Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald, interview Georgia native Ellia English. She has had an indelible impact in Television, Theater, Film, and the Jazz Clubs, from her memorable television roles as Auntie Rae on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Aunt Helen on The Jamie Foxx Show, Mary Lou Wentz on Disney’s Good Luck Charlie, and as Henny on Lifetime’s Movie of The Week Petals On The Wind. She is on the show to discuss her career, her upcoming YouTube show, and the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to Money Making Conversations. It's the show that she
is the secrets of success experience firsthand by Marketing and
Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I will know he's giving me
advice on many occasions. And in case you didn't notice,
I'm not broke. You know he'll be interviewing celebrity CEOs,
entrepreneurs and industry decision makers. It's what he likes to do,
it's what he likes to share. Now it's time to
(00:25):
hear from my man, Rashan McDonald money Making Conversations.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Here we go.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I am Rashan McDonald when I host the weekly Money
Making Conversation master Class show.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
The interviews and information that this show provides are for everyone.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
start living your own. My next guest is Georgia native
Eliat English.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
She is an indelible.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Career in television, theater, film and the jazz clubes and
from all Moro television roles as Anti Ray on HBO's
Curry Enthusiasm, Love Her and Hell on Jamie Fox Show
That's where I met her, Mary Lewinz on Disney's Club.
Good Luck, Charlie, and it's hinting on Lifetime Movie of
the Week Pedals on the Wind. She was on the
(01:11):
show to talk about her career, upcoming YouTube show, and
the final season of Curby Your Enthusiasm, Please welco with
the Money Making Conversations, Masterclass Show.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Elliott English, How you doing, my friend.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I'm doing wonderful. Thank you for asking, how are you?
Speaker 4 (01:27):
I'm ready to talk. I'm ready to talk.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
I'm ready, I'm ready. It is a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
It's really excited to have you on the air because
you know, you and I met way back, and I
want to say about ninety eight when I was co
executive using the Jamie Fox Show, watching his career, watching
your career grow and blossom and grow to diversity. You
know when I said diversity, I just knew you was
an actress. Now I didn't know you could sing. You've
(01:53):
become an author. Talk about diversifying yourself along the way
long that path or any having their career.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Okay, Well for me, Rashan, I know that when I
first moved away from home from Georgia, a little small
town outside of Atlanta called Covington, and I moved to
New York, I went there to begin my career in theater,
and so I started out in theater. And one of
the things that I learned during theater you had to
be what was called at that time a triple threat.
(02:25):
You had to be able to act, you had to
be able to sing, and you had to be able
to dance if you wanted to work on Broadway. And
so I had to immediately, Thank goodness, I had already
started theater before I left Atlanta. I did two projects.
One was called I Feel My Goodness it was Manhattan
Yellow Pages, and the other one was called Blackbirds of
(02:47):
nineteen seventy eight. I was still in school when I
did those projects in Atlanta, but they helped me to
launch I guess what. I realized that that time was
going to be my acting career. And then I went
to New York ended up being on Broadway doing Ain't
Misbehaving the Fats Waller Musical, which was awesome. Yeah, and
then from there.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Go Ahead, which let on a little bit because small town, yes,
you know, and I come from Houston, Texas, so you know,
I started as a stand up comedian and from a
big market, but I wasn't in New York, and I
wasn't in La you know those two markets people say
you gotta go to. So what was the mentality? Was
there any fear translating from a small market, small town
(03:33):
personality to a big place like New York.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
That's a great question, Rashan. And I'll never forget that
day when I arrived. You're making me go back and
live relive some moments. But the blessing for me, Thank
God for my parents, my dad at that time when
I was moving away, my dad actually had become a pastor,
a minister of a church.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
But we've been, I've been.
