November 30, 2023 • 30 mins
Sherri Shepherd is an Emmy winning comedian whose talk show, Sherri, is airing it's second season. She talks about her love of New York, where she gets content for her show, and why laughter really IS the best medicine.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So what's there to say about our friend Sherry Shepherd.
We love her. She's an Emmy Award winning comedian. She's
had an incredible TV career spanning two decades, and now
she's hosting her own talk show, Sherry. Let's talk about
how she got her start or incredible work ethic, and
what it's like now hosting her own show. Sherry Shepherd,
(00:20):
thank you for being here. This is amazing. Having you
on our radio show is just a treat and a gift.
Let's go a little deeper.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Okay, We're going to turn this phone off, because no
matter how much you do to turn off a phone,
it still goes off. Like I'm always scared that it
just will go off. So basically I just turned it off.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
You know what, though, if it goes off, I'd be
kind of interested to see who's called his Sherry Shepherd.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Well, the one thing I can always say, it's my son, Okay,
even though it's my girlfriend going what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Right, that's best son, I got it right. Where are
you from?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Originally Chicago?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, Chicago by way of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, the Northwest suburb.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
So and now you're living in New York full time.
Do you like being in a New Yorker.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
When I tell you I love New York so much,
Like everybody goes go to Jersey because you can get
more for your money, and I'm like, I'm staying right
in New York. I don't care what I gotta do.
If I gotta sell avon on the side.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
You know, It's like.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
People think, don't be thinking I got that Llen one
hundred million dollar talk show deal. No, sir, So like
you got, you got to be on a budget. So
I don't care what I gotta do. I'm staying in
New York, in Manhattan, which is expensive as heck, but
I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
But sure is the city is a pain in the ass,
and that's what you like about it.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
I love it. I love the energy. Like if you
go to la and you're most of us are actors.
We're in the valley.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
It's just like chill and laid back and you get
in your car, you go meet up at the park
to go walking. Everything is you have to get in
your car. You don't take like the bus or the train.
That's if you don't have a car and you gotta
get there. But it's just very chill in LA when
we say, you know, let's get together for lunch, just
we just saying goodbye. It's like, so you go to
(01:59):
New York and everybody is very real, very authentic.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Too real sometimes or you're okay with that, I'm okay
with you know where you're staying with that.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I know where I stand, I know where I'm getting
and I live in Harlem, and so there's always something
going on.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Even in Manhattan.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
There's always it's so many nationalities, and we got a
parade for every nationality that is in New York. I'm like, well,
who is this now? It's the Turkey. Everybody from over
from Turkey. We having a parade like it's it's the
Puerto Rican Day Parade. It's the Haitian Day Parade. It's
the LGBTQ Parade. It's the people with one leg, they
got a parade. It's the people that have no we
(02:33):
It's a parade for everything. It's a bike marathon. It's
just always something going on. They got salted dancing in
Central Park over here, they got you can learn how
to waltz over here, they're doing a play, and I
mean it's you know, it's there's a man walking around
naked in Times Square.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
It's something going on.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I'm making notes here. Slow down the one Legged Parade.
I want to be a part of that.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
I'm telling you. If it's not there, it's about to come.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And by the way, if if you don't live in
New York City, or even if you do, weekends in
Harlem is really the best time. And weekends there's always
something going on year round, even when the weather sucks. Ass.
Harlem is like.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Literally if you go to Melba's restaurant, they block off
the streets in Harlem. But Melboa's is especially great because
they play double Dutch, they dance.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
I mean, it's just a party.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
And I go every I walk from my place, which
is about thirty blocks, and I walk and we just
have a good time, have some catfish strips and we're
just in a drink and we're partying. A Babyface was
just doing his concert on the Brownstone Stoop.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Just for the It was an announced. He just showed up.
Obviously you heard about.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
It announce, but everybody came with their lawn chairs. And
then Mary J.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Blige was there the next week. So what do you
get to go see Babyface? Perform on somebody stoop, not
a person who stupid was probably wasn't happy it's on
my lawn now on my stoop down the stairs, but
it was so I love that energy.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So I walked out of my apartment yesterday, had to
run around the corner and get some dog food whatever.
And there was a man on the stoop on Broadway
meowing at people. And I think I saw him hiss
a couple of times. Yes, I'm like, you know, what,
what the fuck is going on in the city?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
You know, I mean?
Speaker 1 (04:17):
But I also had a woman lunge at me which
looked like a sharp object in her hand at one time.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
You have to be careful, which is like, what are
you doing?
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And last night in Bedsty, or two nights ago in Bedstide,
there was a murder, just for a random I look
for a.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Place in Bedstick. Well, so now I'm not you said
it was a murder, all right? They gotta go to
Cobble Hill.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
They murder everyone everywhere. It's it's not just Bedsty.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, but ain't nobody said, you know, over here in
real Good Heights they had a murder. Ain't nobody say
to Amy Schumer never said to me it was a
murder on her block.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Okay, you're right, But my point is this, we choose
to be here. We pay the premium to be here.
Yet being here is it's more costly than just cash.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
It wears you down.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It wears you down.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
But I have to say I got to, you know,
preface it with I'm very blessed the way I came
to New York to live. If I had to come
to New York to struggle at this age, I couldn't
do it because the New York is really a place
where you learn independence, you learn to hustle. This is
a place where you got to grind New York. And
(05:23):
so I'm very, very blessed that to the both times
that I lived here, I was co hosting the view.
I lived in the Trump, but well it used to
be the Trump. They took those litters down in a heartbeat.
So I live in a building with no name, but
I used to live there. And then you know about
a big house in New Jersey. And now I came
here with my own show. So it's a different way
(05:43):
than I'm coming to New York. My love is a
little bit different from my niece who's moving here, Who's like,
oh my gosh, I can't believe how much apartment scholls, Auntie,
can I stay with you?
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Well, she'll be calling you, She'll be calling SHERF.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
That answer is no, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Well, I tell you, And I've told this story before.
A friend of ours who works at the show, Josh,
he lived in Cleveland and he was dying to move
to New York City. He said, Elvis, how much do
I need to make to be comfortable in New York City?
I said, Josh, billionaires are uncomfortable, and it's uncolling. Said,
that's the thing. We love being uncomfortable in this town.
