One of my most profound experiences came in 2001 when we had on Thomas McKean, an autistic man. Senior Producer-started at Harpo in 1994. ![]() There wasn't a dry eye in Harpo's control room! After the boy handed over his gift, we surprised him with one of our own-a dream trip to the Magic Kingdom. On the show's 1998 season finale, Paul stood palm in palm with Oprah, tears streaming down his face as he explained what moved him to give up his piggy bank. ![]() When Paul saw our Angel Network show, he decided to donate his life savings to the college students. An 11-year-old boy named Paul, the son of a single mom, had been socking away coins for nine years to pay for a trip to Disney World. One season we encouraged viewers to collect their loose change and donate it to the Angel Network, which would give 50 students $25,000 each to attend college. Just before our summer break in 1997, Oprah talked about her vision for the upcoming season: "I want to use this show to help people make a difference in the world by extending kindness to others." After weeks of thinking about this, I woke up one morning with an idea: Oprah's Angel Network. Senior Supervising Producer-started at Harpo in 1992. My declaration is still something I get teased about-11 years later: "I feel it in the fiber of my being." The next day Oprah celebrated with the entire staff and rolled out a big cake shaped like a crow, so she could "eat crow." "Well," she said, "I guess I can't argue with the fiber of your being." When the show aired, the ratings skyrocketed. As emotional as that town meeting turned out to be-people were yelling, crying, and just going crazy-Oprah kept saying, "I just don't see how we're going to turn this into a solid show." But I cut in with a sentence I may never live down: "I feel it in the fiber of my being," I told Oprah. Since none of the family members would talk, we decided to host a town hall show. We drove around town, trying to track down Susan's family members for an interview. ![]() When the news broke that Susan Smith had pushed her own children into a lake, my executive producer threw me on a plane with another producer so we could tape a show a day and a half later. Senior Supervising Producer-started at Harpo in 1991. The truth is, we're all just trying to keep up. She's also got the energy of a 20-year-old. Throw in a few shots of tequila, crank up the music, and she's the life of any party. Whether we're working, shopping or vacationing, no one can make me laugh like she does. She is the ultimate girlfriend she's as fun as they come. I remember it all-her big hair, enormous earrings, her brilliance, the love.Įveryone asks me, "What is she really like?" Well, magnify what you see on TV by a thousand, and that's what it is to be with her in person. ![]() When I look back on more than 4,000 shows, I can't pick just one moment. Every morning I walk into the studio thinking, "Where is Oprah taking us today?" For two decades, I've had a front-row seat in the Live Your Best Life class. She's always asking the Harpo team, "How can we get better?" That's why this has never been just a job for me. I've worked with Oprah since the very first show, and 20 years later she's still, to this second, challenging herself. Executive Producer-started at Harpo in 1986.
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