Sunday, June 15, 2014

Who Knew? Jesse Jackson Has Serious Television Stage Fright

Dave Berg, who was a segment producer for “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in his new book, Behind the Curtain: An Insider’s View of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, writes about Jesse Jackson"

I never would have guessed that this prominent civil rights activist and one-time presidential candidate would be a nervous Nellie. One time he was shaking so hard backstage, he had to hold onto me for support.
Each guest received $500 to appear, but unless they were a Top-10 A-list actor, they barely budged the ratings. But when Sarah Palin agreed to go on after her 2008 defeat for vice president, the show coughed up $35,000 to fly her family and friends on a private jet from Anchorage, Alaska.

Eddie Murphy handed over an entire page of necessities for the 45 minutes he spent in his dressing room prior to his appearance.

It included:
4 Snapple Fruit Punch, 4 Snapple Orangeade, 4 Snapple Grapeade, 4 Dr. Browne’s Cream Soda, 4 Dr. Browne’s Root Beer, Coke in glass bottles, bananas, cherries, Evian bottled water, Juicy Fruit Gum, Snickers, Milky Ways, peppermints, York Peppermint Patties, writing pads/pencils/pens, regular-sized towels, washcloths/small.

 President Bill Clinton was Berg’s white whale. After many rebuffs, the show sent him a $12,000 custom-made tandem bicycle as a get-well gift after his triple-bypass surgery.

It was returned, because Hillary, then a New York senator, could not legally accept gifts worth more than $50. (The two-seater bike was conceivably for her, too).

When the show commissioned another pricey bike with only one seat, Clinton accepted, but still never appeared on the show. Aides told Berg that Clinton “simply didn’t like Jay’s never-ending Monica Lewinsky jokes.”

(Via NyPo)

1 comment:

  1. Bill Clinton accepting a costly gift & not reciprocating or even saying "Thanks" really says all you need to know about the classy former POTUS.

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