This is STILL HERE HOLLYWOOD, I’m Steve Kmetko. Join me with today’s guest, Jill Whelan from “The Love Boat”. If you look back at television history, growing up as a teenager on a TV comedy has sometimes meant that there could be rough seas ahead as the actor grows up. But one young child star rode the wave of success as she cruised into adulthood.
Jill's Podcast "Empty Nesters" w/ Jill Whelan and Leah Mangum
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-empty-nesters/id1766796213
Steve Kmetko
Yes, I'm still here Hollywood. And coming up on today's episode,
Jill Whelan
He was not a good human. We would come to a wardrobe fitting at a new season to get new uniforms and new evening gowns and new lounge wear. And he would call the wardrobe department and tell them to buy everything one or two sizes smaller than we are, so that we would come in and be embarrassed in fittings and things not fitting. Here's one of my favorites, Debbie Allen, who was so great to me. We were in Egypt to go to see the pyramids at Giza. All of a sudden we see a guy with a machine gun pointed at us,
Steve Kmetko
Least favorite
Jill Whelan
Tommy's Smothers who asked me to look for a roll of quarters in his pocket.
Steve Kmetko
If you look back at television history, growing up as a teenager on a tv comedy has sometimes meant that there could be rough seas ahead as the actor grows up. But one young child star rode the wave of success as she cruised into adulthood. This is still here, Hollywood. I'm Steve Kmetko. Join me with today's guest, Jill Whelan from the Love Boat. You're like the patrons saint of cruises right now, aren't you?
Jill Whelan
I am. I am Only for Princess Cruises.
Steve Kmetko
How many cruises have you taken?
Jill Whelan
Gosh. I would venture to say, I don't know, 6 60, 70 maybe.
Steve Kmetko
Really?
Jill Whelan
Yeah, probably somewhere around there. I don't know. I have, I should really count, but I think I'm going to forget a few, like boyfriends
Steve Kmetko
Oh yeah. I've done that too.
Jill Whelan
Yeah. Well, fingers, toes, you know.
Steve Kmetko
Yeah. Did you ever get seasick?
Jill Whelan
No. Never on a cruise ship. I got seasick on, on like a little fishing trawler win.
Steve Kmetko
That doesn't count.
Jill Whelan
Yeah. Okay, good. Then. No
Steve Kmetko
Okay. do you Ms. Love boat?
Jill Whelan
You know, I miss I miss the comradery. I miss the fellowship. I miss the paycheck, but I think that's it. Because The people we were so, so close. As a matter of fact, I, three weeks ago, just got back from doing a play with Fred Grande, who played Gopher and Ted Lange, who played Isaac. We did a play in Michigan together, and it was at this beautiful little theater. It's in a town called Dexter, Michigan. And it, it, the theater was just the sweetest little theater. It's called the Encore Musical Theater. The play was, I'm Not Rappaport.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, yeah.
Jill Whelan
Which, if people don't know, it's a beautiful story about how it feels to get old and to start to feel, you know, insignificant and passed over. And there's this beautiful speech in there, which you're probably going to cut all this out because I'm going on and on, but this is me tangential me. The, the speech says people collect old furniture, old movies, and old antiques, but they don't want anything to do with old people. The end of life is precious. It's just as precious as the beginning of the of life. And to forget about an old person, that's a sin. It's a sin against life. It's abortion at the other end.
Steve Kmetko
That's a good line.
Jill Whelan
It's a great, it's a great monologue. It's a great monologue.
Steve Kmetko
The thing is, I saw, I'm not Rapaport in Chicago, I believe, with Judd Hirsch.
Jill Whelan
Oh, wow. Okay.
Steve Kmetko
And I don't remember any young women being in it.
Jill Whelan
So, there are two. Oh, well, thank you for saying the young part. One, my character Clara plays the daughter of Fred's character, and Fred Nate and his character is in his eighties when Judd Hirsch did. He was in his forties. Fred is now in his seventies. So it was pretty cool that Fred did this so well. And she's supposed to be in her forties, so I'll take in my forties. Okay. I'll take that. But there's another girl who's much younger who has one little scene in it where there's a cowboy who comes in and kind of attacks her. But the point to get it, bring it back is that we did this play together in this little theater, and they had an actor's house that we lived in together, the three of us Wow. For a month. And it was such a pleasure, such a joy to hang out with my pals. It's the first time we've three worked together since the show, and it was awesome. Awesome.