Speaker 5 (03:58):
I grew up in the church, so faith was one
of the things that I did learn growing up and
I had to hold on to it. But yes, there
was great fear. And when I was traveling to New
York from Georgia, a situation happened where the producer that
I had done The Manhattan Yellow Pages with and the
(04:19):
Blackbirds of nineteen seventy eight, he was supposed to be
bringing me my final check because I was getting ready
to travel and he was late, and he caused me
to miss my flight, which caused me to miss the
person who was going to be picking me up. When
I got to New York, and so when I arrived
in New York, he couldn't get back to the airport
in time to get me. So he was like, I
want you to go out, and you're gonna take this bus.
(04:40):
And this bus landed me on a street that I
was so not prepared for. Trust me, I was green,
beyond green. I mean, I was so naive young at
the time. I was on forty second Street. But all
I kept singing to myself was and saying to myself,
first of all, I don't believe you brought me this
(05:02):
far to leave me. And there was a song that
I learned that I used to sing in the in
the church choir when I was little, and it goes,
I don't feel no ways tied. I've come too far
from where I started from. Nobody told me the road
the water be easy, And I don't believe you brought
(05:26):
me this far to leave me. That was my mom.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
You know, I'm gonna tell you some forty second screen
for people who go there now, the forty second Street,
because I went to four I saw forty chuccle Stree
in eighty eight, so I know exactly. I mean, the
cops sing that they had bigger guns than I've ever seen.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
You couldn't walk two feet without being a lady of
the night or a man in.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
The knight approaching you.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
You could walk two feet without somebody wanted to sell
you drugs. She and I was from Houston, Texas. I
was stunt, so I know from cover, Georgia. You were
really taken back, taken back.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I've never seen anything like it.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
And even though I'd lived in Atlanta for a while
before I moved away, I never got in those communities,
I never saw anything like it. It was so crazy,
and I was blessed because right after I got off
the bus and I looked around and saw where I was,
a taxi driver pulled up. And when he pulled up,
he pulled up in front of me, and his tires screeched,
(06:26):
and he was like, hello, You're not from here, are you?
And I went no, I'm not. He was like, where
are you going? And I told him where I was going.
I didn't realize it was really right around the corner,
and he said to me, get in this taxi and
get in here now. And I jumped in the taxi
and he just drove me around the corner and got
me to the apartment complex that I needed to be in.
I said, that's when I went, Okay, Angels, thank you.
(06:48):
My angels were truly watching over me that day.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
We know I can remember that.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
You know, my New York experience was very similar to
yours because it's so many people, it's move so fast.
When people were watching this show or listen to the show.
Any advice that you can give them by, you know,
an opportunity you went forward, But you need to be
a little concious, better planner for that situation that you
(07:16):
walked in like I walked in, you know, because every
plan doesn't go correct.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
What would you suggest I would.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
Truly, in this day and age, I would tell young
people get informed. We have access now to information that
you and I didn't have at the time. I mean
when I had to go look something up, we still
had to go to the library to get this information.
But we have information at our fingertips now with the internet,
(07:43):
you know where you can and then we've got our Google.
We can go in and google anything. Be informed, make
sure you learn, make sure you and the good part
was I did have contacts when I came out, so
I wasn't coming out just.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
On my own and being a lot loan.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
I actually had some actors that I had worked with
who had come to Georgia and that show that I
did call the Manhattan Yellow Pages, and they were there
as well. So they were there to help me, to
guide me, to tell me, you know, what I needed
to do, how to get to the auditions, how to
ride the trains. So you do you need, like I guess,
not necessarily a village, but you do need like your core,
(08:21):
a core group of people that you can trust when
you're there, and that who's lived in the community and
they know it and they can definitely steer you the
right way and in the right course. So I would
advise people to make sure you stay informed.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Quite speaking earlier English on healing on the Jamie Fox Show, I'm.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Gonna leave with that.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
We're gonna get to Curvey on Tuesday, but I'm gonna
go back to what I first met her. You know,
this beautiful personality. It was nineteen ninety eight. I was
co executive use of the Jamie Fox show, Jamie's on five.
