Every Disney Hero Has a Voice
Home On the Range ~ Maggie
Roseanne Cherrie Barr
November 3rd, 1952
Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3,
1952) is an American actress, comedienne, writer, television producer, director
and 2012 presidential nominee of the California-based Peace and Freedom Party.
Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her
role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons,
from 1988 to 1997. She won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best
Actress for her work on the show. Barr had crafted a "fierce working-class
domestic goddess" persona in the eight years preceding her sitcom and
wanted to do a realistic show about a strong mother who was not a victim of patriarchal
consumerism.
The granddaughter of immigrants from Europe and Russia,
Barr was the oldest of four children in a working-class Jewish Salt Lake City
family; she was also active in the LDS Church. In 1974 she married Bill
Pentland, with whom she had three children, before divorcing in 1990 and
marrying comedian Tom Arnold for four years. Controversy arose when she sang
"The Star-Spangled Banner" off-key at a 1990 nationally aired
baseball game, followed by grabbing her crotch and spitting.
After her sitcom ended, she launched her own talk show, The
Roseanne Show, which aired from 1998 to 2000. In 2005, she returned to
stand-up comedy with a world tour. In 2011, she starred in an unscripted TV
show, Roseanne's Nuts that lasted from July to September of that year,
about her life on a Hawaiian farm.
In early 2012, Barr announced her candidacy for the
Presidential nomination of the Green Party. Barr lost the nomination to Jill
Stein. She then sought the presidential nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party,
which she won on August 4, 2012.
Early life
Barr was born in Salt Lake City to a working-class Jewish
family. She is the oldest of four children born to Helen (née Davis), a bookkeeper
and cashier, and Jerome Hershel "Jerry" Barr, who worked as a salesman.
Barr's grandparents and great-grandparents were immigrants from Ukraine,
Russia, Lithuania and Austria-Hungary, and her paternal grandfather changed his
surname from "Borisofsky" to "Barr" upon entering the
United States.
Her Jewish upbringing was influenced by her devoutly Orthodox
Jewish maternal grandmother. Barr's parents kept their Jewish heritage secret
from their neighbors and were partially involved in The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. Barr has stated, "Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
morning I was a Jew; Sunday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday
afternoon we were Mormons". When Barr was three years old, she got Bell's
palsy on the left side of her face. Barr said, "[so] my mother called in a
rabbi to pray for me, but nothing happened. Then my mother got a Mormon
preacher, he prayed, and I was miraculously cured". Years later Barr
learned that Bell's palsy was usually temporary and that the Mormon preacher
came "exactly at the right time". At six years old, Barr discovered her
first public stage by lecturing LDS churches around Utah and even was elected
president of a Mormon youth group.
At 16, Barr was hit by a car that left her with a
traumatic brain injury. Her behavior changed so radically that she was
institutionalized for eight months at Utah State Hospital. In 1970, when Barr
was 18 years old, she moved out by informing her parents she was going to visit
a friend in Colorado for two weeks, but never returned.
Career
Stand-up comedian success: 1980–1986
While in Colorado, Barr did stand-up gigs in Denver and
other Colorado clubs. She later tried out at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles
and went on to appear on The Tonight Show in 1985. In 1986, she
performed on Late Night with David Letterman and the following year had
her own HBO special called The Roseanne Barr Show, which earned her an American
Comedy Award for the funniest female performer in a television special. Barr
was offered the role of Peg Bundy in Married... with Children but turned
it down. In her routine she popularized the phrase, "domestic
goddess," to refer to a homemaker or housewife. The success of her act led
to her own series on ABC, called Roseanne.
Roseanne sitcom, film,
books, and talk show: 1987–2004
In 1987, The Cosby Show executive producers Marcy
Carsey and Tom Werner wanted to bring a "no-perks family comedy" to
television. They hired Cosby writer Matt Williams to write a script
about factory workers and signed Barr to play Roseanne Conner. The show
premiered on October 18, 1988 and was watched by 21.4 million households,
making it the highest-rated debut of that season.
Barr became outraged when she watched the first episode
of Roseanne and noticed that in the credits, Williams was listed as
creator. She told Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly, "We
built the show around my actual life and my kids. The 'domestic goddess', the
whole thing". In the same interview, Werner said, "I don't think
Roseanne, to this day, understands that this is something legislated by the Writers
Guild, and it's part of what every show has to deal with. They're the final
arbiters." During the first season, Barr sought more creative control over
the show opposing Williams' authority. Barr refused to say certain lines and
eventually walked off set. She threatened to quit the show if Williams did not
leave. ABC let Williams go after the thirteenth episode.