Steve Kmetko
How old were you when the show started, or when you first became a cast member?
Jill Whelan
I was, I think 11. I think I had just turned 11, or I was about to turn 11 when it started.
Steve Kmetko
Do you have fond memories of it?
Jill Whelan
I do. I have great fond memories of my cast and our crew. And Aaron spelling, not so fond memories of Doug Kramer, however, because Doug was a misogynist and I'm, I've never talked about it, but he's passed now and his children are passed as well. So, I feel safe in saying, but he was not an advocate of women at all.
Steve Kmetko
He had a reputation of being kind of tough as well.
Jill Whelan
He was, he was not a good human. He would do things like when we would come, Lauren Twees, who played Julie McCoy we would come to a wardrobe fitting at a new season to get new uniforms and new evening gowns and new lounge wear. And he would call the wardrobe department and tell them to buy everything one or two sizes smaller than we are, so that we would come in and be embarrassed in fittings and things not fitting. And I remember one time and at that, I mean, at that particular time, I was going through pub puberty and it's, you know, things happen in puberty. So, I had gone to a fat farm, or I guess we would say today, a spa. I went to a spa in Ojai, and I had lost some weight, and I was also working with some crazy doctor who had me on 400 calories a day.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, no.
Jill Whelan
Yes. So, I came back.
Steve Kmetko
That's too drastic.
Jill Whelan
It's screws with your metabolism and everything. I got the cover of the Inquirer for it, but I came back and I just learned this information from a dear friend of mine who was his executive assistant. She said, we were in dailies one day, and for people who need to know what that is, once you shoot a day of, at least in film on a set, the next day, the editor prepares everything, all the takes and everything that the director has said, print to, and the, the producers and the director and everybody that needs to watches it on a big screen. And there's a scene where I come out of an elevator and the doors open into the purser's lobby, and I'm in an evening gown with a sweetheart neck line. And she said, you looked great. You looked great. And it was a full shot, full body shot. And Doug said no, I don't want that shot. I don't want to see her looking thin. I'm off. She was fat in the first place. Neck up only.
Steve Kmetko
Well, thank you very much.
Jill Whelan
So to your question, the cast, the crew I had no problem with, with anybody. I had an incredible experience except for the Doug Kramer part, which did require a lot of therapy afterwards.
Steve Kmetko
I had a run in with the National Enquirer, but it was a good one.
Jill Whelan
Oh, that's good.
Steve Kmetko
It's when I was dating Greg Ganis.
Jill Whelan
Oh, Greg.
Steve Kmetko
And it said the headline was Diver Flips for 37-year-old TV Hunk.
Jill Whelan
I love that.
Steve Kmetko
At the time, I wasn't 37 and it made me younger than Greg , which he wasn't too happy about. But I didn't dare,
Jill Whelan
Listen. I mean, you know. Take the win.
Steve Kmetko
Yes. Right. A lot of famous faces and names came through the love boat, took a cruise on a love boat,
Jill Whelan
Over a thousand.
Steve Kmetko
Do you have fond memories of anyone in particular?
Jill Whelan
Oh gosh. I have so many fond memories of so many.
Steve Kmetko
Give us a good story. Just pick one.
Jill Whelan
Okay. let's see. Okay, here's one of my favorites, Debbie Allen, who was so great to me. She, when we were on, I think she did two cruises. And one of the cruises, we happened to be in the North Sea, so we had our own kind of little ship and nobody else was on it but us. I think it was something called the Stella Morris or something. And we would go in the middle of the night to the kitchen and we would raid the kitchen together. And then she would give me and my best friend dance classes. But on another cruise, we were in Egypt and we had a day off. So when you get to the Port of Alexandria, you get off the, I think it's Alexandria. That makes sense. To go to see the pyramids at Giza.
So you take a bus, a coach, all the way to the pyramids. And we were at the pyramids, and it was many, many, many, many years ago. And there was a cyclone, cyclone fence around the sphinx, but it was open. So Debbie and I were like, okay, we have to get back to the bus, but let's just go, let's just go. Look. My mom had already gone back to the bus and everybody was back. So we get in there and we're looking around. All of a sudden we see a guy with a machine gun pointed at us you know, a soldier, not one of our soldiers. And he doesn't speak English. We obviously don't speak his language at all. And we could understand that he wanted money from us to get out. Debbie turned into Mama Bear with a finger snapping the neck pulling.