He just finished any given Sunday. The show was like
one giant party. It was an amazing time because Black
was taken off you know, had W B C W
(09:04):
and UPN and all these things over care black programing.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
How did you get cash on the Jamie Fox Show.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Oh that's a great question. We had a mate.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
First. We started out with this open call and it
was every black woman of course that was in California
was definitely at the audition and they were auditioning for
all the roles, you know, and when they started to
do the you know, the weeding them down and bringing
the callbacks, I'll never forget my final callback. And actually, Rashana,
(09:36):
I don't know if you know this, I was actually
the youngest of all the women that were auditioning. They
were much older and they so they they all knew
they had the role because they were like, as she's
too young, she can't do it anyway. But I'll never
forget when I got an opportunity on that last callback.
Jamie was there and I got the opportunity. He you know,
(09:57):
Jamie took me off script.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
First.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
We had you know, we had a script that we
had to learn, but Jamie took me off script and
it was so wonderful.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
It was like going on this little roller coaster.
Speaker 5 (10:08):
Ride with him and wherever he went, I was right there,
and wherever I went, he was right there. And we
had such a great chemistry in that audition. It was
just an audition, it wasn't the show, and I believe
that was where the blessing came in me being able
to be the one. I am so grateful. I can
never thank them enough. I can't thank him enough.
Speaker 6 (10:29):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan MacDonald.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Now let's get back to why she came on this show,
My show Money Making Conversation, Elliot English, you know she
really came on it for one reason.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
All curb your enthusiasm.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
Yes, yes, wow.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Created by Larry David, who also created a Sciinfield Show,
which was a tremendous hit a NBC.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
How did you get cast in the role of Auntie Ray?
Is Auntie Ray? Correct?
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Auntie Ray? That's correct? Oh my goodness, thank you. That's
another great question. The audition that I had for that
show was, I mean, really amazing. I had an opportunity
in that particular audition where I had to attack Larry David,
and so this is my first time meeting him. I mean,
(11:27):
this is the legendary Larry David. Like you said, he's
done Seinfeld, I mean, he is amazing. And so I
had to and he was and he, you know, was
saying to me, don't feel bad, don't just don't hold back,
just go ahead and do it, and I truly did.
I can't remember what our dialogue was, but I know
it was a scene about him doing something that I
(11:47):
had to stop him from doing, and I truly did.
When it came time for me to have to come
and take him down, I took him down and everybody
in the room lost it.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
They aft so hard. And then after we were done,
like are you okay?
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Are you okay?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Are you Like I'm.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
Fine, I'm fine, He says, I'm glad you whip for it,
and that I believe might be exactly why I was
blessed to be Auntie Ray.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Let's work down the show because I know Kid Widley,
good friend of mine long has done the show, and
I've had on the show talking about the structure. Before
we get into other characters, JB's smooth character and vificult
Fox character.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Rememberable characters on this series, as is your character? How
does it work?
Speaker 3 (12:30):
How does because they say it's improvisational, how does how
did you get a script at all to do the
show Coby Enthusiasm.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
No, we do not get a script. We get would
they tell us, like of what they want the scene
to be about, so we at least have an idea
of what we're going to be doing and what the
scene is going to be about. But once we start
the scene, once they say action, it's dialogue that is
coming raw from us.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
However, what I love about.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
That is my training ground for improv was in theater,
and I'll never forget I think I was. Was I
still nineteen, or maybe I had finally turned twenty, But
I got to work with this woman who she's a
legendary actress. Her name was Peggy cast and Peggy Cast
I had seen also growing up as a kid with
those old black and white movies when she played in
(13:18):
Auntie Maine. She was the secretary Agnes Gooch, and so
I actually got to start in a production called Nonsense
with her. So first of all the intimidations of playing
opposite this legendary actress, and then we were at the
fordth Theater in Washington, DC that they kept exactly the
(13:39):
same as it was, and the the what is it
that balcony where President Lincoln was shot? I had to
play to that every night, so that was like really intimidating.
