arts & entertainment
Dreams Come True
Bravo's Andy Cohen is a man with "mazes."
Alice Burdick Schweiger
Special to the Jewish News
W
hen Andy Cohen, a Bravo
executive and host of the
channel's late-night talk show
Watch What Happens Live, was a sopho-
more at Boston University, his writing
professor challenged class members
to score an interview with one of their
celebrity idols.
A huge All My Children fan, Cohen
chose Susan Lucci. With a little persis-
tence, he was able to come to New York
and have lunch with the daytime diva,
who played Erica Kane.
This dream-come-true was the first of
many celebrity encounters, and recap-
ping this exciting chapter in his life is
how Cohen begins his hilarious — and
often poignant — new book, Most
Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of
Pop Culture (Henry Holt).
"There are a lot of life lessons that I
learned along the way that I share in the
book:' says Cohen, 44, whose memoir
encompasses family life, adventures
while studying abroad, coming out as
a gay man and a passion for television,
including his years at CBS News and
behind the scenes of the Real Housewives
franchise. "I think anyone who loves pop
culture, loves TV, is trying to get into
the business or likes dreams-come-true
stories will be entertained and hopefully
moved."
Born and raised in St. Louis, Mo.,
Cohen, whose father owned a food
manufacturing and distribution com-
pany, had no intention of going into the
family business. Instead, he loved to talk
— often getting in trouble in school for
opening his mouth too much; he also had
aspirations to work in TV.
Cohen grew up with a family (includ-
ing a sister, Em) that was very involved
in the St. Louis Jewish community. "My
mom, Evelyn Cohen, was the president
of the National Council of Jewish Women
in St. Louis:' he says. "We celebrated
Chanukah, were members of a Reform
temple and went to services for the High
Holidays. I had a bar mitzvah and was
confirmed — we were pretty active'
One of the struggles Cohen had to deal
with was coming out as gay. When he was
in college, he decided to tell his parents,
who were loving and supportive.
"It meant everything to me that they
were so understanding:' says Cohen, who
president of original programming. He
in his book reveals he obsessively wor-
ried about getting AIDS (he never did).
focused on pop culture, the arts and live
entertainment — what he loved doing
"My parents being so accepting meant I
could go on, and my life wasn't ending.
best.
The idea that they would be there to sup-
In 2005, he became vice
president of original pro-
port me was incredible, and we could all
figure this out together?'
gramming and develop-
While in college, Cohen landed an
ment at Bravo, overseeing
internship at CBS This Morning. "I had
such hit shows as Project
no plans to advertise my sexuality in
Runway, Top Chef and, of
the workplace he writes, "but if anyone
course, the ever popular,
asked, I'd promised myself I'd simply tell
highly rated Real Housewives
the truth. That decision proved to be the
shows.
one that would guide my entire life."
When the second season of
As an intern, Cohen gained invalu-
The Read Housewives of
able, behind-the-scenes TV experi-
Orange County took
ence and made longtime friends
off, Bravo wanted to
and connections. He also feasted
air a reunion show,
on an abundance of free food,
but they needed a
which, he writes, As a starving
host. Cohen was sug-
student and a Jewish
gested, and he jumped at the
chance.
person was an
incredibly big
"If you watch that
deal!"
reunion show today,
After grad-
you will see me
uation, CBS
stiffly reading
offered
from a tele-
Cohen a
prompter,
job as
with a
news
velvet
clerk
jacket,
on the
a Jewfro
morning
and teeth
show. Hard
so white
work paid
they look
(a little like)
off; he
sheets of paper:'
was able
to pro-
he writes.
But it's
duce live
segments
thanks to the
reunion shows
and eventually
that Cohen had
was promoted from
associate producer to
the courage to
producer to senior
become a TV per-
producer, sharing his
sonality in front
talents with other CBS
of the camera as
news shows as well.
well as behind the
Over the next 10
scenes; in 2008, he
Emmy and Peabody Award winner
years he met Oprah
launched his late-night
Andy Cohen: The man behind Top
— although it entailed
talk show, Watch What
an embarrassing situ- Chef, The Real Housewives and
Happens Live. Drinking
ation; spent time with Watch What Happens Live.
shots of alcohol with
Buddy Hackett in Las
the guests on air has
Vegas; interviewed Tammy Faye Bakker
become one of the show's signatures.
at her home; covered the Olympics; and
Cohen's favorite guests have been
went to the scene of many disasters,
Martha Stewart, Rachel Maddow and
including hurricanes and plane crashes.
Dan Rather, whom he worked with at
But after a decade at CBS, Cohen
CBS. News. "These are people who are
switched networks, moving to the
unexpected for that kind of environ-
cable network TRIO, where he was vice
ment," says Cohen, whose close circle
of friends includes Anderson Cooper,
Sarah Jessica Parker, Kelly Ripa and Mark
Consuelos.
Cohen also likes to learn
which of his celebrity guests
are members of the tribe.
"I am always fascinated
when I find out who is
Jewish. Adam Lambert
was recently on, and I
was so excited to find
out he was Jewish —
it's always such a fun
thing for me
He also likes to
end with a "Mazel"
of the week (or
night). "It was
something that I said off-
handedly on a reunion show — kind
of meaning 'that's nice' or 'congratula-
tions?" explains Cohen. "I didn't say
`mazel tov, just cmazel, and once I start-
ed to do it on my show, my mom said,
`You know you are saying it wrong — it
doesn't make sense the way you are say-
ing it: I said, don't care!'"
His mother still critiques his shows.
When asked if Judaism currently
plays a part in his life, Cohen replies:
"Absolutely. I am an active member of
New York's CBST (Congregation Beth
Simchat Torah), which is the largest gay
and lesbian temple in the country. And I
love my rabbi there. It's a great place?'
At the end of Cohen's book, he comes
full circle, telling of subsequent meet-
ings with his idol Susan Lucci. When All
My Children aired its final episode in
September of last year, Cohen was back
in St. Louis watching the end of the
daytime drama with his mom and sister,
just as he had growing up.
He writes: "Was I, in some way, partly
to blame for this? Had I helped kill the
soaps?" •
Quite possible. Bravo's Real
Housewives, along with endless other
reality shows, have contributed to the
demise of soap-opera programming.
Reality shows are what define pop cul-
ture today. They're how Andy Cohen
made his mark in television, and he
plans to continue doing just that for
years to come. ❑
Watch What Happens Live airs 11
p.m. Sunday-Thursday on Bravo.
July 5 • 2012
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