And she's got me behind her, and she's backing out my mother. I can see her probably a mile away going, Jill, she doesn't know what's happening. She's just because I'm not on the bus. And Debbie got us out of there and we tore back to that bus. So that's one fun story. I mean, there's, it is fun. Yeah. There's so many. Shelly Winters was an exhibitionist. And on the cruise ship we had a makeup room that for some odd reason, had a bathtub in it, and she decided to use it. So there's that fun.
Steve Kmetko
Boy, my mind's eye is just going crazy.
Jill Whelan
I know. You can't unsee that. I know, I know. So that, that was a fun God, there's just, there's so many of them. Back to Ethel and Carol Channing on one of our musicals, Carol was a very peculiar gal. As, as you know, she had lots of things that were interesting. She'd carry her own food around with her everywhere. I remember being in Chasins and she'd walk in with her Tiffany camping gear that had her own distilled water and her own food. But on this particular occasion they had honey wagons on the, because there were so many stars there, cab Callaway and Miller on and on a van, van Johnson, plus Carol and Ethel. So, Honey wagons are like miniature trailers for people who don't know. It's a very small little room with a bathroom and a dressing table. And that's where Carol was, that's where her trailer was. And they couldn't find her one day on the set. And they were looking everywhere. Where is Carol? Where is she? Everybody's going crazy because it's a huge production. They finally found her sleeping underneath the honey wagon on the asphalt because it was too hot in her trailer. So rather than come and ask somebody to help her turn, she slept in the shade. She slept in the shade under the trailer on the asphalt. So, so those are some fun stories I have.
Steve Kmetko
She was such a character.
Jill Whelan
She really was. She really was
Steve Kmetko
Least favorite.
Jill Whelan
I have two. Buddy Hackett is one. He was just difficult. And the other one was Tommy's mothers. Who asked me to look for a roll of quarters in his pocket?
Steve Kmetko
Did you find them?
Jill Whelan
I, you know what, I had my own quarters.
Steve Kmetko
Thank you.
Jill Whelan
But yeah, I think he was in trouble with the law later. There are some stories about him with young children.
Steve Kmetko
No wonder his mother always liked his brother better.
Jill Whelan
Well, played
Steve Kmetko
Really? That's interesting.
Jill Whelan
Oh, yeah.
Steve Kmetko
Well, you know, they say comedians have a dark side. All comedians have a dark side.
Jill Whelan
That's true. I mean, that makes sense. They say therapists go into therapy to solve their own history. And comedians probably do the same thing with being on stage,
Steve Kmetko
Maybe. So, tell me, what have you been doing?
Jill Whelan
Well, let's see, since Lebo I'll thumbnail that. Because That's not very interesting. I, when the show was over, I immediately went and did a, a TV movie that Martin Sheen directed, which was amazing. But then started feeling the pressure of being an actress after a series. And it wasn't like today where there's that machine that just
Steve Kmetko
Cranks it out,
Jill Whelan
Cranks it out for these young kids. And I just was, I wanted to do something else. I didn't like the pressure in LA of you're only as good as your last gig. So I decided to go to college and I did two semesters abroad in England at Guilford University. And I majored in English literature and then came back to LA and said, I still don't like it. So, I moved to New York. I knew one person and she worked at Madison Square Garden, and she said, if you really want to empower yourself, you should learn the other side of the business. You should know how to produce. So, I came in and I started working for her as a runner, producing concerts. And in the side time, I did a play at Naked Angels Theater and a couple of other little plays.
So I did that. And then I met my first future ex-husband, got married, came back to California got pregnant with my son. And just took a break from the business because I wanted to raise my kid. And that marriage didn't go well. But I wouldn't trade it because I got my son and a lot of good hard life lessons I learned divorced him and needed to feed my kid. And it seemed too daunting to try to start over acting. So I started working in a newsroom and I was a desk assistant first at the assignment desk. And then I became an assignment editor.
Steve Kmetko
Which news room?
Jill Whelan
KCOP, the Bastard Children of News in Los Angeles.
Steve Kmetko
Isn't that channel 13?
Jill Whelan
Yeah. Yeah. they don't, I don't think they have a news station, but Lauren Sanchez, after Tawny Little became our anchor.