But the one thing that was happening, because she was
an older actress, she started going up on her lines
and I had to be the one because it was
most of our scenes were together to bring her back.
(14:01):
So I had to learn how to make sure I
did my dialogue but created dialogue to get her back
on track and make sure that the audience was none
the wiser. No one knew that I was doing that,
and that was my training ground for improvisation. And then
when we were doing the Jabie Fox Show, you guys
would let us do the script right and once we
(14:22):
got the script landed, you let us play and that
was so much fun. That was my next experience of improving.
And like I said, I also did the improvisation with
Jamie for the audition and so when by the time
I got here this he gave us the playground. It
was just a playground to just improv. And Larry David
(14:46):
is so generous. I mean he is so kind and
he just he lets you go. He doesn't stop you.
He lets you go. You just keep going, going, going
until he says stop, sometimes if it's too far. But
it's wonderful to do that improv. And I noticed that
even when we were doing the Jamie Fox Show, a
lot of the things that we were able to do
with our improv, you guys ended up having it in
(15:08):
the cut and I was excited about that. So we know.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
It's a couple of things. I want to bring up,
Eliot about you that a lot of people.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Out there want to not just act, but want to
do things in life and they and they tend to
allow fear the unknown. Like you moving to New York.
You change your comfort zone to move New York. You
know what I'm saying, Because it wasn't like I had
to move to Houston, New York. I didn't want to
move to New York. I didn't want to move to
LA but I had to for my career. And then
(15:38):
you talk about improving with Jamie Fox, you talk about
improv and Larry Davis, those are uncomfortable moments. How could
you advise people to push past those uncomfortable moments?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Wow? That's a great question.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
Most of us who find ourselves in this entertainment, especially
acting career, we've been doing it all of our lives.
We've been play acting since we were kids, right, And
so you let yourself go back there, you revisit that
time when you were playing with your siblings and you
(16:15):
guys created the scene or you created the story.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
It's like, I'm gonna play this character.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
I'm gonna play it, but we didn't call it that
because I didn't know that back then. I was when
I was growing up in our backyard. The one thing
I used to do, we would play what was called church,
and I would always be the preacher and I would
give the sermons. And so all I was doing was
mimicking what I saw, mimicking what I saw. So we
were when children that are very what do you call,
(16:42):
I guess, observant because we watched the adults and oftentimes
for me too, when I was growing up, you know,
there was.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
This rule of children should be seen and not heard.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
So because we couldn't talk a lot, we had to
watch a lot, and we've got to listen a lot,
and and just do that observing and then just let
yourself be free and have fun.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
It is so wonderful.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
If you go in thinking I gotta think this through
and you're gonna you'll it'll it'll, it'll block you, It'll
block your creativity. You gotta let your creative side come
through and just have fun. It's not easy. I'm not
gonna pretend it's easy. It is work. It is definitely work.
But if you let yourself go and let go of
(17:27):
the inhibitions and just have fun. Now, I remember here,
here's the story when see when I was growing up.
Of course, remember I said my dad was a pastor, right,
so we couldn't curse.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Now.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Before my dad became a pastor, we heard our relatives
cursing all the time, so we knew curse words.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
But and so we would practice.
Speaker 5 (17:45):
Actually when our parents left home, we were practice cursing
on each other. So when I did curb your enthusiasm,
and I had to do that line, David, when we
were out there just carrying on.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
When we were when they said cut, I.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
Would go back and a room, and like I was
shaking and nervous because I was like, Okay, I'm gonna
get in trouble. Like Elliott, you're a grown woman, you're
not home. Your parents are not going to get upset
with you. It's okay, it's not you. You're portraying a character.