Roseanne ran for nine seasons from 1988 to 1997. Barr won an Emmy,
a Golden Globe, a Kids Choice Award, and three American Comedy Awards for her
part in the show. For the final two seasons, Barr earned $40 million, making
her the second-highest-paid woman in show business at the time, after Oprah
Winfrey.
Barbara Ehrenreich called Barr a working-class
spokesperson representing "the hopeless underclass of the female sex:
polyester-clad, overweight occupants of the slow track; fast-food waitresses,
factory workers, housewives, members of the invisible pink-collar army; the
despised, the jilted, the underpaid," but a master of "the kind of
class-militant populism that the Democrats, most of them anyway, never seem to
get right." Barr refuses to use the term "blue collar" because
it masks the issue of class.
During Roseanne's final season, Barr was in
negotiations between Carsey-Werner Productions and ABC executives on continuing
to play Roseanne Conner in a spin-off. However, after failed discussions with
ABC, and later CBS and Fox, Carsey-Werner and Barr agreed not to go on with the
negotiations.
Barr gave Joss Whedon and Judd Apatow their first writing
jobs on Roseanne and HBO Comedy Hour: Roseanne Arnold,
respectively. She released her autobiography in 1989, titled Roseanne—My
Life As a Woman. That same year, she made her film debut in She-Devil
playing Ruth. Film critic Roger Ebert gave her a positive review saying,
"Barr could have made an easy, predictable and dumb comedy at any point in
the last couple of years. Instead, she took her chances with an ambitious
project – a real movie. It pays off, in that Barr demonstrates that there is a
core of reality inside her TV persona, a core of identifiable human feelings
like jealousy and pride, and they provide a sound foundation for her comic
acting".
On July 25, 1990, Barr performed "The Star-Spangled
Banner" before a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati
Reds at Jack Murphy Stadium. As she later claimed, she was initially having
trouble hearing herself over the public-address system, so she was singing as
loudly as possible, and her rendition of the song sounded "screechy".
Following her rendition, she mimicked the often-seen actions of players by
spitting and grabbing her crotch as if adjusting a protective cup. Barr claimed
she had been encouraged by baseball officials to "bring humor to the
song". The song and the closing routine received heavy media attention and
offended many, including President George H. W. Bush, who called her rendition
"disgraceful." Barr would revisit this incident during her Comedy
Central Roast in 2012, wherein she once again belted out the last few bars
of the national anthem, without screeching.
In 1991, she voiced the baby, Julie, in Look Who's
Talking Too. She was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst
Supporting Actress. She appeared three times on Saturday Night Live from
1991 to 1994, co-hosting with then-husband Tom Arnold in 1992. In 1994, she
released a second book title, My Lives. That same year, Barr became the
first female comedian to host the MTV Video Music Awards on her own. She
remained the only to have done so until comedian Chelsea Handler hosted in
2010. In 1997, she made guest appearances on 3rd Rock from the Sun and The
Nanny.
In 1998, she portrayed the Wicked Witch of the West in a
production of The Wizard of Oz at Madison Square Garden. That same year,
Barr hosted her own talk show, The Roseanne Show, which ran for two
years before it was canceled in 2000. In the summer of 2003, she took on the
dual role of hosting a cooking show called Domestic Goddess and starring
in a reality show called The Real Roseanne Show about hosting a cooking
show. Although 13 episodes were in production; a hysterectomy brought a
premature end to both projects. In 2004, she voiced Maggie, one of the main
characters in the animated film Home on the Range.
Return to stand-up, television guest appearances, and
radio: 2005–2010
In 2005, she returned to stand-up comedy with a world
tour. In February 2006, Barr performed her first-ever live dates in Europe as
part of the Leicester Comedy Festival in Leicester, England. The shows took
place at De Montfort Hall. She released her first children's DVD, Rockin'
with Roseanne: Calling All Kids, that month. Roseanne's return to the stage
culminated in an HBO Comedy Special Roseanne Barr: Blonde N Bitchin',
which aired November 4, 2006, on HBO. Two nights earlier, Roseanne returned to
prime-time network TV with a guest spot on NBC's My Name Is Earl,
playing a crazy trailer park manager. In April 2007 Barr hosted season three of
The Search for the Funniest Mom in America on Nick at Nite.
In March 2008, she headlined in act at the Sahara Hotel
and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. From 2009 to 2010, she hosted a
politically-themed radio show on KPFK. Since 2008 she and partner Johnny Argent
have hosted a weekly radio show Sundays on KCAA in the Los Angeles area called
"The Roseanne and Johnny Show". On March 23, 2009 it was announced
that Barr would be returning to primetime with a new sitcom, where she would
once again play the matriarch. Jim Vallely of Arrested Development had
been tapped to pen the series. She later stated on her website that the project
had been canceled.