Steve Kmetko
Hmm.
Jill Whelan
So, yes, there's a whole thing there. And then I left there and went over to Investigative and
Steve Kmetko
Lauren Sanchez of Jeff Bezos fame.
Jill Whelan
Correct. Correct. Then I got re I remarried a guy that I knew when I worked at Madison Square Garden. So, I moved back to the East Coast with my son and got pregnant and had my second son. And so then I left that husband after a while. So, I came back to Los Angeles with my kids. And when my son was old enough to go to school, my youngest and be in school for a couple of hours, is when I decided to get back into the business. And, and that's what I did. And now I am, I've done a lot of episodic stuff, a couple of films, but I'm also producing I have some projects that I'm super excited about,
Steve Kmetko
Derailed by the Pandemic. Right?
Jill Whelan
Well, one of them, yeah. My scripted show was derailed by the pandemic, where it at, at the home where we thought it would be. But, you know, everything happens for a reason. And I am, I've been in this business long enough to know you just, it's a law of averages. You know, you just have to keep, stick with it, stick with it, and push it and do it. Persevere. Persevere. That's, those are the people that make it in the long run. And then my podcast that I've started with my pal, Leah Mangu, whose husband is a gentleman whose name is Jonathan Mangum. And Jonathan is not only an actor, but an incredibly talented improv. And he is Wayne Brady's partner on Let's Make a Deal. And also on whose line is it Anyway, and Leah is an accomplished actress writer as well.
So she and I are starting this podcast called Empty Nesters. Because Our youngest boys are graduating this year from high school and off to college. So it's most of the people that I know are in this boat. So it's kind of like, who are we? If we're not, we wanted to call it who the f are We, but we decided empty nesters was a lot more palatable. So she and I have been doing lots and lots of interviews, getting ready to launch our little podcast. And it's just about reinventing yourself and who are you if you're not just the parent of your children And, and what can you do to fulfill your soul? And what is your second act? So that's kind of what's happening right now. All of those things. And I'm married to my fabulous husband and third time's a charm.
Steve Kmetko
So, they say,
Jill Whelan
So, they say, so that's kind of what's, that's what's happening.
Steve Kmetko
Well, that's good to know. Your husband was a quarterback. With the Denver Broncos.
Jill Whelan
He was, but he'll, he'll say, oh God, don't tell that story. Oh, because he's fine. He was a very gifted athlete when he was a kid, and he was all American in basketball, baseball, and football. But really did it because he was good at it, not because he had a passion for it. And he was, he came up right before John Elway, and he was second string, I think, quarterback. And he just he just kind of said, why am I getting hit all the time? This is, this is not,
Steve Kmetko
He came to his senses.
Jill Whelan
He did before. He had too many concussions. And he went into business. And so that's what he does now. He's in naming rights. So, he negotiated and brokered the deal at Staples Center for the name of Staples Center and Kodak Theater. And then it was Dolby and then Kodak again. So, he, that's kind of what he does now.
Steve Kmetko
Wow. So, a related business to what you do.
Jill Whelan
Yes.
Steve Kmetko
Are you able to look back now, you know, there's all those horror stories about kids. Coming up through Hollywood. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. Are you able to look back and say, you know, I was lucky? I was talented. I made it.
Jill Whelan
I absolutely was lucky. But the luck is because of my mom. I'm still scared of her. So, she's the reason I haven't been arrested yet. She was, and that's what I say. I used to teach acting classes to kids when I lived back east. And the parents would always say to me, should I get my kid an agent? What do you think? I said, absolutely not unless they get it themselves. Which is possible. Because I did. If they're that driven, then you just have to be there to guide them. But the biggest problem that, that people have when they have a kid in our industry is that kid becomes their identity and their representation of their own success. And they get mesmerized by the money and the power and the fame, and they forget their job is to be the parent. And my mom,
Steve Kmetko
It's like gypsy. It's like we were talking about gypsy.
