letters from my readers telling me that they still miss having you as the host.

JO: Oh, how sweet.

DD: What do you miss most about the show, and what could you say to my readers who miss you?

JO: Well, I had a wonderful time with that. But they wanted to move the show to Orlando, and with my child responsibilities here, that just wasn’t going to happen. So, I have to look at it as four phenomenal years, and I miss the show dearly, but it frees me up to do so many other things. I’m back on Broadway and will be heading back to Broadway again, and those are things that I just couldn’t do as freely when I was committed to “Family Feud.”

DD: What are you going to be doing on Broadway? Is it finalized yet?

JO: I just finished “Chicago,” and I probably will head back over the holidays to do another stint in “Chicago.” And then I have another tentative long-term offer to do another show there, but that one I can’t talk about just yet.

DD: Like most of America, I’m a huge “Dancing With the Stars” fan, and I was mortified by Bruno’s comments to your friend Michael Bolton. I was just wondering what your reaction was to that?

JO: I love Bruno. And I think his color on the show helps the show along a lot. I mean he really should be outrageous. However, my concern is when your comments become mean-spirited like that. And I think it was a mean-spirited comment. I think if he had to do it over again, he probably would have put the words back in his mouth. But my concern is that agents who protect their clients, and especially high-profile clients, will think twice now about allowing their clients to do the show. That’s my concern. That show lives and breathes on the back and the sweat of the people doing the show. It doesn’t live on the comments of the judges. So I think they need to remember that every time they make a comment like that. If they want to continue to get high-profile people — which is really what drives that show — encourage, don’t discourage.

DD: I agree. You can be critical with your comments, but they need to be constructive and affirming.

JO: Absolutely — the judges are there to help, not belittle. Michael worked really, really hard. That weekend Michael was doing the show, he was also flying around doing concerts and doing his charity golf tournament, all at the exact same time. And he was still able to fit the rehearsals in during all of that. I mean, he was just like triple-tasking that week. And I don’t think the comments were really indicative of the work that Michael put in. I just think they were wrong.

Interview: Catching Up With Jaime Pressly

While Jaime Pressly (pictured left, photo courtesy Lifetime Television) might be forever known best for her role of Joy Turner on NBC’s long-running hit sitcom “My Name Is Earl,” she has also put in her fair share of time on nighttime drama series, including “Jack and Jill” and “Charmed.” On Sunday, Nov. 21 at 8 ET/5 PT on the Lifetime Movie Network, you can catch Jaime as she flexes her dramatic-acting chops when she portrays Britt Shelley in “Smoke Screen,” an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Sandra Brown.

Daytime Dial: Since “Earl” ended, you’ve had a lot of high-profile roles on some big-screen movie hits. What was it about this movie and the role that made you decide to return to the small screen to do it?

Jaime Pressly: First of all, when I read the script, I thought the script in general was great. This kind of movie — suspense thrillers — can be very hit or miss. But the story was there. It was also a type of character that I’ve never played before since people are used to seeing me in comedy, and this is a different side. So I was really excited to be a part of it.

DD: What were some of the qualities of the character of Britt that you really liked and were anxious to portray?

JP: Well, first of all, she’s an investigative reporter and very career-driven. I think so many of us, women especially in today’s day and age, we all think it’s so much easier to be single and take care of yourself and not have to worry about anything. But then it becomes lonely, because after you make the money and you’ve done well in your career, then what? And I really liked that aspect of the character and the story line. And Sandra Brown’s book is incredible.

DD: In preparing for the movie, did you read the book first? Or did you not want to taint your character or the discovery process?

JP: Sandra actually came to the set and gave me a book, and then my mom and I both read it afterward. A lot of times when you do a film based on a book, it’s very difficult to kind of get it all into one movie because of time constraints. So, I read it afterward. And there’s a couple more characters in the book and there are more details in the book. I definitely suggest that everyone read the book, because it is outstanding. She is an incredible writer. And if you see the movie and then read the book, you're still going to enjoy it. It’s not like the film will ruin the book for you by any means.

DD: I love that the Lifetime Movie Network really is starting to make a name for itself with smart women protagonists in smart, intelligent movies. They are steering away from the helpless woman-on-the-ledge kind of stereotype.

JP: Which is awesome, because in this business, from the beginning of time, from the beginning of Hollywood, everything has been based around the men. You know, the leading man is cast first and they cast the women around the man. And with this network, they typically cast around the woman, which is awesome. One of the things I loved about this character is she’s an awesome character to play. She’s smart. There’s nothing dumb about this girl at all.

DD: Now, you and main co-star Currie Graham had a great chemistry together. I was wondering how was he to work with?

JP: He was an absolute dream to work with. The first three days of the film we shot, we got through one-third of the film — in the first three days! It was very difficult, and had he not been as awesome to work with as he was and as professional as he is, it would not have gotten done. I like to laugh when I work. I’m not one of those people who everybody needs to shut up and don’t look me in the eye. And he’s not that way either. So it was nice to laugh in between takes and kind of make fun of ourselves and make light of whatever situations we were in. It was nice to kind of have somebody to vent to and lean on.

Days: Such a Tease!

NEXT WEEK:

EJ (James Scott, pictured) discovers that Sami and Rafe are getting married.

Vivian convinces Brady that he’s going down with her.

Roman realizes that EJ’s claims might have been truthful.

Hope questions Trustee Lee about her background.

Maggie realizes that Vivian told her the truth about Victor.

Thursday – PRE-EMPTED

Friday – Melanie and Nathan get real with each other about their feelings.

B&B: Such a Tease!

· Ridge (Ronn Moss, pictured) makes a drastic decision about how to deal with the latest Forrester Creations scandal.

· Taylor feels betrayed by a loved one.

· Stephanie undergoes another lifesaving procedure.

· Amber creates a sneaky scheme to help a friend.

· Liam’s plan for a romantic evening with Hope doesn’t go quite as planned.

Y&R: Such a Tease!

* Will Sharon (Sharon Case, pictured) commit to Nick forever?

* As Victoria fights to repair Abby’s relationship with Victor, he loses another battle that could ruin everything.

* Devastating news forces Adam back to a past better left behind.

* Heather confronts Ronan about the secrets he is keeping.

* Kevin makes a shocking decision that could change the lives of everyone he loves.

Meet Your Fave Days Cast Members

WHAT: Book launch/signing for Days of our Lives 45 Years: A Celebration In Photos and A Secret In Salem

WHEN: Friday, November 19, 2010

TIME: Book Signing From 7:00-9:00PM PST

WHY: To commemorate the show’s 45th anniversary Days of our Lives launched the next editions to its book series this past Monday, November 8th. The two newest books, Days of our Lives 45 Years: A Celebration In Photos and A Secret In Salem will be available for purchase and DAYS talent, along with the authors, will be in attendance to sign them. Ken Corday’s book (The True Story of One Family’s Dream And The Untold History of Days of our Lives) which launched this past spring, will also be available for purchase.

WHERE: Barnes and Noble at The Grove
6301 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90036

DAYS TALENT EXPECTED: Kristian Alfonso (Hope Brady, Days of our Lives), Shawn Christian (Daniel Jonas, Days of our Lives), Jay Johnson (Philip Kiriakis, Days of our Lives), Melissa Reeves (Jennifer Deveraux, Days of our Lives), and James Scott (EJ DiMera, Days of our Lives)

AUTHORS EXPECTED: Greg Meng and Eddie Campbell (Days of our Lives 45 Years: A Celebration In Photos) and Sheri Anderson (A Secret In Salem)