It's not something I run around doing every day of
my life.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
But you know, when you raised a certain way and
you talk skill set and being respectful, I admire that
and so and I can understand you saying you didn't
want to make them believe that all that training, all
that work they getting poured into you, that you went
out there and just forgot about it, became disrespectful, that's
(18:37):
what you was talking about.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And I understand that.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
But you had some characters on the show that you
worked for did not care about what they say.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
I'm talking about JB.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Smooth, I'm talking about visiting for Fox, and I want
to just talk about the importance of your you guys
character on Curve enthusias I always knew about Curve Enthusiasm,
but it wasn't until you guys, guys on the show
started watching them. Do you realize the impact of what
y'all roles or y'all characters played in the success of
(19:06):
Curby Enthusiasms?
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Do you know?
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Probably not to the greatest extent, but I have heard
people say that that he definitely he got a bigger audience,
especially the African American community right when he brought the
blocks on and that eleven and we.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Were funny though, don't get me wrong, now, you know,
coming into his house not wanting to move, y'all, it
was like it was unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
But Larry David played the straight.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Man so well and he didn't even move and Vibica
Fox and the relationship.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
I'm just saying is that it was so funny.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
It was needed because you know, in this business Eliot's dad,
as black actors and actresses, we tend to get type cast,
we tend to not be in these type of roles.
And this is a show that not only broaden their audience,
but broaden your audience, Yes, your level of respect in
the industry.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Talk about that.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Oh my goodness, it was absolutely amazing. First of all,
having working with JB. Smooth that you know, not only
is was he Auntie Ray's nephew, He's like my next nephew.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Remember Jamie was my first television nephew. Now JB.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
Smooth my nephew. I loved working with JB. Smooth and
still do because we as the Black family. We instantly
became a family. Like you said, I had Vivica Fox
who played Loretta, my niece. I had oh my goodness, JB.
Smooth who played Leon.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
My nephew. And then I had a great niece and nephew.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
I think his name was Nick Nick Nervi's I think
was the baby's name, and he played Darryl. And then
the little girl who played Kesha, her name was Carla Jeffrey,
and we were we became an instant family. Because what
I loved was when Larry used that opportunity. Remember we
had the Katrina Hurricane. Katrina was an atrocious thing that
(20:54):
we had to go through, and so he took an
experience and decided, let me take a displaced family because
that was what was happening at that time too. A
lot of people were displaced a lot of people lost
their homes and they were having to move or people
were having to take them in and so and it
was truly two different cultures.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
You talk about a culture clash.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
You know, the Blacks they were coming from their you know,
southern town where they had just had just something to
t you know, a traumatic experience for them, and they
were being saved by this guy who brought them into
his home, and the beauty of JB. Smooth character Leon.
Leon didn't come from the southern town that they came from.
(21:36):
He was already living in California, but when he found
out that his auntie and his cousin they were living there,
he moved into and that's when it really just became amazing.
And yes, Larry David, oh my god, God bless him.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
I mean I remember the Hurricane Katrina, and I was
going through my memory bank and I forgot jabe Be
was really the one who's saying bag because Larry was
trying a good deed.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
It was yes, he who clean clean in and.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Messed it all up for everybody because he was scamming everybody.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. And then he ended up
being Larry's best friend. Can you believe it? Larry ended
up datings. I loved it.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
I loved it when we talk about this industry and
having Lungeerviy and I want to wrap this up.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
I want to keep him.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Thank you for allowing me to discuss your journey and
the final seasons and Curby enthusiasm.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
I'm gonna miss you. But right now you have a
new series, a YouTube series.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
It's called My Sister's and Me, a half hour multi
camera comedy that crosses three distinct generations. Tell us about
that and why are you doing it?
Speaker 5 (22:48):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
My goodness.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
Matty Carruthers, who you know. She also worked on the
Jamie Fox Show. And when Maddy was working on the
Jamie Fox Show, she and I became very very close
and very good friends, and we used to talk about
all the time, often about wanting to create a project
for me. I wanted us to create a project that
she and I could work on together, and so we
ended up being able to do that. And I'm talking
(23:11):
about Maddie. It truly is an awesome director, Rashan. I mean,
she started her career. I don't know if you know that,
she started her career with the iconic Norman Lear and
so when she got us, she's talking about directing.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Us with that show. It was just amazing.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
And the storyline, which was wonderful for me, was that
there were these black sisters, vivacious, ageless black sisters who
had to live under the same roof without killing each other.