It's this self cutting thing. I don't know. I don't
(06:20):
get it, but here we are, you.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Know, I don't know. I guess to being uncomfortable makes
me try harder. The only thing I hate is I
don't have the energy that I used to have when
I was uncomfortable, that energy to go out and hit
the pavement hard. Right now, I'm too tired. After I
make one damn TikTok, I'm like, I got to go
to sleep. So this is a I'm blessed that, you know,
at this age, just like I'm seeing the benefits of
(06:44):
my working so hard and so much struggling that I
don't have to.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
I don't have to do that hustle.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You can enjoy New York.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I ride the train because I just like riding the train.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Way the train. He always gives you a story, always
on the train.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
But I do it because I'm trying to teach my
son how to take the train and ride the train.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
So we keep getting lost, so I'm not teaching them nothing.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
But it's not I'm not riding the train because I
have to because I have a talk show, so you know,
they provide a driver. But I like being on the
train because I liked it keeps me fresh as far
as like my mind, my creativity. So I'm very thankful
that I'm here in this place doing what I do.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
You can catch me on the F train today. I'll
be the F train. Hey, yeah, the F train.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I do the dow See. I take the If I
don't have my reading glasses on, that's when I get lost.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I was going to do.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I'm usually taking like the D train, and it was
one time the Broadway show I couldn't get an uber,
so I said, let me take the train. Normally, when
I ride the train, I don't look like Sheery Shepherd,
all right, So yo, cousin Artha, that's what I look like,
all right. But I got on the train this time
straight off a Broadway show.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So I had this.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Fusia pink puffer coat on, hair hanging down on my butt,
lashes that look like stairsteps on my eyes. And I
got on the train and it was at night, and
I thought the d I thought it was the b
Trade and I was like, okay, I'm getting off.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
I don't know where I am.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
And that's when I look like a tourist because I
got off and I kept walking back and forth, going
where am I at?
Speaker 1 (08:13):
It's a scary moment.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, And these two people came by and the girls like,
I really love your coat. And I was like, oh,
I'm in trouble when somebody's like I really love your coat.
I'm from Chicago. I know what that means. I'm about
to take that coat boy. And I'm walking and I
was like, I don't know where I'm at. And then
something said Sherry, first of all, stop walking back and
forth looking at signs, and then I go, I gotta
(08:35):
maybe if I walk down the block and I'm like, okay,
this is when you notice there's no street lights on
this block, and I go, where were you?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I was even do you even know where you were?
Speaker 3 (08:45):
I was lost?
Speaker 1 (08:46):
But where where?
Speaker 3 (08:48):
I just got off because I kept going I'm.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Not pass So you got back on? I mean, did you?
Speaker 3 (08:53):
But I didn't know how.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
When I went downstairs, I was like, I don't see
like going to the downtown.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
So I don't know if I'm in the Bronx. I'm not.
I'm not quite sure where.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
The numbers are just high numbers, and I'm like, I
don't know, and then the person I want to ask
don't look like I should be asking. I got a
pink puffer coat on from Chloe Kardashian's line, and some
girl just told me she likes it. I'm not gonna
have this coat too long. So I was just like,
oh my gosh, Sherry, what is going?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
So what did you do? You got back on the train.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Some said, bitch, if you don't call an uber and
I went, oh, that's right, and Uber, and I'm calling
Uber black because I can't talk.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
I'm so traumatized.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
And they'll find you. They'll find you. You don't even
have to know where you are.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Don't find somebody uber black.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
When you call it uber black, it's stem Dog on
the regular Uber and the regular Lift. They want to
talk to you. They got a mixtape. They want you
to produce the record for him. You know it smells
like the kids and just been in the in the
car they you know, they didn't made they lunch and
ate it Like I was like, I need a Uber
black because I'm so traumatized. I just wanted you get
in then Uber black. They don't say nothing to you.
(09:57):
They open up the door and they don't say anything
because the tip is already included with the black.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So whoever thought we'd actually be pampering ourselves by getting
Uber black? You don't really want to take care of
myself to time, I'm gonna treat myself to an Uber black.
If you're lost in freaking New York, you should do that.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Were in your pink Yeah, when your nerves is bad, right,
you just go that extra and get the Uber Black.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Well, Sherry, here you are. You live in New York.
You're in season two of the show now season one?
Uh did you know in your heart of hearts this
is going well? I bet you there's gonna be a
season two or there was there ever? Any how does
that work when you have seasons? Do you ever like
want did you wonder for a second.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Yeah, I'm always in that state of because that way
when it happens, I'm just like so like so pleasantly surprised.
I love people who go I already know that that
this show is going to be picked up. I already
know that we're gonna like I envy that. I wish
I could be like that from me, I'm like, please, lord,
let it be picked up because I'm having so much
fun and I actually I love doing this. I hope
(11:06):
they pick it up. So when we got a two
season pickup, which rarely.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Happens, oh wait, I didn't know that you got two
seasons now for two weeks, so you're guaranteed a three
season show?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Sochch no, but that's the talk showhere. Even though Fox
picked it up for two seasons, Stepmar Mercury anytime can go,
you know what, this ain't working for us. So it
doesn't mean I'm guaranteed, but it shows that Fox had
faith in my show, and the affiliates have faith in
my show that they said we want to do two
years with you.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
What's your daylight? Now? What's it like on production day?
Like today?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Production day, Well, after I take care of my son
and get him off to school, I come in and
seven in the morning, and I immediately have to get
if there's anybody waiting, Some people fly in and they
get there really early. I will sit and talk to
them and take pictures. That's like five ten minutes. I'll
take pictures with anybody that's out there, and then I
come in. They start doing my makeup. But literally about
seven forty five, I gotta go over hot topics because
(12:03):
I need to. I need to go in the room
and talk to people, kind of like I'm at a
comedy club. I need to go, this is what happened
to me yesterday, and I'll tell the story and if
they laugh, then I go, we're gonna use that right
when I come and sit on the couch. So I
came in and I go, I bombed at a comedy club.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
I can't believe it. This is what and they said
that was funny.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Then we go over all we find hot topics that
we can talk about, and I look for stuff that
I can bring a lightness to and a fun attitude
and spirit too, like Jimmy Butler had a different.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Haircut and I was pretty freaky.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Yeah, this this latest morning, we went on this whole thing,
and I said, oh my gosh, that would be funny
because I know the coaches are telling their team just
play on the side of his bangs.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
He won't be able to see you.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
And the jokes just started fine, and I said, this
is gonna be a good day because stuff is coming
to me right and I have So it was initially
it was me writing my own jokes, but now we
have a comic named Tammy Pescatelli, who is this amazing
Italian woman ballsy, and so she will help me flesh
out what I want to say.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
It's great to have a partner, right, a collaborator. You
go do it in music, you know, they collaborate with
each other all the time, and they come up with
these magical things that they would not have done on
their own. Having a collaborator like your Tammy.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
It's Tammy, and it's really important because I just got
Tammy last week. But before that I had nobody. I
was the only comic. So I wanted younger people to
be in the room with me. Just tell me what
are the cause you know, at my age, I don't
look at everything. I'm not on social media all the time.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
I'm like, I need to go.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
You know, at this stage, this is when you keep
hearing people say you got to go to sleep at eight.
I go, what nobody told me that when I was
in my twenties, Because in your twenties, you don't have
to go to sleep at eight.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
You can go to sleep at four party and then
go to work.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Are you going to sleep at eight? Really? No?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Probably eleven friturday. You know, you lay down and you
look at the ceiling. And I keep going what they
say on TikTok and social media eight o'clock, I'm supposed
to get into something called my circadian rhythm, but it
ain't happening. So let me get on Instagram. But about eleven,
so I'm in there. So I have young people in
the room with me who can give me what therap
and I go, what do you think about that as
(14:03):
a young person. So we had a topic about a
young person on TikTok wanted to know what do old
people do?