On April 15, 2009 Barr made an appearance on Bravo's 2nd
Annual A-List Awards in the opening scenes. She played Kathy Griffin's fairy
godmother, granting her wish to be on the A-List for one night only. Barr
headlined the inaugural Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival in February 2010, a
project of the Traverse City Film Festival, founded by filmmaker Michael Moore.
Moore developed the comedy fest with comedian Jeff Garlin. In 2010, Barr
appeared in Jordan Brady's documentary about stand-up comedy, I Am Comic.
Reality television, sitcom pilot, politics and Comedy
Central Roast: 2011–present
On January 4, 2011, Barr released her third book, titled Roseannearchy:
Dispatches from the Nut Farm. Barr appeared in 2011 on a Super Bowl XLV
commercial for Snickers along with comedian Richard Lewis. It was the most
popular ad based on the number of TiVo users rewinding and watching it over. On
February 14, 2011, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Lifetime
Television had ordered 16 half-hour episodes featuring Barr, boyfriend Johnny
Argent and son Jake as they run a macadamia nut and livestock farm in Big
Island, Hawaii. The reality show, titled Roseanne's Nuts, was produced
by 3 Ball Productions/Eyeworks USA (The Biggest Loser) and premiered on
July 13, 2011. On September 21, 2011 Lifetime cancelled Roseanne's Nuts.
On August 11, 2011 it was reported that Barr was working
on a new sitcom with 20th Century Fox Television tentatively titled Downwardly
Mobile. Steven Greener, who also executive produced her reality show Roseanne's
Nuts, will also executive produce the sitcom. Eric Gilliland is attached as
co-creator, writer and executive producer; Gilliland was also a writer on
Barr's previous sitcom Roseanne. The show will be set in a mobile home
community and use a multiple-camera setup. In October 2011, NBC picked up the
show. A pilot was filmed but initially ended up being shelved by the network.
Barr blames her "Progressive politics" as being the sole reason
behind the pilot's rejection. Barr states that she was notified that the show
would not be picked up due to its being labeled "too polarizing" by
network executives. In an interview with Politicker, Barr revealed that the
show had been axed only to announce three hours later that she had just
received a phone call saying that NBC had not given up on the project
completely. The show could end up as an NBC midseason replacement. Barr hopes
that she's given the opportunity to retool the show.
On June 25, 2012, it was announced that Barr would be
"roasted" by Comedy Central. The Roast of Roseanne Barr was
taped in Los Angeles on August 4, 2012 and aired on August 12. Barr's former
spouse Tom Arnold had claimed that he would not be appearing, but he ended up
appearing.
2012 Presidential campaign
On August 5, 2011 Barr appeared on The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno and announced her candidacy for president in the 2012
presidential election, running on the "Green Tea Party" ticket. Her
candidacy mixes attention to economics, personal health and meditation. She
also said that she is running for Prime Minister of Israel. In an interview
with the The Forward she invoked tikkun olam in her support of bringing
women into politics and religion. On September 19, 2011 she appeared at the Occupy
Wall Street protests and spoke in support of the protestors. She further stated
that any "guilty" Wall Street bankers should be forced to give up any
income over $100 million, be sent to re-education camps, or be executed by
beheading if they resisted.
Barr filed with the Federal Election Commission as a Green
Party presidential candidate in January 2012. She formally announced her
candidacy for the party's 2012 presidential nomination on February 2, 2012.
On July 14, 2012, Barr came in second, losing the
nomination to Jill Stein. Stein chose Cheri Honkala as her running-mate despite
suggestions that she could choose Barr. Barr was given a prime speaking role at
the Green Party National Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, but decided to
instead send a surrogate to speak on her behalf. Barr's surrogate reportedly
chided the Party for not respecting Barr's candidacy. A shouting match in a
hallway reportedly ensued.
Shortly after losing the Green Party nomination, Barr announced
she would run on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket with activist Cindy Sheehan
as a running mate. On August 4, 2012, Barr won the 2012 presidential nomination
of the Peace and Freedom Party.
Endorsements
- Green
Party Black Caucus
- NORML
- Cynthia
McKinney, 2008 Green Party nominee
Personal life
In 1970, when she was 17, Barr had a child that she
placed for adoption; they were later reunited. On February 4, 1974 Barr married
Bill Pentland, a motel clerk she met while in Colorado. They had three
children: Jessica, Jennifer, and Jake. Pentland and Barr divorced on January
16, 1990. Four days later on January 20, 1990, Barr married fellow comedian Tom
Arnold, and became known as Roseanne Arnold during the marriage. Barr had met
Arnold in 1983 in Minneapolis where he opened for her stand-up comedy act. In
1988, Barr brought Arnold onto her sitcom, Roseanne, as a writer.
