Oprah_ A Biography - Kitty Kelley [206]
President Bill Clinton greets Oprah and Quincy Jones on June 13, 1994, at the White House state dinner for Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan. Stedman, a confirmed Republican, would not attend, so Oprah invited her good friend. (photo credit i2.2)
Former South African president Nelson Mandela with Oprah in 2002 when she asked what she could do for him. “Build me a school,” he said. Five years and $40 million later, she opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. (photo credit i2.3)
Michelle Obama, Caroline Kennedy, Maria Shriver, and Oprah campaigning for Barack Obama on February 3, 2008, at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. After the rally, Oprah, who believed in the tenets of The Secret, returned home and created a vision board (see it, believe it, achieve it). She put Obama’s picture in the middle of the board alongside a picture of the dress she wanted to wear to his inauguration. (photo credit i2.4)
The front page of the conservative New York Post interprets Oprah’s political endorsement of Barack Obama for president, December 9, 2007. (photo credit i2.5)
The satirical cover of The New Republic following Oprah’s trip to Auschwitz with Elie Wiesel announcing his book Night as her book club selection for May 24, 2006. She sells the DVD of that trip to the concentration camp at the Oprah Store for $30. (photo credit i2.6)
OPRAH’S FAVORITE CELEBRITIES
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Five days after Oprah apologized on her show for defending James Frey’s book A Million Little Pieces and then shredded him and his publisher, Pulitzer Prize winner Mike Luckovich drew this cartoon in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 31, 2006, characterizing President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address. (photo credit i2.8)
After Oprah called into Larry King Live on January 11, 2006, to defend Frey’s book, saying the factual truth was not important given its emotional truth, she was criticized by The New York Times. Two weeks later she backtracked, apologized to her viewers, and called Frey a liar. (photo credit i2.9)
OPRAH THROUGH THE YEARS
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THE OPRAH SARCOPHAGUS
The ultimate icon of popular culture is Daniel Edwards’s golden resin image of Oprah. “Of all the celebrity pieces I’ve done, this was the first time I had considered sending a complimentary cast to the subject,” said the sculptor, “[but] many people interpreted [this] sculpture as unflattering [and] I just kind of figured Oprah might not find favor with my depiction.” (photo credit i2.12)
FIRST, LAST, and always was The Oprah Winfrey Show. Even during the years when she pursued a film career, she never let go of her television show. “It’s the foundation for everything,” Oprah said. When she finally stopped chasing her dream of becoming “a great movie star,” she reclaimed her standing as America’s number one talk show host. To stay on that pedestal, she allotted $50 million a year for her show’s production costs and hired the best producers she could get, paying them top dollar to move to Chicago; then she supplemented their salaries with a system of bonuses to make sure they worked hard enough to give her the ratings she needed to stay on top.
A team of creative producers helped launch the new and improved Oprah as a beloved philanthropist. David Boul came up with the “World’s Largest Piggy Bank,” which enabled Oprah to collect coins from her audience to fund college scholarships for needy students. Kate Murphy Davis proposed Oprah’s Angel Network, an ingenious way to raise millions from viewers and direct the monies in Oprah’s name to Oprah’s favorite charities. Alice McGee left her imprint by creating Oprah’s Book Club, and Ellen Rakieten, who Oprah said was one of her best producers, thought up “Acts of Kindness,” “Oprah’s Favorite Things,” “Thank You Day,” and “The Big Give.”
Oprah also solicited ideas on her website, urging visitors to “Call Harpo Productions Anonymous