Speaker 3 (14:09):
What did they do before the Internet?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
And I said to the young girls, I said, we
had Encyclopedia Britannica, and they didn't laugh. They just looked
at me, and I said, pull up a picture of
the Encyclopedia Britannicas and one girl goes, that looks like
Game of Thrones. It was so funny to me.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
But wait a minute, what did we do before the internet?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
We had there was a salesman that came to your
door and sold you Encyclopedia Britannica, and that's how you
did your book reports.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
And here's the thing.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
My family couldn't afford the whole set, so we only
bought one letter a month because they were paying on this.
So I never did any book reports that started with
a T. That so we did that. And then when
they got the children's edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, people thought
you was rich when you got that. But my daddy
worked three jobs, so we had the kids edition also,
(14:58):
I said. So I started going through of what we did.
I said, we also we freaking called people and the
young people were just like what And I said, your
Alexis in Siri was called my anti Gloria. That was
Alexis in Siri was somebody in my family who knew
everything in between taking the smoke.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
You know, they cigarettes, They knew everything about everything.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
It was my uncle Earl who said at the barbershop
that was Alexis. And so when I saw them laughing,
and then I saw the little girl, the little young
one say that those Britannicas look like the Game of Thrones, Right,
I go, that's a great joke. And I said it,
and everybody laughed. And so that's how I call my material.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
So it keeps you young anyway, I mean, it keeps
you plugging.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
I have to hang around you because I do.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
At this place where I have, everyone's younger than me.
Of course, everyone's younger than me everywhere I go, probably,
But no, the thing that's a gift for you, Sherry,
is you get to keep learning. Yes, but you're you're
forced to learn, But you get to keep learning, and
you don't feel like you're just old and stale and
living in a closet somewhere.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I think that people who don't young, And that's why
I understand why a lot of times older men will
get with younger women as opposed to women my agent.
I know a lot of women will get on me
when I say this but we come with older woman baggage.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Things don't impress us like it with a young girl.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Like I remember a guy came to me and he
had gotten a car that the remote control rolled down
the windows and the remote control started the car. And
he came and he was like, Sherry, oh my god,
look at this. And I go, I gotta be mw
on my driveway and I got.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
I got this range drover. That don't impress me.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
But a young girl will be like, oh my god,
that's so amazing. Let's take a drive down the beach. Wow,
you got this is your house. I expect you, you know,
And so it brings up I think younger people bring
a freshness and an energy. Like if you get with
me and you want to take me out about eleven o'clock,
I'm getting sleepy. We're not going to another place cause
(16:55):
I'm just I'm tired. When I go to a club,
the first two things I look for is a seat
in the bathroom and I'm sitting in and if it's crowded,
I'm not getting up for nothing because I'm not losing
my seat.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Now you got a younger.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Girl who's like, let's dance, let's do this. It's an energy.
That's why you see these old guys and you like you,
how many days you gonna party and freaking with this
young girl. But here's the thing, you don't get some
good conversation. But you know you're not gonna be able
to sit there and go, oh my gosh when I
was with doing so, because they're gonna look at you
and go, who's that.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
It's a trade off.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
It's exciting for these old guys. They get to hang
out at DA do things they can't do with the
old age.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
They've never done. Do you know they can ride a motorcycle.
Let my man tell me he got a motorcycle. I'm
gonna be like, if you don't stop acting dumb and
get off that motorcycle and get that leaf blower and
blow them leaves. Get off that damn motorcycle where you
hurt your back?
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Do you miss it? Though? Do you miss doing the
clubs as a young girl? Did you do you miss
those days at all?
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Art wish I had the energy like I go to
a club. I can go to a club and dance
like once every six months and it's fun. But if
I had to go to a club now, Elvis I'm like, what,
it's the music, so damn.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Too old?
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Yes, I'm too old.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Or when you go to restaurants, you like, can y'all
turn on the lights like I'm trying to make a baby.
Why I can't read my I can't read the biddle.
I sound like my aunty or my mother. And I
go and the kids just laugh at me. We'll be
whenever they have a birthday party or whenever they get together.
I go, you know, and I'm like, Auntie, I sit
right in the corner. I don't move, and they all
come over to me.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Come on, Aunty, Cherry, Miss Sherry, let's dance.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
And I'm like, I'm fine. I'm fine because I'm be
in the hills all day. My feet hurt, but I
like to be around them because it does give you,
like some vitality.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
So look, I'm sure every every two weeks the agent
gets your paycheck, they put it in your bank account.
Everything's all cool. What other than a great job, people
taking care of you, working with people you love, what
do you get out of this? What are you getting
out of this? Just for you?
Speaker 2 (18:57):
From the time I was for I love making people laugh,
like I loved seeing my mother smile, and I loved
seeing my grandmother smile. I've always liked people to feel better,
and I've always I just knew doing everything. I've always
used to dream of having my own talk show when
I used to watch them when I was little, and
(19:18):
even doing stand up. I saw Andrew Dice Clay and
Eddie Griffin. That's what made me want to get in
the stand up. They were on stage and I saw
everybody moving as one when they laughed, just because of
what Andrew and Eddie were talking about. And I said,
I want to do that. I want to make people
laugh and feel better. Because I was going through so much.
(19:39):
I had a sister who was on drugs. My mother
was in the hospital. She died from complications of diabetes.
So I was taking care of her, trying to take
care of nieces and nephews. I had a lot on me,
and laughter it made me feel good being on stage.
So I said, Wow, it's got to make other people
feel better. And I just it's high for me to
(20:02):
make people feel better. So when I have people coming
to my show, h people coming, this is crazy. They'll
have like somebody will say I have a when I
go to the doctor, I watch you when I'm getting
my blood transfusions or when I'm getting dialysis. There's some people.
There's some people who go. You inspire me, Untie, because
I'm in college. When I'm feeling like down, I look
at you. That makes me keep going. That shows me
(20:25):
that my purpose is very clear. I am to make
you feel better than when you came.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
And we have so much going on in the world.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
People need laughter. I'm not talking about I am very
well versed in politics. I love talking politics, but I
will not do it on my show because I am there.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I want you to feel good.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
You can get politics from anybody, whatever side you're on.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
That's our policy here too. We don't do it.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
I'm not going to do it because everybody everybody can
do it. What I am I'm here for is to
make you feel better.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
But you know what you're doing something else, Shery. I'm interrupting,
but I look at the time, I want to get
to some points. Here's the thing you do make people laugh.
You do make people feel good. That's accomplished, done deal.
But something else you do, and I kind of hit
on this on our show, is you also make people
want to make people laugh. You make people want to
(21:23):
leave the room better that they found it in. It's
an inspiration. I mean, you do it just by walking
in your nice new boobs, your beautiful orange dress and
your skirt and everything, your beautiful shoes, your smile. When
you leave the studio today, you're gonna we all feel
much better. But you're teaching us that it's important for
us to do that too. Yeah. And what I see
(21:45):
you talk about when you when you first hop on
the show starts and you talk about you, You talk
about your guests, you talk about people in the news
and hot topics. I get that, But when you talk
about you and the things that turn you on, things
that make you feel good, it makes us want to
do the same things. Never forget get that. It's a gift.