Barr has a lesbian sister, Geraldine Barr, and a gay
brother, Ben Barr, both of whom inspired her to introduce gay characters into
her sitcom. Barr has stated that she supports gay marriage. Geraldine was also
Barr's manager while performing in comedy clubs and at the start of her sitcom.
Geraldine claimed that Arnold tried to dominate Barr "for his own
reasons". After being fired by Roseanne, Geraldine filed a $70.3 million breach
of contract lawsuit in Superior Court of Los Angeles County on December 18,
1991. She said Barr promised her half the earnings from the Roseanne
show for helping invent the "domestic goddess" character in 1981,
serving as "writer, organizer, accountant, bookkeeper and
confidante". Since it was six months past the statute of limitations, the
suit was thrown out.
In a 1991 interview with People, Roseanne revealed
herself to be an "incest survivor", accusing both of her parents of physical
and sexual abuse, claims which they and Geraldine publicly denied. Melvin Belli,
her parents' lawyer, said that they had passed a lie detector test "with
flying colors". Barr was even part of an incest recovery group, something
she said her parents knew about but for which they were "in denial".
On February 14, 2011, Barr and Geraldine appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
where Barr admitted that the word "incest" could have been the wrong
word to use and should have waited until her therapy was over before revealing
the "darkest time" in her life. She told Oprah, "I was in a very
unhappy relationship and I was prescribed numerous psychiatric drugs... to deal
with the fact that I had some mental illness... I totally lost touch with
reality... (and) I didn’t know what the truth was... I just wanted to drop a
bomb on my family". She added that not everything was "made up",
saying, "Nobody accuses their parents of abusing them without
justification". Geraldine said they did not speak for 12 years, but had
recently reconciled.
Barr filed for divorce from Tom Arnold on April 18, 1994
in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, citing irreconcilable differences.
Their efforts to have children were unsuccessful. On February 14, 1995, Barr
married Ben Thomas, her one-time personal security guard, at Caesars Tahoe with
a reception at Planet Hollywood. In November 1994, she become pregnant through in-vitro
fertilization and they have a son named Buck. The couple stayed together until
2002.
In the mid-1990s Barr had multiple cosmetic surgeries
performed, such as a breast reduction, tummy tuck, and a nose job. During the
late 1990s she had gastric bypass surgery.
In 2002, Barr met Johnny Argent online after running a
writing competition on her blog and began dating him in 2003, after a year of
phone conversations. They live on a 46-acre macadamia nut farm located on the Big
Island of Hawaii. Barr purchased the property in 2007 for $1.78 million. Barr
has studied Kabbalah at the Kabbalah Centre and frequently comments on the
discipline.
Filmography
|
Film
|
|
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
|
1989
|
She-Devil
|
Ruth Patchett
|
|
|
1990
|
Look Who's
Talking Too
|
Julie
|
Voice
Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress
|
|
1991
|
Freddy's
Dead: The Final Nightmare
|
Childless Woman
|
Credited as
"Mrs. Tom Arnold"
|
|
1993
|
Even Cowgirls
Get the Blues
|
Madame Zoe
|
|
|
1995
|
Blue in the
Face
|
Dot
|
|
|
2004
|
Home on the
Range
|
Maggie
|
Voice
|
|
2004
|
Dairy Tale, AA Dairy Tale
|
Maggie
|
Voice
|
|
Television
|
|
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
|
1988–
1997
|
Roseanne
|
Roseanne
Harris-Conner
|
221 episodes
Producer 1990–1991
Co-executive producer 1991–1992
Executive producer 1992–1997
Directed two episodes in 1995 and 1996
|
|
1991
|
Backfield in
Motion
|
Nancy Seavers
|
TV film
Also executive producer
|
|
1991–
1994
|
Saturday
Night Live
|
Herself (as
host)
Various characters
|
Host: February
16, 1991 with musical guest Dee-Lite
Co-host: February 22, 1992 with Tom Arnold and musical guest Red Hot Chili
Peppers
Host: December 3, 1994 with musical guest Green Day
|
|
1992
|
Rosey & Buddy Show, TheThe Rosey & Buddy Show
|
Rosey
|
Television film
|
|
1992
|
Different World, AA