Jill Whelan
Yeah. And it is absolutely that. My mother, I remember on my first series, the first day we were on the set, this producer came up to me and said, listen, or said to my mother and I, she was holding my hand. She said, you know, if there's anybody on this set that Jill doesn't like, just let me know and we'll have them fired. And my mom started laughing and she went, ha, here's the thing. If you ever give my daughter that kind of power, we will be out of here before the ink on this contract is dry. And that's how she was the, the entire way. She never forgot that her job was to be my mother, not my manager, not my agent, not my PR person, but the person who I never knew how much money I made or any, any of that. I, I was in school every single day that I wasn't on the set. I was in the school plays. I was in the school band, which is really hilarious since I don't play an instrument. But I was one of the marchy girls with the thing in my bob. So it's be, she's, that's why I'm able to look back. Because I had a really grounded home situation.
Steve Kmetko
I read about Judy Garland calling her own mother the real wicked witch.
Jill Whelan
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko
Just one of those stories.
Jill Whelan
Yeah. It's, and there's many of them. And, and it's a shame because these children need guidance. I remember Danny from the Partridge Family, Danny Ucci he was having an argument with his mother and they lived in a house that he owned. And she said, you go to your room. And he said, which one? I own all of them. And if I had said that to my mother, I'd be speaking to you with dentures.
Steve Kmetko
So those are all your real teeth.
Jill Whelan
Yeah. Well, they're veneers on top, but not because of my mother.
Steve Kmetko
Okay. You've done some reunion specials with the Love Boat folks. Is there any talk of doing any more?
Jill Whelan
Well, we're doing a reunion cruise, actually which is coming up Labor Day weekend, I think. But one of my projects, one of my scripted projects is not necessarily a reboot because I don't think you can properly reboot the show. Different time back then to now. It's but, but it's the closest you'd get to a reboot, and that's one of my projects.
Steve Kmetko
Can you sing the Love Boat theme?
Jill Whelan
I can. Do you want me to?
Steve Kmetko
Yes. Jill sings the Love Boat theme. But again, music costs money. She's got a terrific voice, though.
Jill Whelan
Ta-Da
Steve Kmetko
Next. Thank you. Oh, I wasn't certain you'd be able to do it.
Jill Whelan
I can,
Steve Kmetko
But it's one of those theme songs that everybody knows. Pretty much.
Jill Whelan
Yeah. I had to sing it in my one woman show.
Steve Kmetko
So, we'll be back for more in a moment.
Jill Whelan
Arnold Schwarzenegger cupped my at a Young Republican's Dinner for George Bush. Debbie Reynolds used to get drunk and climb out of a piano on one of our cruises.
Steve Kmetko
What else did you do in your one woman show?
Jill Whelan
I did, well, I did a really fun number set to the tune of there's no business, like show business. So, I would sing the song and then I would break right after the chorus and say Arnold Schwarzenegger cupped my at a Young Republican's dinner for George Bush. Then I would go back to singing the song, and then I would s get to the next part and say gosh, I'm trying to think of some of the other some of the other stories that were in there. Debbie Reynolds used to get drunk and climb out of a piano on one of our cruises that's in there. I would talk about in that song, some of my first onstage kisses. The first time I ever did Get Kissed was on camera.
Steve Kmetko
So, from whom?
Jill Whelan
I think it was my dear friend, Glenn Scarpelli. Oh, I might've turned him Gay.
Steve Kmetko
Is that blame or credit?
Jill Whelan
I think both. I love his husband. So, I'm going to take credit. These were all little story stories.
Steve Kmetko
Arnold, Arnold. Arnold.
Jill Whelan
Arnold.
Steve Kmetko
Was it hard being the only kid on a set of adults?
Jill Whelan
I will give you the best answer. I know how, which is that? I don't know anything different, because that was my only experience was that was my life. I will say it was frustrating when we would do cruises because I had to go to school. So when everybody else, I could look out my little porthole. Because Back then it was before you could have balconies and things. I would look through my porthole or I would look through a side window and I would see everybody at the pool. And I was there with my math book. So that part was, that was hard. But, you know, I mean, give me a break. I was on a cruise ship going to school. So when I was studying about the Great Wall of China, I was sitting on it. So, I mean, I don't feel that badly for myself.
Steve Kmetko
If your children wanted to go into the business, what would you do?
Jill Whelan
Well, my eldest is in the business, but not in front of the camera. I wish he was, because he's actually really good. But I'm relieved he isn't because it ain't easy. He's an editor and a director. My youngest wants to be a script writer for video games, but if they wanted to, I have a hair on the side of my face. That's fun.
Steve Kmetko
It's not even a full moon.