I mean it truly is. I mean, I'm not here
to like you know but your biscuit.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
No, no, no, you're not.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
I really mean that though.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
But I think that's also in finding out and knowing
who you are. Like I think that I just know
that if I have a problem and I'm going through it,
there's probably somebody in the audience that is going through
the same thing. I when I say, you know my
son is eighteen. So but when I talk about the
fact that I'm just trying to navigate life with this
(22:28):
son who's a teenager who doesn't even want to talk
to me, there's somebody out there who's going through the
same thing and they're feeling inadequate as a parent. But
if they can look at me and go, Shary's going
through the same thing. When I'm very honest, I think
that people feel like they can relate to me.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
I and I you know, I like that.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I know, you know, I'm a celebrity and Shearry knows
a lot of people, and she's probably making some money.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
I don't like to say how much because I got
two ex husbands I'm paying okay, But still I want
you to feel like that I am dealing with the
same thing that you are dealing with. So I like
to tell people, and I think those stories make people
feel like, Okay, I'm not crazy over here, and it's
going to be okay if I get through it with
the smile. There's something I want people to know that
(23:12):
if you can find the silver lining just a little bit,
that'll take you far.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Also, you know, you show such courage. This is not
just you, but all of us. You're showing courage when
you show vulnerability, right, And I know I love getting
on the air. I love talking to people. I love
asking how their day is and making them laugh whatever.
And then a friend of mine once said, Elvis, are
you doing this because you're trying to like heal yourself
from something as a child? I said, I don't. Maybe,
I don't know. Do we really have to get that
(23:39):
fucking I know? Sure? Maybe you know I was a
loner kid. I always wanted to make people laugh because
I wanted the attention because I didn't really have a
lot of friends. This and that. Do you ever find
that sometimes when you are leaving the room better than
you found it, you're also kind of healing a shary
thing from back in the day. You don't have to
be specific, you know what.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
No, I don't go through that because I feel like,
if anything, it's sometimes it's harder to be more vulnerable, because,
you know, because you feel like you inspire so many people.
I inspire people to be healthy to take this journey,
So sometimes it's harder to go. I feil and I
now I am hiding her. She's kisses in my shoes
(24:21):
and in my dressing room, and because I feel like
I'm now I'm letting people down because they're so inspired
to go to the gym, and this is hard for
me to now share. Sometimes it's the pressure is on
now that if I post something, tabloids will pick it up.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
Because now I want a talk show.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
It's a different level now that I can't just be
vulnerable and do a live and go, oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I just feel like.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
I don't feel good today because I know it will
be on blogs and it will be on a TMZ,
you know, if it's a slow news day and now
it's bigger than what it was, you know, and so
you lose a little bit of the So I can't
work out healing. On TV, I will tell what happened
to me and how I dealt with it, but I don't,
(25:08):
and every once in a while I go, oh my gosh,
I had to get this chocolate chip cookie.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
But it's harder for me.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
When I used to do Ellen Ellen, I held the
record for being the most book guest on Ellen because
she loved my When I was transparent, I would talk
about celebrities I didn't care and Ellen loved it. And
I remember she said, you can get away with that.
People think I'm too nice. I can't say what you say,
but I had nothing to lose, so I can say whatever.
(25:35):
Now I understand what Ellen meant, because you know, now
there's some things I can't say. The backlash I've experienced
it on the view. I have to be careful. I
have to censor myself a little bit because now having
a talk show and you go into people's homes every day,
you say things and it offends somebody. You gotta you know,
(25:56):
and when you have the brand of being nice, some
things I'm giving me very snarky. I'm sassy, but some
things I go, They're not gonna be able to hear
me say that because I'm nice. So it's a little
bit harder now than when I was just a struggling
comic because.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
I could care less.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
But now I have a child, I have bills, a bag,
I got ex husbands, I got parents.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
I'm taking care.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
You have too much to lose, So I'm not as
I'm not as risky as I used to be. Right,
but still within this I don't talk about relationships.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
You know.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I have learned that I keep that part of my
life private. So I just flirt with everybody, but you know,
I don't talk. I've learned my relationships. I need something
that's private, that is mine.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
So you're not gonna start digging into a guest's relationships
because you were sensitive.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Second, I am because I've been I've been on the
other end where I've been on talk shows and all
of a sudden, I go, I don't want to talk
about this, and then they grab my hand and they go,
we have to talk about this, and I'm like, I
just got ambush. That's not right. And I know there's
some a certain sector of people they want to hear that,
but not for people who watch me because they know
they're not going to get it with me.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
I'm very and I'm in this world.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
I am.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Yes, I'm relatable, but I've been in this business for
a long time, so i know what that's like when
somebody comes on the show and they don't want to
talk about it. And I always tell people, we're gonna
have fun, like you whatever you want to talk about,
and people who like me will like our conversation. I
don't do sialacious. I don't want to make people feel bad.
I used to watch people talk about me when I
(27:29):
was going through divorce, and it hurt because I go,
you really don't know their whole situation.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
It's a divorce. Why is this your topic when it's
my divorce. I get that. Yeah, but we're the same
way with this show here. I don't want to make
people feel uncomfortable. Every once in a while, when you're
booking guests, they'll say, hey, can't wait to be on
your show, but here's like three things we really don't
want to talk about these. I'm like, fuck you, We're
not going to talk about those anyway. I would never
because I want people to want to come back.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
You want people to come back.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
You want to make it a place where it's like
I tell you, when I started this show, we had
to have parties with publicists and I had to let
them know I want your people to have a good time.
I want people to leave going. I want to come
back to the show because if you're having a good time,
the audience is going to have a good time. And
people who want to come and see the salacious you
got all kinds of so you.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Can go, they have other places to go for that.
Speaker 3 (28:15):
You can go and get that.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
And so I feel like, if you have fun, you'll
want to come back and have fun with me. And
that's how my show is going to And the day
people don't want that anymore, I'm gonna go do something else.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Well, no time soon. Sherry Shepherd love having you here.
Thank you. And when you walked out of that room today,
you did change that room because everyone's like, God, I
love her, did you? Andrew was there? Daniel's like, I
love her. I just fucking love her. Matt Bronkshick, I
fucking love her, oh Man, and then Gandhi love her.
I mean you are loved. So keep sprinkling that magic.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
God.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Thank you for y'all because y'all are so wonderful. And
it's like you get excited. When they said you're going
to Elvis's show.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
I was so excited because it's just fun.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
I know I'm going to see here somebody who's gonna
hit me with the something and why I get uncomfortable
and I gotta pivot.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
NIC's just fun coming here.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
We won't do that, Sherry Shepherd. Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
So many things to live by in this episode, Sherry,
we love you. One of our favorite points Sherry made
by the way was that laughter really is the best medicine,
no doubt. To know Sherry Shepherd is to love Sherry Shepherd,
and we're so proud of her and all the success
of her talk show Sherry, which you can watch every weekday.
Just check your local listings, make sure you like, review
and subscribe to Thinking out Loud wherever you get your podcasts.
(29:32):
Until next time, peace out. Thinking out Loud is hosted
by me Elvis Durant and executive produced by Andrew Paglice
and Josh Kladney, who edits as well. Special thanks to
David Katz and Michael Kindheart. Thinking out Loud as part
of the Elvis Durant podcast Network on iHeartRadio That Sounds
Hot for more, rate, review and subscribe to this show.
