Candice Bergen —RUBEN V. NEPALES
LOS ANGELES—Outside, rain was pelting down, and strong winds blew people’s umbrellas out of whack. But inside a hotel across Central Park in New York, Candice Bergen was a calming presence, even-keeled and humorous.
After 20 years, Candice is back as the eponymous investigative journalist in a reboot of the comedy, “Murphy Brown.” Returning as well are the show’s creator, Diane English, and original cast members Joe Regalbuto (Frank), Faith Ford (Corky), Charles Kimbrough (Jim), Grant Shaud (Miles) and Pat Corley (Phil).
But this time, the Emmy-winning actress is not shooting the beloved series in Los Angeles as in the show’s original run but in New York. She disclosed in this recent chat that she insisted on the East Coast shoot, so she could help take care of her ailing husband, real estate developer and philanthropist Marshall Rose.
The former model’s first husband was the late French director, Louie Malle, with whom she has a daughter, Chloe Francoise.
The daughter of Edgar Bergen, a ventriloquist, comedian and actor, and Frances Bergen, who was also a model, was a child of Hollywood.
Modeling led to acting, with such credits as “Starting Over” (for which she earned an Oscar best supporting actress nod), “Gandhi,” “The Sand Pebbles,” “Carnal Knowledge” and the recent “Book Club.”
In this interview, we asked Candice—elegant in a purple jacket, black blouse with sequined collars and pants—about her one and only date with Donald Trump. She also once dated Henry Kissinger, the American statesman. In her appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Candice had nicer remarks about Kissinger.
Bergen (left) and her surprise cameo guest, Hillary Clinton, in the premiere of the “Murphy Brown” revival. —WARNER BROS. TELEVISION
Excerpts from our conversation:
So, you dated Donald Trump when you were 18… One date (laughs)! And he was not the moron he is today. All he had was money. He showed up in a limousine, and the limousine matched his suit (laughs)…
What color? Burgundy. His suit matched his patent leather boots. He was just a moron from the first minute. It was a very short dinner. I don’t remember it much, but it was a nice steakhouse. Then, I didn’t see him again for like 100 years. And when I would run into him at events in New York, he was always very polite and courteous to me.
Speaking of change, we need “Murphy Brown” more than ever in the Trump era. America needs truth tellers now. The integrity of the press has been attacked so relentlessly by this guy. The truth has been dismissed as anything of importance.
Everything that I and the people around me have grown up respecting, and feelings of decency, compassion and humanity, have no more value to him. He’s bringing out all of the darker angels in people’s characters…
The show needed more of a response from the other side. It’s very hard to respond to a bully. It’s necessary to stand up for values that have been cornerstone values in our culture that he has dismissed with a wave of his hand.
How much has being a truth teller affected your career? I’m not sure, because I don’t think of myself as a truth teller. I just think it’s automatic for most people to tell the truth, even if they are actors. I always said for myself that the mission is to tell the truth because otherwise, you have no soul left.
This is not a reflection on the press, but on actors who just keep talking about themselves. Nothing good comes out of that, usually … I always feel that when I’m talking to the press, the least I can do to stay normal is to tell the truth.
What do you hear from women about the impact “Murphy Brown” has had on their lives? Young women in their 30s, 40s and 50s come up to me all the time and they say, “I just want to thank you. I’m now doing what you did as Murphy. I’m a journalist and I never would have done what I’m doing without you and without watching your show.”
I know that the show encouraged women. It gave them a shot of courage to go out and pursue their dreams. There was a 30-percent increase in women who got mammograms after our last shows on breast cancer. I get women coming up to me all the time to thank me for the impact that Murphy had on their lives
When you started the show, there was no Fox News. There was no internet. There was nothing. There was no social media, no cars (laughs).
“Murphy Brown” had that famous episode that was attacked by Dan Quayle, then the US vice president. In the reboot, you had Hillary Clinton as a guest. What issues have you tackled, so far? We did a show on the #MeToo movement, on sexual assault. We did a show on immigration that is very powerful.
We deliberately shoot three weeks before the show is on the air so that we can keep it as current as possible. So we take issues that are in the news. We did a show about ethics, journalism and journalists as “enemies of the people.” Every show has a nugget of something that we’re all dealing with today.
How easy or hard was it to convince Hillary Clinton to appear in the show? We just groveled from every angle. I know Hillary Clinton, not well but I’ve met her and been with her a few times. We just called everyone we knew who could wheedle their way in.
I think what convinced her was that she loved the way the scene was written. I thought it was very brave of her to do it because it made fun of her in a way. It was great that she did it.
I just thought it was exceptionally sharp and tough-minded. And we kept it so quiet! We didn’t have any audience. We had people in the offices who had to sign nondisclosure agreements, or they would be shot (laughs). We went to great lengths to keep it a secret.
But the people in the audience who were there by confidentiality agreements, they just went nuts. And it was so moving to some of us. I noticed that Jake McDorman’s (who plays Avery Brown) girlfriend was there, Analeigh Tipton (actress). When she met Hillary, she had tears in her eyes. For many of us, it was a time of grief when Hillary was not elected, and we were in disbelief.
May I just say about Hillary that her acting skills were excellent and that it was sort of humiliating for me? I mean, her timing, delivery of lines, simplicity, honesty. She was great!
(Conclusion on Sunday)
E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.