Jill Whelan
I know. Oh, that's good. I mean, obviously I would support them because I don't want to be that parent who says, you are going to be a lawyer, or, you know if, if they wanted to do it, I would, I would definitely support them. But it would be hard because I have lots of friends who have kids who are actors and musical theater actors. And the calls I get from my friends are like, I can't believe you did this for a living. I don't, I can't stand this as the parent. I can't stand it. Because It's painful to watch your kids here. No, no. Or see people objectify them in a way of too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, too old, too young. You know, as the person yourself, you, you get a thick skin. You, you deal with it and you know that it's the choice that you made. But when it's your kid, I know how I was on a soccer field, if we had a bad ref, probably wouldn't be a good thing for me.
Steve Kmetko
It's kind of good to know those things, though. Thick skin is very comes in very handy in this city.
Jill Whelan
Yeah. I mean, you know, I don't have to tell you, you know, too, it's, there's something you know about actors and people in our industry that, and it's a different climate now too, because it's not, it's not lovers of the industry for the most part, that are running the industry anymore. And there's a lot of drawbacks that, you know, we as actors fought very hard for in this last strike with directors. And there is an impersonal, this is not a word, but there is an impersonalness. It's my word. And that, that, that, that is attached to the industry that has always been there. That part has always been there. That, gosh, if I had a kid doing it, I just don't know.
Steve Kmetko
And there's so, there are so many outlets now,
Jill Whelan
So many outlets, which in a way is great because look, you can do this. I can create my own projects and if they work great, you know, but we are given opportunities that we didn't have before in that regard. But there's, there's, it's, it's impossible to watch everything and consume everything as an actor, as a producer, that you need to in order to be up on everything that's out there. You know?
Steve Kmetko
How does Taylor Swift do it?
Jill Whelan
I don't know, but boy, she does it well.
Steve Kmetko
Yes. And she does, has a lot of eyeballs watching her.
Jill Whelan
She does. And you know what? She deserves every one of them, I think. I think Taylor Swift is a spectacular human being, and kudos to her folks.
Steve Kmetko
If you were to go back and choose someone who's no longer here who you wanted to work with, or who you wish you could have seen
Jill Whelan
Oh my God, I love that question.
Steve Kmetko
Who would it be? Or is there more than one?
Jill Whelan
Oh, I'm sure there's more than one. Oh, I'm sure of it. Oh God. I would've loved to have worked with Elizabeth Taylor. A dear friend of mine is in charge of her estate. And so I, I just hear such great stories and I would've loved that. Who else would, I would've loved, you know, I, even though there's terrible stories, I would've loved to have met Louis B. Mayer. I know There's terrible stories, but I still would've loved it. Gosh, who else?
Steve Kmetko
Ann Miller was on the love boat, wasn't she? Wasn't she?
Jill Whelan
She was. She was. And another great gal,
Steve Kmetko
Broad?
Jill Whelan
Another great broad. She'd walk on and say the old battle axes here. And she was just cute as a button. Cute as a button. I mean, I was so lucky to work with. So Ma Lillian Gish, I got to work with Lillian Gish and Tom Hanks, Andy Warhol. So that's a great, Andy Warhol story is kind of a cool thing. He I was in New York one day shopping and somebody tapped me on the shoulder and said, excuse me, are you Jill Wheland? I said, yes. She said, I work for Andy Warhol, and if he knew you were here, he would be very upset if I didn't invite you down to the factory. Are you doing anything right now? No.
Steve Kmetko
Not now. I not,
Jill Whelan
I mean, think about that. In today's world, if somebody tapped you on the shoulder and said, would you get into a cab with me? I don't know you. I did explains both of my first two marriages, by the way. But I did, and I went down and Andy was there, and he could not have been more lovely. He signed posters for myself and for my brother who's an artist gave me a tour of the factory. I mean,
Steve Kmetko
If you're ever in Pittsburgh, go to his museum there. It's just terrific.
Jill Whelan
I will.
Steve Kmetko
That's great. Right across from the stadium.
Jill Whelan
Oh, okay. I didn't even know that. That's great to know. I will go.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, yeah. And he's buried there in Pittsburgh. He's from there originally.
Jill Whelan
Such a lovely human being. Really sweet. Really sweet. Good guy. I still, I can't believe Andy Warhol. Yeah. He did love Boat
Steve Kmetko
Well, it's kind of like John Waters, same kind of a. Do things to experience them.