(29:53):
If you like this episode, make sure you tell us
and tell your friends,
So what's there to say about our friend Sherry Shepherd.
We love her. She's an Emmy Award winning comedian. She's
had an incredible TV career spanning two decades, and now
she's hosting her own talk show, Sherry. Let's talk about
how she got her start or incredible work ethic, and
what it's like now hosting her own show. Sherry Shepherd,
(00:20):
thank you for being here. This is amazing. Having you
on our radio show is just a treat and a gift.
Let's go a little deeper.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Okay, We're going to turn this phone off, because no
matter how much you do to turn off a phone,
it still goes off. Like I'm always scared that it
just will go off. So basically I just turned it off.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
You know what, though, if it goes off, I'd be
kind of interested to see who's called his Sherry Shepherd.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Well, the one thing I can always say, it's my son, Okay,
even though it's my girlfriend going what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Right, that's best son, I got it right. Where are
you from?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Originally Chicago?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, Chicago by way of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, the Northwest suburb.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
So and now you're living in New York full time.
Do you like being in a New Yorker.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
When I tell you I love New York so much,
Like everybody goes go to Jersey because you can get
more for your money, and I'm like, I'm staying right
in New York. I don't care what I gotta do.
If I gotta sell avon on the side.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
You know, It's like.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
People think, don't be thinking I got that Llen one
hundred million dollar talk show deal. No, sir, So like
you got, you got to be on a budget. So
I don't care what I gotta do. I'm staying in
New York, in Manhattan, which is expensive as heck, but
I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
But sure is the city is a pain in the ass,
and that's what you like about it.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
I love it. I love the energy. Like if you
go to la and you're most of us are actors.
We're in the valley.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
It's just like chill and laid back and you get
in your car, you go meet up at the park
to go walking. Everything is you have to get in
your car. You don't take like the bus or the train.
That's if you don't have a car and you gotta
get there. But it's just very chill in LA when
we say, you know, let's get together for lunch, just
we just saying goodbye. It's like, so you go to
(01:59):
New York and everybody is very real, very authentic.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Too real sometimes or you're okay with that, I'm okay
with you know where you're staying with that.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I know where I stand, I know where I'm getting
and I live in Harlem, and so there's always something
going on.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Even in Manhattan.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
There's always it's so many nationalities, and we got a
parade for every nationality that is in New York. I'm like, well,
who is this now? It's the Turkey. Everybody from over
from Turkey. We having a parade like it's it's the
Puerto Rican Day Parade. It's the Haitian Day Parade. It's
the LGBTQ Parade. It's the people with one leg, they
got a parade. It's the people that have no we
(02:33):
It's a parade for everything. It's a bike marathon. It's
just always something going on. They got salted dancing in
Central Park over here, they got you can learn how
to waltz over here, they're doing a play, and I
mean it's you know, it's there's a man walking around
naked in Times Square.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
It's something going on.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I'm making notes here. Slow down the one Legged Parade.
I want to be a part of that.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
I'm telling you. If it's not there, it's about to come.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And by the way, if if you don't live in
New York City, or even if you do, weekends in
Harlem is really the best time. And weekends there's always
something going on year round, even when the weather sucks. Ass.
Harlem is like.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Literally if you go to Melba's restaurant, they block off
the streets in Harlem. But Melboa's is especially great because
they play double Dutch, they dance.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
I mean, it's just a party.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
And I go every I walk from my place, which
is about thirty blocks, and I walk and we just
have a good time, have some catfish strips and we're
just in a drink and we're partying. A Babyface was
just doing his concert on the Brownstone Stoop.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Just for the It was an announced. He just showed up.
Obviously you heard about.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
It announce, but everybody came with their lawn chairs. And
then Mary J.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Blige was there the next week. So what do you
get to go see Babyface? Perform on somebody stoop, not
a person who stupid was probably wasn't happy it's on
my lawn now on my stoop down the stairs, but
it was so I love that energy.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So I walked out of my apartment yesterday, had to
run around the corner and get some dog food whatever.
And there was a man on the stoop on Broadway
meowing at people. And I think I saw him hiss
a couple of times. Yes, I'm like, you know, what,
what the fuck is going on in the city?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
You know, I mean?
Speaker 1 (04:17):
But I also had a woman lunge at me which
looked like a sharp object in her hand at one time.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
You have to be careful, which is like, what are
you doing?
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And last night in Bedsty, or two nights ago in Bedstide,
there was a murder, just for a random I look
for a.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Place in Bedstick. Well, so now I'm not you said
it was a murder, all right? They gotta go to
Cobble Hill.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
They murder everyone everywhere. It's it's not just Bedsty.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, but ain't nobody said, you know, over here in
real Good Heights they had a murder. Ain't nobody say
to Amy Schumer never said to me it was a
murder on her block.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Okay, you're right, But my point is this, we choose
to be here. We pay the premium to be here.
Yet being here is it's more costly than just cash.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
It wears you down.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It wears you down.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
But I have to say I got to, you know,
preface it with I'm very blessed the way I came
to New York to live. If I had to come
to New York to struggle at this age, I couldn't
do it because the New York is really a place
where you learn independence, you learn to hustle. This is
a place where you got to grind New York. And
(05:23):
so I'm very, very blessed that to the both times
that I lived here, I was co hosting the view.
I lived in the Trump, but well it used to
be the Trump. They took those litters down in a heartbeat.
So I live in a building with no name, but
I used to live there. And then you know about
a big house in New Jersey. And now I came
here with my own show. So it's a different way
(05:43):
than I'm coming to New York. My love is a
little bit different from my niece who's moving here, Who's like,
oh my gosh, I can't believe how much apartment scholls, Auntie,
can I stay with you?
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Well, she'll be calling you, She'll be calling SHERF.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
That answer is no, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Well, I tell you, And I've told this story before.
A friend of ours who works at the show, Josh,
he lived in Cleveland and he was dying to move
to New York City. He said, Elvis, how much do
I need to make to be comfortable in New York City?
I said, Josh, billionaires are uncomfortable, and it's uncolling. Said,
that's the thing. We love being uncomfortable in this town.
It's this self cutting thing. I don't know. I don't
(06:20):
get it, but here we are, you.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Know, I don't know. I guess to being uncomfortable makes
me try harder. The only thing I hate is I
don't have the energy that I used to have when
I was uncomfortable, that energy to go out and hit
the pavement hard. Right now, I'm too tired. After I
make one damn TikTok, I'm like, I got to go
to sleep. So this is a I'm blessed that, you know,
at this age, just like I'm seeing the benefits of
(06:44):
my working so hard and so much struggling that I
don't have to.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
I don't have to do that hustle.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You can enjoy New York.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I ride the train because I just like riding the train.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Way the train. He always gives you a story, always
on the train.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
But I do it because I'm trying to teach my
son how to take the train and ride the train.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
So we keep getting lost, so I'm not teaching them nothing.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
But it's not I'm not riding the train because I
have to because I have a talk show, so you know,
they provide a driver. But I like being on the
train because I liked it keeps me fresh as far
as like my mind, my creativity. So I'm very thankful
that I'm here in this place doing what I do.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
You can catch me on the F train today. I'll
be the F train. Hey, yeah, the F train.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I do the dow See. I take the If I
don't have my reading glasses on, that's when I get lost.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I was going to do.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I'm usually taking like the D train, and it was
one time the Broadway show I couldn't get an uber,
so I said, let me take the train. Normally, when
I ride the train, I don't look like Sheery Shepherd,
all right, So yo, cousin Artha, that's what I look like,
all right. But I got on the train this time
straight off a Broadway show.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So I had this.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Fusia pink puffer coat on, hair hanging down on my butt,
lashes that look like stairsteps on my eyes. And I
got on the train and it was at night, and
I thought the d I thought it was the b
Trade and I was like, okay, I'm getting off.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
I don't know where I am.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
And that's when I look like a tourist because I
got off and I kept walking back and forth, going
where am I at?