And my character, I played the me and my sisters
and me right, I'm the baby sister of the bunch.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So my character, who thought.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
You know, now that my older sisters moved out, I
can now have my life. My bossy sisters are no
longer around, and I can go on with my life.
Well then they come back into my life and now
they are with their bossy attitudes and everything else. And
then it goes on from there. Guess what, I feel
like I'm a kid again. I feel like I can't
do anything. So you, everybody, I know, everybody can relate
(24:12):
to that, whether you've got to, even if even I
know a guy was telling me about his big sisters
when he was a little boy, and he his mother
told him, you're going to be the man of the house,
and you have to go be the man at the house.
And so he goes to his sisters and tells them
I'm the man of the house. And he says, she
punched him and knocked his teeth out. So everybody is
gone something with these older siblings. And so that's where
(24:35):
the real beauty and the fun comes in. And then
we got to figure out how to live together without
killing each other. And so I'm excited about that.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
What's the future. What's the future for you?
Speaker 3 (24:46):
A young small girl from coming to him byway up
Atlanta through New York in LA. You know you've done
Dan misbehavior, You've shown that you can do broadwood, You've
shown you can do sitcom. You've shown that you can
you can handle them stage of improv and scripted theater.
Now you producing and launching your own YouTube show in January?
Speaker 4 (25:08):
What is the future? Twenty twenty four is here?
Speaker 5 (25:11):
Oh my goodness, and I'm I excited about twenty twenty four. Okay,
thank you so much for asking that question. And I
will preface it with I don't know if you knew
that in twenty eighteen, I dropped everything because I had
to come home and make sure my mom was okay.
I had to take care of my mom, and I
(25:31):
ended up becoming it changed.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
It was.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
I thought I was just going to be come here,
make sure I was a companion, make sure you know,
she didn't wander off, make sure somebody was there with
her all the time. Well, she ended up getting an
infection in her toe and her big toe, and it
created the whole trajectory of why I came here changed.
I ended up becoming her nurse. I had to learn
how to change dress wounds. I had to make sure
(25:57):
she was at the hospital. I was staying in the
hospital with her with however long she was there, I
was there. I never left her side. And so my
mom transitioned in twenty twenty, and so that I had
to take the rest of twenty twenty, you know, And
that was when thank god, it wasn't COVID, you know,
And so yeah, she didn't it wasn't COVID that took
her out and we were able to keep her protected
(26:20):
from that. So then in twenty twenty one, I needed
to process that. And so in twenty twenty two, I
was blessed with the opportunity. I am a member of
the Sigma Gamma Row. I got to give my sisters
a shout out. So we had our boulet in twenty
twenty two, and it was our one hundredth anniversary, and
(26:42):
so thank you so much, and so I sort of
like decided to get my feet wet. I ended up
being able to go. We had it in Indianapolis, Indiana,
which is where the original for started the sorority, and
I did workshops. I did workshops for the kids. I
was also, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. My sister was saying
something to me. What happened in seven? Original seven?
Speaker 2 (27:05):
She said?
Speaker 5 (27:06):
She corrected me, she's a sorrow, she corrected me. She said,
the original seven, not the original four.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
So forgive me.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
I'm gonna keep this in there.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
I'm gonna keep this moment in there because this needs
because all scream sorrow, check it, all scream, get it right,
this moment in it.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Don't worry about So I love this.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
Excuse me, seven not four.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
I remember Megati five fraternity, so I know you go,
you know, you gotta get those facts right, Rashan, you
know what I'm talking about, not for it's seven.
