James L. Brooks. He won three Oscars in one night -- for producing, directing and screenwriting TERMS OF ENDEARMENT. It won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1983. Shirley MacLaine won for Best Actress. Jack Nicholson won for Best Supporting Actor.
Before that, on television, Brooks gave us ROOM 222, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, TAXI, the popular spin-offs from THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW -- RHODA, PHYLLIS and LOU GRANT -- plus THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW and THE SIMPSONS. His other celebrated films are BROADCAST NEWS (1987) and AS GOOD AS IT GETS (1997).
Again, I was on Netflix. I discovered a series called THE HOLLYWOOD MASTERS. Directors and actors come on for a one-on-one interview. I immediately went into Season 3, Episode 2 to see the half-hour with James L. Brooks, a man who holds a very special place in my heart.
We learn about his origins -- his family in his youth and his first jobs in television. He was an usher, a news writer and he worked on documentaries. When he worked on TV as a writer and when he worked as a filmmaker, he always said the work as a team sport. He talks about his TV shows -- ROOM 222, TAXI, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW -- and he talks about his films -- TERMS OF ENDEARMENT and BROADCAST NEWS. All those stories are wonderful. He's not asked about AS GOOD AS IT GETS, but the interviewer does mention it. I wish the interviewer had asked more questions about Brooks' flop, 1994's I'LL DO ANYTHING. Originally a musical, after folks started walking out of preview screenings and brutal advance word from The Los Angeles Times, he decided that the only way to save it was to remove all the musical numbers, which he did before the film's national release. I'LL DO ANYTHING starred Nick Nolte and Tracey Ullman. A satire of Hollywood lifestyles, the deleted music included new songs by Carole King and Prince.
The James L. Brooks warmth, wit, vulnerability and grace are evident in the interview. I wish I'd conducted it.
James L. Brooks was a guest on my VH1 show in 1987. He was promoting BROADCAST NEWS. He was a terrific guest -- gracious, honest and involved. He confirmed that classic film actress Jean Arthur was his muse for crafting the Mary Richards character on THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW. He was really talkative and involved when I asked him an openly gay character who'd been cut out of the BROADCAST NEWS final print. Brooks assured me the character was only deleted for sake of the film's running time.
The openly gay male character was one of the most important producers in the newsroom. He sees that handsome and straight Tom Grunick (William Hurt) is getting a lot of attention but he senses Grunick's true nature before producer Jane Craig (Helen Hunt) does. He pretends to flirt with and make a pass at Grunick to see if Grunick will accept the pass just to further his newsroom career ambitions.
Brooks was very impressed that I'd done my homework. When we were done, as he was leaving the studio, Brooks gave me a warm goodbye and said, "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again."
We did. I was invited to a party held after a screening of 1989's THE WAR OF THE ROSES, a movie Brooks had co-produced. Brooks was at the party. He remembered me and said that if he could ever help me with anything, contact him on the Fox lot in L.A.
Another excellent guest on my VH1 talk show was singer Bobby McFerrin. His song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was a huge hit and the album was a Grammy winner. His manager, Linda Goldstein, took home a Grammy for producing the Record of the Year. She was in the studio watching my interview. She and Bobby were both hugely impressed that I knew Bobby McFerrin's father was an opera singer and dubbed the singing voice for Sidney Poitier in the movie PORGY AND BESS. Linda, who turned out to be a fellow Los Angeleno, and I became fast buddies. We kept in touch.
When I was near the end of my VH1 contract, Linda called me and said she was interested in branching out as a manager. She was representing only singers and wanted to manage people in other performance areas -- like me. As it turned out, she and I would be in L.A. for a few days at the same time. I told her about James L. Brooks. She said, "Let's see if we can get a meeting with him while we're in L.A."
She faxed his office on the Fox lot. We expected to get a response perhaps the following day. Linda and I were both stunned to get a response about 20 minutes later. A "yes" response with a day and time for the meeting.
While Linda and I were still in New York and up to the time she was driving us to the Fox lot, we rehearsed how we'd get to the point for a 15 minute meeting because this Oscar and Emmy would surely have other things to do.
James L. Brooks gave us 45 minutes of his time coupled with some wise advice. He remembered our interview and had seen other episodes. By the way, THE ARSENIO HALL SHOW was a very popular, groundbreaking late night show at the time. Brooks said that my show was very smart and sophisticated and I should be getting offers to do another one. However, because Arsenio was so popular, white agents and producers would be seeking another Black guy kind of like Aresenio instead of realizing that there are different kinds of Black people just like Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett were both white guys, each one a different kind of talk show host.
I didn't kid myself when I was on VH1. Even though I had A-list celebrities and even though I got rave reviews from TV Guide, People magazine and The New York Times, that didn't mean I had an agent and it didn't mean I get offers to host another celebrity talk show. And that would be because of race. I never was offered another celebrity talk show opportunity.
Mr. Brooks told Linda, "Package him the way Tracey Ullman was packaged and pitched to me. When you get the package done, let me know and we can talk again." And he told me to take an acting class. He said, "Even if it's just for one season, it'll look good on your resume."
I took acting classes. A couple of years of acting classes. Linda got back to New York and she was pregnant with her first child. She decided not to take on any more clients and concentrate on her newborn. That was unlucky for me professionally but, personally, I totally understood.
I didn't get packaged and pitched to James L. Brooks, but I will never forget his kindness, advice and the time he gave me.
By the way, it's Helen Hunt's birthday. She won the Best Actress Oscar for AS GOOD AS IT GETS, directed and co-written by James L. Brooks. Jack Nicholson won for Best Actor.
(In my previous post, you can see a reel of clips from my VH1 talk show and a clip of Shirley MacLaine telling how Brooks rattled her nerves the day before shooting started on TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.)
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