Speaker 1 (08:13):
It's a scary moment.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, And these two people came by and the girls like,
I really love your coat. And I was like, oh,
I'm in trouble when somebody's like I really love your coat.
I'm from Chicago. I know what that means. I'm about
to take that coat boy. And I'm walking and I
was like, I don't know where I'm at. And then
something said Sherry, first of all, stop walking back and
forth looking at signs, and then I go, I gotta
(08:35):
maybe if I walk down the block and I'm like, okay,
this is when you notice there's no street lights on
this block, and I go, where were you?
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I was even do you even know where you were?
Speaker 3 (08:45):
I was lost?
Speaker 1 (08:46):
But where where?
Speaker 3 (08:48):
I just got off because I kept going I'm.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Not pass So you got back on? I mean, did you?
Speaker 3 (08:53):
But I didn't know how.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
When I went downstairs, I was like, I don't see
like going to the downtown.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
So I don't know if I'm in the Bronx. I'm not.
I'm not quite sure where.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
The numbers are just high numbers, and I'm like, I
don't know, and then the person I want to ask
don't look like I should be asking. I got a
pink puffer coat on from Chloe Kardashian's line, and some
girl just told me she likes it. I'm not gonna
have this coat too long. So I was just like,
oh my gosh, Sherry, what is going?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
So what did you do? You got back on the train.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Some said, bitch, if you don't call an uber and
I went, oh, that's right, and Uber, and I'm calling
Uber black because I can't talk.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
I'm so traumatized.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
And they'll find you. They'll find you. You don't even
have to know where you are.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Don't find somebody uber black.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
When you call it uber black, it's stem Dog on
the regular Uber and the regular Lift. They want to
talk to you. They got a mixtape. They want you
to produce the record for him. You know it smells
like the kids and just been in the in the
car they you know, they didn't made they lunch and
ate it Like I was like, I need a Uber
black because I'm so traumatized. I just wanted you get
in then Uber black. They don't say nothing to you.
(09:57):
They open up the door and they don't say anything
because the tip is already included with the black.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So whoever thought we'd actually be pampering ourselves by getting
Uber black? You don't really want to take care of
myself to time, I'm gonna treat myself to an Uber black.
If you're lost in freaking New York, you should do that.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Were in your pink Yeah, when your nerves is bad, right,
you just go that extra and get the Uber Black.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Well, Sherry, here you are. You live in New York.
You're in season two of the show now season one?
Uh did you know in your heart of hearts this
is going well? I bet you there's gonna be a
season two or there was there ever? Any how does
that work when you have seasons? Do you ever like
want did you wonder for a second.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Yeah, I'm always in that state of because that way
when it happens, I'm just like so like so pleasantly surprised.
I love people who go I already know that that
this show is going to be picked up. I already
know that we're gonna like I envy that. I wish
I could be like that from me, I'm like, please, lord,
let it be picked up because I'm having so much
fun and I actually I love doing this. I hope
(11:06):
they pick it up. So when we got a two
season pickup, which rarely.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Happens, oh wait, I didn't know that you got two
seasons now for two weeks, so you're guaranteed a three
season show?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Sochch no, but that's the talk showhere. Even though Fox
picked it up for two seasons, Stepmar Mercury anytime can go,
you know what, this ain't working for us. So it
doesn't mean I'm guaranteed, but it shows that Fox had
faith in my show, and the affiliates have faith in
my show that they said we want to do two
years with you.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
What's your daylight? Now? What's it like on production day?
Like today?
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Production day, Well, after I take care of my son
and get him off to school, I come in and
seven in the morning, and I immediately have to get
if there's anybody waiting, Some people fly in and they
get there really early. I will sit and talk to
them and take pictures. That's like five ten minutes. I'll
take pictures with anybody that's out there, and then I
come in. They start doing my makeup. But literally about
seven forty five, I gotta go over hot topics because
(12:03):
I need to. I need to go in the room
and talk to people, kind of like I'm at a
comedy club. I need to go, this is what happened
to me yesterday, and I'll tell the story and if
they laugh, then I go, we're gonna use that right
when I come and sit on the couch. So I
came in and I go, I bombed at a comedy club.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
I can't believe it. This is what and they said
that was funny.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Then we go over all we find hot topics that
we can talk about, and I look for stuff that
I can bring a lightness to and a fun attitude
and spirit too, like Jimmy Butler had a different.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Haircut and I was pretty freaky.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Yeah, this this latest morning, we went on this whole thing,
and I said, oh my gosh, that would be funny
because I know the coaches are telling their team just
play on the side of his bangs.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
He won't be able to see you.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
And the jokes just started fine, and I said, this
is gonna be a good day because stuff is coming
to me right and I have So it was initially
it was me writing my own jokes, but now we
have a comic named Tammy Pescatelli, who is this amazing
Italian woman ballsy, and so she will help me flesh
out what I want to say.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
It's great to have a partner, right, a collaborator. You
go do it in music, you know, they collaborate with
each other all the time, and they come up with
these magical things that they would not have done on
their own. Having a collaborator like your Tammy.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
It's Tammy, and it's really important because I just got
Tammy last week. But before that I had nobody. I
was the only comic. So I wanted younger people to
be in the room with me. Just tell me what
are the cause you know, at my age, I don't
look at everything. I'm not on social media all the time.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
I'm like, I need to go.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
You know, at this stage, this is when you keep
hearing people say you got to go to sleep at eight.
I go, what nobody told me that when I was
in my twenties, Because in your twenties, you don't have
to go to sleep at eight.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
You can go to sleep at four party and then
go to work.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Are you going to sleep at eight? Really? No?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Probably eleven friturday. You know, you lay down and you
look at the ceiling. And I keep going what they
say on TikTok and social media eight o'clock, I'm supposed
to get into something called my circadian rhythm, but it
ain't happening. So let me get on Instagram. But about eleven,
so I'm in there. So I have young people in
the room with me who can give me what therap
and I go, what do you think about that as
(14:03):
a young person. So we had a topic about a
young person on TikTok wanted to know what do old
people do?
Speaker 3 (14:09):
What did they do before the Internet?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
And I said to the young girls, I said, we
had Encyclopedia Britannica, and they didn't laugh. They just looked
at me, and I said, pull up a picture of
the Encyclopedia Britannicas and one girl goes, that looks like
Game of Thrones. It was so funny to me.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
But wait a minute, what did we do before the internet?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
We had there was a salesman that came to your
door and sold you Encyclopedia Britannica, and that's how you
did your book reports.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
And here's the thing.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
My family couldn't afford the whole set, so we only
bought one letter a month because they were paying on this.