Jill Whelan
That's right. Yes. Yes. And we had Halston on. And Jeffrey Bean and Gloria Vanderbilt.
Steve Kmetko
Wow and Anderson Cooper's mom.
Jill Whelan
Yes. What a sweetheart. I don't know him. I wish I did, but he seems like a fun guy to hang out with.
Steve Kmetko
Andy Cohen thinks so.
Jill Whelan
I Know.
Steve Kmetko
On New Year's Eve,
Jill Whelan
Well, we've all seen that.
Steve Kmetko
Ugh. Yeah. What lies ahead for you?
Jill Whelan
Gosh so many things. I mean, these projects, right. Which are going to be super, super fun. I, you know, I take a day as it comes because I, you have plans the best Slade plans, but
Steve Kmetko
What is it they say, tell God your plans and he'll laugh at you.
Jill Whelan
That's right.
Steve Kmetko
Something like that.
Jill Whelan
My husband always, and my husband always says, you're just an idea factory, because I have this, this, that, and the other thing. I've got a list of projects that I, that I want to do. And you just, it's plate spinning. So, you, whatever one is getting the most attention at the moment, you got to deal with that one. And then you move on to the next one. So, there's that. But I also feel like you have to leave, leave stuff open, because opportunities can come and if you're too set in one direction, you may miss the one that you weren't counting on, but that the universe brought to you. So, there's that. And what else is next? Spending time with my husband. We've been married for seven years. We found each other late. It's the third marriage for both of us. I just, you know, I finally found the love of my life. And, and we just, we want to travel. We want to just be with each other and have fun and hang out with our friends.
Steve Kmetko
What's the old saying? You're going to do it again until you do it, right?
Jill Whelan
That's right. And I'm, my grandmother used to always say, marriages are like pancakes. You have to throw the first one out. And she did.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, good for her. If it wasn't working good for her.
Jill Whelan
Yes, she did. She did.
Steve Kmetko
I was, when you, when you were saying earlier about one of your husband's absconding with your money, I thought of Debbie Reynolds because that happened to her.
Jill Whelan
I know.
Steve Kmetko
I think that one once.
Jill Whelan
Liza and Melanie as well.
Steve Kmetko
Once oh, well,
Jill Whelan
With David.
Steve Kmetko
Guest.
Jill Whelan
Thank you. Oh, it's like we're doing passwords.
Steve Kmetko
Hey, keep that in mind.
Jill Whelan
Yes.
Steve Kmetko
Liza, I love Liza, but she's had some health issues lately, I think.
Jill Whelan
Yes. I know Liza.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, do you?
Jill Whelan
Yeah. And you know, God bless Michael Feinstein because Michael has been I'm very close with Michael and his husband. Michael has been a blessing for her and protecting her and taken care of her.
Steve Kmetko
I've interviewed them both.
Jill Whelan
You have.
Steve Kmetko
Liza was hysterical.
Jill Whelan
Oh God, she's so sweet.
Steve Kmetko
Quick.
Jill Whelan
Oh God. Yes. I have on my phone a message from her. We were at her house for her birthday. Michael and Terrance threw a birthday party for her at her beautiful town home in la. And she called me and I didn't, for some reason, I didn't know I had a message on my phone. So I didn't find it for like two or three days later. But it's the great, I still, I'll save it for the, for the rest of my life. Jill, it's Liza, listen, I just love you. We've got to be friends. Call me. Would you honey? Bye. Oh my God, I love her so much. I mean, there's a woman who, boy did she deserve every bit of accolades she's gotten for her career because she's got it. To just sit and listen to her sing a song is an absolute lesson in how to interpret.
Steve Kmetko
I've seen her in concert many times. And I just, if for nothing else, I love the internet because you can dig up just about anything you want. And see it. Whereas I remember as a kid growing up, if you saw a movie, you, you can't, you know, we didn't have VCRs. You couldn't get it on, you know,
Jill Whelan
Netflix.
Steve Kmetko
Right. So, my mother used to get really upset with me if I, when I did go to see, when they let me go see movies, if I wanted to see it again. You've seen it once,
Jill Whelan
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko
Which does not work with me. It works with some people. It never worked with me.
Jill Whelan
For sure. That works with my husband, but not me.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, really?