Different World
|
Looting Wife
|
Episode: "Honeymoon
in L.A.: Part 2" (uncredited)
|
|
1992
|
Jackie Thomas Show, TheThe Jackie Thomas Show
|
Regina
|
Episode:
"Jack & the Bean Stalker"
Also executive producer
|
|
1993
|
The Woman Who
Loved Elvis
|
Joyce Jackson
|
Television film
Also executive producer
|
|
1993–
1995
|
The Larry
Sanders Show
|
Herself
|
3 episodes
|
|
1994
|
General
Hospital
|
Jennifer Smith
#2
|
Unknown
episodes
|
|
1997
|
3rd Rock from
the Sun
|
Janet
|
Episode: "Fun
with Dick and Janet: Part 1"
Episode: "Fun with Dick and Janet: Part 2"
|
|
1997
|
Nanny, TheThe
Nanny
|
Cousin Sheila
|
Episode: "The
Morning After"
|
|
1998–
2000
|
Roseanne Show, TheThe
Roseanne Show
|
Herself (as
host)
|
Talk show
Also executive producer
|
|
2003
|
Real Roseanne Show, TheThe Real Roseanne Show
|
Herself
|
Reality show
Also executive producer
|
|
2004
|
Futurama
|
Hologram of
herself
|
Episode: "Three
Hundred Big Boys"
|
|
2006
|
My Name Is
Earl
|
Millie Banks
|
Episode: "Made
a Lady Think I Was God"
|
|
2011
|
Roseanne's
Nuts
|
Herself
|
Reality show
Also executive producer
|
Awards
Roseanne
Barr has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the north side of the 6700
block of Hollywood Blvd.
|
Year
|
Award
|
Category
|
Work
|
Result
|
|
1988
|
American Comedy
Award
|
Funniest Female
Performer in a TV Special
|
On Location:
The Roseanne Barr Show
|
Won
|
|
1988
|
Golden Globe
Award
|
Best Actress –
Television Series Musical or Comedy
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1989
|
American Comedy
Award
|
Funniest Female Performer
in a TV Series
|
Roseanne
|
Won
|
|
1989
|
People's Choice
Awards
|
Favorite Female
Performer in a New TV Program
|
Roseanne
|
Won
|
|
1990
|
American Comedy
Award
|
Funniest Female
Performer in a TV Series
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1990
|
People's Choice
Awards
|
Favorite Female
TV Performer
|
Roseanne
|
Won
|
|
1990
|
People's Choice
Awards
|
Favorite
All-Around Female Entertainer
|
Roseanne
|
Won
|
|
1990
|
Golden Raspberry
Award
|
Worst Supporting
Actress
|
Look Who's
Talking Too
|
Nominated
|
|
1991
|
Golden Globe
Award
|
Best Actress –
Television Series Musical or Comedy
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1992
|
Golden Globe
Award
|
Best Actress –
Television Series Musical or Comedy
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1992
|
Emmy Award
|
Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Comedy Series
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1992
|
Golden Globe
Award
|
Best Actress –
Television Series Musical or Comedy
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1993
|
American Comedy
Award
|
Funniest Female
Performer in a TV Series
|
Roseanne
|
Won
|
|
1993
|
GLAAD Media
Awards
|
Vanguard Award
|
(shared with Tom
Arnold)
|
Won
|
|
1993
|
Emmy Award
|
Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Comedy Series
|
Roseanne
|
Won
|
|
1993
|
Golden Globe
Award
|
Best Actress –
Television Series Musical or Comedy
|
Roseanne
|
Won
|
|
1994
|
Emmy Award
|
Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Comedy Series
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1994
|
Golden Globe
Award
|
Best Actress –
Television Series Musical or Comedy
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1994
|
People's Choice
Awards
|
Favorite Female
TV Performer
|
Roseanne
|
Won
|
|
1994
|
Screen Actors
Guild Award
|
Outstanding
Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1995
|
Emmy Award
|
Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Comedy Series
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1995
|
People's Choice
Awards
|
Favorite Female
TV Performer
|
Roseanne
|
Won
|
|
1996
|
American Comedy
Award
|
Funniest Female
Performer in a TV Series
|
Roseanne
|
Nominated
|
|
1999
|
Emmy Award
|
Outstanding Talk
Show Host
|
The Roseanne
Show
|
Nominated
|
|
2008
|
TV Land Award
|
Innovator Award
|
Roseanne (shared with cast)
|
Won
|
Bibliography
- Roseanne: My Life As a Woman. Harper & Row. October 1989. ISBN 0-06-015957-X.
- My Lives. Ballantine
Books. February 9, 1994. ISBN 0-345-37815-6.
- Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm. Gallery Books. January 4, 2011. ISBN 1-4391-5482-1.
http://en.wikipedia.org