So I never did any book reports that started with
a T. That so we did that. And then when
they got the children's edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, people thought
you was rich when you got that. But my daddy
worked three jobs, so we had the kids edition also,
(14:58):
I said. So I started going through of what we did.
I said, we also we freaking called people and the
young people were just like what And I said, your
Alexis in Siri was called my anti Gloria. That was
Alexis in Siri was somebody in my family who knew
everything in between taking the smoke.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
You know, they cigarettes, They knew everything about everything.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
It was my uncle Earl who said at the barbershop
that was Alexis. And so when I saw them laughing,
and then I saw the little girl, the little young
one say that those Britannicas look like the Game of Thrones, Right,
I go, that's a great joke. And I said it,
and everybody laughed. And so that's how I call my material.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
So it keeps you young anyway, I mean, it keeps
you plugging.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
I have to hang around you because I do.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
At this place where I have, everyone's younger than me.
Of course, everyone's younger than me everywhere I go, probably,
But no, the thing that's a gift for you, Sherry,
is you get to keep learning. Yes, but you're you're
forced to learn, But you get to keep learning, and
you don't feel like you're just old and stale and
living in a closet somewhere.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I think that people who don't young, And that's why
I understand why a lot of times older men will
get with younger women as opposed to women my agent.
I know a lot of women will get on me
when I say this but we come with older woman baggage.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Things don't impress us like it with a young girl.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Like I remember a guy came to me and he
had gotten a car that the remote control rolled down
the windows and the remote control started the car. And
he came and he was like, Sherry, oh my god,
look at this. And I go, I gotta be mw
on my driveway and I got.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
I got this range drover. That don't impress me.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
But a young girl will be like, oh my god,
that's so amazing. Let's take a drive down the beach. Wow,
you got this is your house. I expect you, you know,
And so it brings up I think younger people bring
a freshness and an energy. Like if you get with
me and you want to take me out about eleven o'clock,
I'm getting sleepy. We're not going to another place cause
(16:55):
I'm just I'm tired. When I go to a club,
the first two things I look for is a seat
in the bathroom and I'm sitting in and if it's crowded,
I'm not getting up for nothing because I'm not losing
my seat.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Now you got a younger.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Girl who's like, let's dance, let's do this. It's an energy.
That's why you see these old guys and you like you,
how many days you gonna party and freaking with this
young girl. But here's the thing, you don't get some
good conversation. But you know you're not gonna be able
to sit there and go, oh my gosh when I
was with doing so, because they're gonna look at you
and go, who's that.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
It's a trade off.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
It's exciting for these old guys. They get to hang
out at DA do things they can't do with the
old age.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
They've never done. Do you know they can ride a motorcycle.
Let my man tell me he got a motorcycle. I'm
gonna be like, if you don't stop acting dumb and
get off that motorcycle and get that leaf blower and
blow them leaves. Get off that damn motorcycle where you
hurt your back?
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Do you miss it? Though? Do you miss doing the
clubs as a young girl? Did you do you miss
those days at all?
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Art wish I had the energy like I go to
a club. I can go to a club and dance
like once every six months and it's fun. But if
I had to go to a club now, Elvis I'm like, what,
it's the music, so damn.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Too old?
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Yes, I'm too old.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Or when you go to restaurants, you like, can y'all
turn on the lights like I'm trying to make a baby.
Why I can't read my I can't read the biddle.
I sound like my aunty or my mother. And I
go and the kids just laugh at me. We'll be
whenever they have a birthday party or whenever they get together.
I go, you know, and I'm like, Auntie, I sit
right in the corner. I don't move, and they all
come over to me.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
Come on, Aunty, Cherry, Miss Sherry, let's dance.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
And I'm like, I'm fine. I'm fine because I'm be
in the hills all day. My feet hurt, but I
like to be around them because it does give you,
like some vitality.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
So look, I'm sure every every two weeks the agent
gets your paycheck, they put it in your bank account.
Everything's all cool. What other than a great job, people
taking care of you, working with people you love, what
do you get out of this? What are you getting
out of this? Just for you?
Speaker 2 (18:57):
From the time I was for I love making people laugh,
like I loved seeing my mother smile, and I loved
seeing my grandmother smile. I've always liked people to feel better,
and I've always I just knew doing everything. I've always
used to dream of having my own talk show when
I used to watch them when I was little, and
(19:18):
even doing stand up. I saw Andrew Dice Clay and
Eddie Griffin. That's what made me want to get in
the stand up. They were on stage and I saw
everybody moving as one when they laughed, just because of
what Andrew and Eddie were talking about. And I said,
I want to do that. I want to make people
laugh and feel better. Because I was going through so much.
(19:39):
I had a sister who was on drugs. My mother
was in the hospital. She died from complications of diabetes.
So I was taking care of her, trying to take
care of nieces and nephews. I had a lot on me,
and laughter it made me feel good being on stage.
So I said, Wow, it's got to make other people
feel better. And I just it's high for me to
(20:02):
make people feel better. So when I have people coming
to my show, h people coming, this is crazy. They'll
have like somebody will say I have a when I
go to the doctor, I watch you when I'm getting
my blood transfusions or when I'm getting dialysis. There's some people.
There's some people who go. You inspire me, Untie, because
I'm in college. When I'm feeling like down, I look
at you. That makes me keep going. That shows me
(20:25):
that my purpose is very clear. I am to make
you feel better than when you came.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
And we have so much going on in the world.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
People need laughter. I'm not talking about I am very
well versed in politics. I love talking politics, but I
will not do it on my show because I am there.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I want you to feel good.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
You can get politics from anybody, whatever side you're on.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
That's our policy here too. We don't do it.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
I'm not going to do it because everybody everybody can
do it. What I am I'm here for is to
make you feel better.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
But you know what you're doing something else, Shery. I'm interrupting,
but I look at the time, I want to get
to some points. Here's the thing you do make people laugh.
You do make people feel good. That's accomplished, done deal.
But something else you do, and I kind of hit
on this on our show, is you also make people
want to make people laugh. You make people want to
(21:23):
leave the room better that they found it in. It's
an inspiration. I mean, you do it just by walking
in your nice new boobs, your beautiful orange dress and
your skirt and everything, your beautiful shoes, your smile. When
you leave the studio today, you're gonna we all feel
much better. But you're teaching us that it's important for
us to do that too. Yeah. And what I see
(21:45):
you talk about when you when you first hop on
the show starts and you talk about you, You talk
about your guests, you talk about people in the news
and hot topics. I get that, But when you talk
about you and the things that turn you on, things
that make you feel good, it makes us want to
do the same things. Never forget get that. It's a gift.
