LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) — Television talk-show viewers may be saying goodbye to Rosie O’Donnell and Sally Jesse Raphael, but are they ready to say hello to Bill Clinton? And is he ready to say hello to them?
The 55-year-old former president met NBC executives this week about the possibility of hosting a talk show of his own at the Los Angeles offices of his old friend, TV producer Harry Thomason.
There was some disagreement over who called the meeting. Clinton’s spokeswoman Julia Payne confirmed that it took place but said the ex-president was listening to proposals, not demanding his own show.
The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, quoted TV-industry sources as saying Clinton wanted $50 million a year to host a talk show and had aspirations “of becoming the next Oprah Winfrey.”
Thomason was moved to issue a brief statement: “Yes, President Clinton, as he has over the years, visited our offices on Wednesday, and we were glad to let him use them for a meeting with several of his acquaintances from NBC. Concerning the $50 million referred to in the Los Angeles Times, if he doesn’t want to do a talk show, I volunteer.”
NBC officials were not immediately available for comment.
Payne said, “Yesterday’s informal meeting was one of many meetings President Clinton has had with many people over the past year.
“President Clinton did not demand a talk show. He went to listen. The president is gratified by the range of opportunities that have been presented to him.”
Television-industry sources cited by the Times said they doubted Clinton would actually commit to doing a talk show once he understands the demands of such a job, which typically involve daily weekday tapings for 39 weeks out of the year.
In December 2000, his last month in the White House, NBC officials acknowledged approaching Clinton through Thomason with the idea of the president hosting a weekly talk show after he left office. At the time, the White House dismissed the idea, saying Clinton “had no plans to do such a show.”
A television program hosted by a former president would be unprecedented. Ex-occupants of the Oval Office typically have kept a relatively low profile as elder statesmen, devoting themselves mainly to philanthropic pursuits, speeches and the organization of their libraries. Clinton reportedly has been earning as much as $15 million a year on the lecture circuit since leaving office, in addition to a $12 million publishing deal with Alfred A. Knopf that is believed to be the largest advance in history.
Speculation about Clinton embarking on a TV career comes amid a shake-up in the talk-show arena, as O’Donnell and Raphael will both bid farewell to viewers later this month after syndicated runs of six years and 19 years, respectively.
“Rosie” will be replaced by the “Caroline Rhea Show,” and actress-comedian Ellen DeGeneres has signed up to host a daytime talk program of her own next year, unless CBS brings her struggling sitcom back to prime time in the fall.
In addition, CBS “Early Show” co-host Bryant Gumbel said last month that he would soon be leaving his anchor seat after failing to agree on a new contract. Rumors surfaced earlier this week that Clinton was a candidate to replace Gumbel, but CBS dismissed those reports.
Thomason and his producing partner, wife Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, have known Clinton since his days as Arkansas governor and have served as political advisors at various times over the years.
The Thomasons are best known as the team behind the 1980s sitcom “Designing Women” and produced the 14-minute biographical profile that introduced Clinton to the Democratic National Convention in 1992.