Jill Whelan
But don't, don't you remember as a kid at Christmas time, you would wait for Sound of Music to come on, because they always showed that and Wizard of Oz at Christmas. And I just, gosh, I love that part of those halcyon days being kids that we, we don't have anymore.
Steve Kmetko
Right. I think the very first movie I ever saw was I Music Man.
Jill Whelan
Really?
Steve Kmetko
Yeah.
Jill Whelan
I love that you remember that.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, well.
Jill Whelan
But you remember that. That's your first Movie.
Steve Kmetko
My dad was a Baptist minister and movies were verboten. Ah. And I think I snuck away to see that one. And then I got to interview Shirley Jones many years later. And I, as a little boy, I fell in love with her because she was so good to Winthrop. She was played by Ronnie Howard.
Jill Whelan
Yes. I loved doing, I did that musical, I played Marian in that musical. That was really, really fun.
Steve Kmetko
It's a good musical.
Jill Whelan
It's a great musical.
Steve Kmetko
I saw it on Broadway with Eric McCormick was in it when I saw.
Jill Whelan
Oh, wow. I love him too.
Steve Kmetko
Yes. He, he sat in that very chair and talked to us.
Jill Whelan
He did?
Steve Kmetko
Yes.
Jill Whelan
I love him. He's a neighbor in Toluca Lake.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, is he?
Jill Whelan
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko
Good guy. Really good guy. Canadian.
Jill Whelan
See those Canadians, I tell you. I know. They're the nicest people. You're going to have one here very soon.
Steve Kmetko
Am I?
Jill Whelan
Yes.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, Natasha.
Jill Whelan
Natasha is another Canadian.
Steve Kmetko
Okay. That's a little sneak preview.
Jill Whelan
Yes. Who is one of my good friends. And you're going to love her. You'll love her. All right.
Steve Kmetko
I made a point of watching species, species, species.
Jill Whelan
I think it depends on whether you're Canadian or American as to how you pronounce it. I don’t know.
Steve Kmetko
So, it's fresh in my mind.
Jill Whelan
Oh, good.
Steve Kmetko
I talked to her about all kinds of things.
Jill Whelan
Well, she's a world class beauty also. So, she's easy on the eyes.
Steve Kmetko
Yeah, she is beautiful. I think I'm done.
Jill Whelan
Alright,
Steve Kmetko
Jill, thanks for stopping by and warming our seat.
Jill Whelan
Thank you for having me. Oh,
Steve Kmetko
Hey. It's nice being had.
Jill Whelan
Listen, I get it.
Steve Kmetko
Does anybody still recognize you when you go out? Out of curiosity.
Jill Whelan
Yeah. funny enough, mostly on cruise ships, but you know,
Steve Kmetko
Because they expect to see you there.
Jill Whelan
Exactly. Exactly. But I just, yesterday I was I went to the Pasadena showcase house where they, they do this fabulous thing and they decorate the houses and all the designers, different designers have a different room. And so, I went yesterday and they, they have a little gift department, which I partook of. And when I gave the woman my credit card, she goes, I knew that was you. So sometimes
Steve Kmetko
That's nice.
Jill Whelan
Yeah. It's very nice.
Steve Kmetko
It's nice to be thought of remembered.
Jill Whelan
You know, we are super, super lucky in that we, if I were on a soap opera or if I played a really, you know, not a nice person, I'm sure it would be like, I hate, but like a. I'm, I don't like you, you're a. But because of the nature of our show, we were so lucky. My favorite comment that we ever get is, this was the only show that I could watch with my grandparents, where we would both get something out of it and we could sit together for an hour and both be just as entertained. And that's my favorite. That's my favorite.
Steve Kmetko
Were you close with Gavin?
Jill Whelan
Extremely. I eulogized him.
Steve Kmetko
Oh, did you?
Jill Whelan
Yeah. Along with his kids. And he was very, very special. A dear just I was very lucky to know him. He's a good guy.
Steve Kmetko
Okay. Thanks Jill.
Jill Whelan
You're welcome
Steve Kmetko
Again.
Jill Whelan
You're welcome.
Steve Kmetko
Still here. Hollywood is a production of the Still Here Network. All things technical run by Justin Zangerle. Theme music by Brian Sanyshin and executive producer is Jim Lichtenstein.