I mean it truly is. I mean, I'm not here
to like you know but your biscuit.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
No, no, no, you're not.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
I really mean that though.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
But I think that's also in finding out and knowing
who you are. Like I think that I just know
that if I have a problem and I'm going through it,
there's probably somebody in the audience that is going through
the same thing. I when I say, you know my
son is eighteen. So but when I talk about the
fact that I'm just trying to navigate life with this
(22:28):
son who's a teenager who doesn't even want to talk
to me, there's somebody out there who's going through the
same thing and they're feeling inadequate as a parent. But
if they can look at me and go, Shary's going
through the same thing. When I'm very honest, I think
that people feel like they can relate to me.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
I and I you know, I like that.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I know, you know, I'm a celebrity and Shearry knows
a lot of people, and she's probably making some money.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
I don't like to say how much because I got
two ex husbands I'm paying okay, But still I want
you to feel like that I am dealing with the
same thing that you are dealing with. So I like
to tell people, and I think those stories make people
feel like, Okay, I'm not crazy over here, and it's
going to be okay if I get through it with
the smile. There's something I want people to know that
(23:12):
if you can find the silver lining just a little bit,
that'll take you far.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Also, you know, you show such courage. This is not
just you, but all of us. You're showing courage when
you show vulnerability, right, And I know I love getting
on the air. I love talking to people. I love
asking how their day is and making them laugh whatever.
And then a friend of mine once said, Elvis, are
you doing this because you're trying to like heal yourself
from something as a child? I said, I don't. Maybe,
I don't know. Do we really have to get that
(23:39):
fucking I know? Sure? Maybe you know I was a
loner kid. I always wanted to make people laugh because
I wanted the attention because I didn't really have a
lot of friends. This and that. Do you ever find
that sometimes when you are leaving the room better than
you found it, you're also kind of healing a shary
thing from back in the day. You don't have to
be specific, you know what.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
No, I don't go through that because I feel like,
if anything, it's sometimes it's harder to be more vulnerable, because,
you know, because you feel like you inspire so many people.
I inspire people to be healthy to take this journey,
So sometimes it's harder to go. I feil and I
now I am hiding her. She's kisses in my shoes
(24:21):
and in my dressing room, and because I feel like
I'm now I'm letting people down because they're so inspired
to go to the gym, and this is hard for
me to now share. Sometimes it's the pressure is on
now that if I post something, tabloids will pick it up.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
Because now I want a talk show.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
It's a different level now that I can't just be
vulnerable and do a live and go, oh my gosh.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I just feel like.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
I don't feel good today because I know it will
be on blogs and it will be on a TMZ,
you know, if it's a slow news day and now
it's bigger than what it was, you know, and so
you lose a little bit of the So I can't
work out healing. On TV, I will tell what happened
to me and how I dealt with it, but I don't,
(25:08):
and every once in a while I go, oh my gosh,
I had to get this chocolate chip cookie.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
But it's harder for me.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
When I used to do Ellen Ellen, I held the
record for being the most book guest on Ellen because
she loved my When I was transparent, I would talk
about celebrities I didn't care and Ellen loved it. And
I remember she said, you can get away with that.
People think I'm too nice. I can't say what you say,
but I had nothing to lose, so I can say whatever.
(25:35):
Now I understand what Ellen meant, because you know, now
there's some things I can't say. The backlash I've experienced
it on the view. I have to be careful. I
have to censor myself a little bit because now having
a talk show and you go into people's homes every day,
you say things and it offends somebody. You gotta you know,
(25:56):
and when you have the brand of being nice, some
things I'm giving me very snarky. I'm sassy, but some
things I go, They're not gonna be able to hear
me say that because I'm nice. So it's a little
bit harder now than when I was just a struggling
comic because.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
I could care less.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
But now I have a child, I have bills, a bag,
I got ex husbands, I got parents.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
I'm taking care.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
You have too much to lose, So I'm not as
I'm not as risky as I used to be. Right,
but still within this I don't talk about relationships.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
You know.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I have learned that I keep that part of my
life private. So I just flirt with everybody, but you know,
I don't talk. I've learned my relationships. I need something
that's private, that is mine.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
So you're not gonna start digging into a guest's relationships
because you were sensitive.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Second, I am because I've been I've been on the
other end where I've been on talk shows and all
of a sudden, I go, I don't want to talk
about this, and then they grab my hand and they go,
we have to talk about this, and I'm like, I
just got ambush. That's not right. And I know there's
some a certain sector of people they want to hear that,
but not for people who watch me because they know
they're not going to get it with me.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
I'm very and I'm in this world.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
I am.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Yes, I'm relatable, but I've been in this business for
a long time, so i know what that's like when
somebody comes on the show and they don't want to
talk about it. And I always tell people, we're gonna
have fun, like you whatever you want to talk about,
and people who like me will like our conversation. I
don't do sialacious. I don't want to make people feel bad.
I used to watch people talk about me when I
(27:29):
was going through divorce, and it hurt because I go,
you really don't know their whole situation.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
It's a divorce. Why is this your topic when it's
my divorce. I get that. Yeah, but we're the same
way with this show here. I don't want to make
people feel uncomfortable. Every once in a while, when you're
booking guests, they'll say, hey, can't wait to be on
your show, but here's like three things we really don't
want to talk about these. I'm like, fuck you, We're
not going to talk about those anyway. I would never
because I want people to want to come back.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
You want people to come back.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
You want to make it a place where it's like
I tell you, when I started this show, we had
to have parties with publicists and I had to let
them know I want your people to have a good time.
I want people to leave going. I want to come
back to the show because if you're having a good time,
the audience is going to have a good time. And
people who want to come and see the salacious you
got all kinds of so you.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Can go, they have other places to go for that.
Speaker 3 (28:15):
You can go and get that.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
And so I feel like, if you have fun, you'll
want to come back and have fun with me. And
that's how my show is going to And the day
people don't want that anymore, I'm gonna go do something else.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Well, no time soon. Sherry Shepherd love having you here.
Thank you. And when you walked out of that room today,
you did change that room because everyone's like, God, I
love her, did you? Andrew was there? Daniel's like, I
love her. I just fucking love her. Matt Bronkshick, I
fucking love her, oh Man, and then Gandhi love her.
I mean you are loved. So keep sprinkling that magic.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
God.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Thank you for y'all because y'all are so wonderful. And
it's like you get excited. When they said you're going
to Elvis's show.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
I was so excited because it's just fun.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
I know I'm going to see here somebody who's gonna
hit me with the something and why I get uncomfortable
and I gotta pivot.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
NIC's just fun coming here.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
We won't do that, Sherry Shepherd. Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
So many things to live by in this episode, Sherry,
we love you. One of our favorite points Sherry made
by the way was that laughter really is the best medicine,
no doubt. To know Sherry Shepherd is to love Sherry Shepherd,
and we're so proud of her and all the success
of her talk show Sherry, which you can watch every weekday.
Just check your local listings, make sure you like, review
and subscribe to Thinking out Loud wherever you get your podcasts.
(29:32):
Until next time, peace out. Thinking out Loud is hosted
by me Elvis Durant and executive produced by Andrew Paglice
and Josh Kladney, who edits as well. Special thanks to
David Katz and Michael Kindheart. Thinking out Loud as part
of the Elvis Durant podcast Network on iHeartRadio That Sounds
Hot for more, rate, review and subscribe to this show.
(29:53):
If you like this episode, make sure you tell us
and tell your friends,
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