Marie Osmond Dishes Her New Daytime Talk Show — and That Gig on The Bold and the Beautiful

Catching up with Marie Osmond to talk about the debut of her new Hallmark Channel talk show Marie (Monday, Oct. 1 at noon/11am c) ain't easy! She shoots two episodes a day in L.A., hops a 4 p.m. flight for Las Vegas, performs her show with brother Donny at the Flamingo Hotel, grabs a midnight flight back to L.A. and then starts all over again!
TV Guide Magazine: Hallmark and Marie Osmond. Is there a more perfect match?
Osmond: We have the same goal for this show — to bring some hope and have some laughs. We'll talk about the tough stuff, too. I'm been through a lot. More than you know. I'm writing a book about it right now. But always I'm here to entertain and keep it clean. Hallmark knows what they're getting with me. [Laughs] If I was going to change, I'd have done it decades ago.
TV Guide Magazine: How will you separate yourself from the rest of the chat pack?
Osmond: One thing we're doing is taking a cue from the old Tonight Show and booking great up-and-comers — singers, comics, actors who will be the next big thing. When we did the Donny & Marie talk show [1998-2000] we debuted Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, even J.K. Rowling. I love bringing on new people and saying we had 'em first.
TV Guide Magazine: We had no idea you were so competitive!
Osmond: [Laughs] Are you kidding? Do you know how much I love it that this show is not called Donny?
TV Guide Magazine: Haven't you done every talk show in the last 50 years of television?
Osmond: And then some!This is my fifth decade in the business andI know what it's like to sit in that chair with the greats — Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore, Mike Douglas. I remember the incredible way they had of making their guests feel instantly comfortable and have fun. That's what I want to do. We also want to be informational. We'll show women how to save money, get through a divorce, get back into the dating scene. It's not the good things in life that define who we are, it's how we handle the difficult ones. I want to help other women rise to the challenges in life. As women we should complete each other, not compete with each other.
TV Guide Magazine: At last year's Daytime Emmys you stole the red-carpet spotlight with the news you were doing a role — possibly something tawdry — on The Bold and the Beautiful. What the hell happened?
Osmond: Life happened! They still want me and I still want to do it. It's just a matter of scheduling. They had my scenes all ready to go. I can't tell you the set-up but it's really funny. My life has been absolutely bona fide insane but I'll squeeze it in. [Laughs] Hey, it's 2012. End of the world. What the heck?
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