Entertainment

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Fran Drescher:
Prime-time hasn't
seen a nice Jewish
girl this nice or this
Jewish since Rhoda
Morgenstern
moved to
Manhattan.

BY LISA KOGAN

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Lisa Kogan: I hear you've
written a book.

Fran Drescher: Yes, It's
an account of my experi-
ences in show business
called Enter Whining. I
worked on it with my hus-
band because we've expe-
rienced most of this
together.

4,-*4

Tell me about your hus-
t _ LK
band.

to

P".11.11
-.A. am

FD: Peter is my best friend
- we met when I was 15.
(Waitress interrupts with a com-
plimentary appetizer.)

FD: Is this a delicious thing? There's
custard underneath. It's like a lovely
hors d'oeuvre from a fancy party. What
was your question?

LK: Adulation fascinates me.

Fran Drescher and her
husband, Peter Marc
Jacobson, who was
one of the executive
producers of "The
Nanny," were creators
of the series.

FD: Oh, yes. You know this didn't
come to me fast, easily or through any
connections. I really worked and peo-
Lisa Kogan, formerly of Southfield,
lives in New York and is a
contributing editor to Elle magazine.

ple recognize that; they're happy for me.
I'm approached all the time.

LK: You appear incredibly accessible.

FD: Well, I'm a very straight-talking gal.
Sometimes people who aren't used to hon-
est confrontation get a little unnerved, but
they also realize that they're getting the
truth. It's a clean slice.

LK: The character you play on "The Nan-
ny" has that directness. She's really an
earth mother — it's sort of unexpected.

FD: We wanted to write her that way be-
cause I'm a nurturer by nature.

LK: Is that nurturing limited to friends in
need, or does it extend to yourself?

FD: It took years for me to learn to take
care of myself. But we wanted to empha-
size that caring quality in "The Nanny"
because I'm always trying to show a char-
acter's sensitivity.

LK: How come?

FD: My sister went through an episode
where she had a terrible seizure and no-
body knew what was wrong with her. It
was extremely traumatic for my parents.
So, not knowing how much they could

No, No Nanny

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR

I

n his classic film Annie Hall,
Woody Allen struggles to find
the perfect word to describe
his affections for Diane Keaton.
"Love" won't do it, because it's
so much more than that, he says.
Instead, he requires a complete-
ly new creation, maybe something
along the lines of "lu.rv."
So, too, do I find myself grap-
pling as I try to find words to de-
scribe Fran Drescher's book Enter
Whining.
"Awful" is a possibility. 'Terri-
ble" is another. But I think it
would take something like "hor-
rendous" to really capture the
essence of this book — a humor-
less, boring, poorly written and,
at times, offensive autobiography

of an actress whose biggest claim
to fame is starring in a sitcom.
She writes about how she got
to Hollywood and early roles, but
the biggest chunk of the book is
dedicated to Drescher's career as
"'The Nanny." Along the way there
is plenty to read about her dog,
Chester (whom she refers to as
"my son" and whose bathroom
habits she describes in graphic de-
tail), her mother (whom she often
mocks) and many attempts at hu-
mor.
Call me stodgy, but there are
certain subjects — like dying chil-
dren and the Holocaust — I don't
regard suitable material for com-
edy. Does anyone think this is fun-
ny?