Speaker 5 (27:44):
So thank you, my sorrows. But so then look, don't
let me lose my train of thought though. Anyway, what
was happening at that time, Rashaan was kurb was looking
for me, and I didn't know. The moment I stepped
out to do something, they were looking for me. And
right after I finished and I came back from the
Boulet our one hundredth anniversary, which was amazing, It went awesome.
(28:07):
I ended up going in and filming this season of
Curb Your Enthusiasm. So when you ask that question, what's
next for me? You know my mom who is still
my heart, She's still my everything, and for her, she
tells me the sky is the limit. She's like, you can,
and you can go beyond the sky, go ahead and shoot.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
So I'm back. I guess what I would say.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Eliot's back, like Antiray is back, and I'm ready now
to embrace it and to really do what I love,
every aspect of it. My singing, my acting, my dancing,
my writing. I still love to write. So as long
as I'm my heavenly father gives me breath to live,
I want to be everything he created me to be
(28:51):
and do everything he created me to do, so that
when it is done, all said and done, I get
to hear my father say, well done. You're good and
faithful servant. And I am looking forward to that, so
thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Content is keen, but more importantly you are Queen. You've young,
longevity in this business and good luck, and I can't
wait to see Kirby and three have the More importantly,
sisters and me premiering in January on.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
Your January eighteenth on YouTube, that we're going to do
some We're going to re releasing webisodes of the show
on YouTube January eighteenth, twenty twenty fourth.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations, Mastercline.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
Thank you for having me and good Load and God
bless thank you you too, God, Please.
Speaker 7 (29:39):
Thank you for joining us for this edition of Money
Making Conversations Masterclass. Money Making Conversations Masterclass with rough Shan
McDonald is produced by thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. More
information about thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. Is available at
thirty eight to fifteen media dot com.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
And always remember to lead with your gifts.
Welcome to Money Making Conversations. It's the show that she
is the secrets of success experience firsthand by Marketing and
Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I will know he's giving me
advice on many occasions. And in case you didn't notice,
I'm not broke. You know he'll be interviewing celebrity CEOs,
entrepreneurs and industry decision makers. It's what he likes to do,
it's what he likes to share. Now it's time to
(00:25):
hear from my man, Rashan McDonald money Making Conversations.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Here we go.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I am Rashan McDonald when I host the weekly Money
Making Conversation master Class show.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
The interviews and information that this show provides are for everyone.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
start living your own. My next guest is Georgia native
Eliat English.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
She is an indelible.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Career in television, theater, film and the jazz clubes and
from all Moro television roles as Anti Ray on HBO's
Curry Enthusiasm, Love Her and Hell on Jamie Fox Show
That's where I met her, Mary Lewinz on Disney's Club.
Good Luck, Charlie, and it's hinting on Lifetime Movie of
the Week Pedals on the Wind. She was on the
(01:11):
show to talk about her career, upcoming YouTube show, and
the final season of Curby Your Enthusiasm, Please welco with
the Money Making Conversations, Masterclass Show.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Elliott English, How you doing, my friend.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I'm doing wonderful. Thank you for asking, how are you?
Speaker 4 (01:27):
I'm ready to talk. I'm ready to talk.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
I'm ready, I'm ready. It is a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
It's really excited to have you on the air because
you know, you and I met way back, and I
want to say about ninety eight when I was co
executive using the Jamie Fox Show, watching his career, watching
your career grow and blossom and grow to diversity. You
know when I said diversity, I just knew you was
an actress. Now I didn't know you could sing. You've
(01:53):
become an author. Talk about diversifying yourself along the way
long that path or any having their career.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Okay, Well for me, Rashan, I know that when I
first moved away from home from Georgia, a little small
town outside of Atlanta called Covington, and I moved to
New York, I went there to begin my career in theater,
and so I started out in theater. And one of
the things that I learned during theater you had to
be what was called at that time a triple threat.
(02:25):
You had to be able to act, you had to
be able to sing, and you had to be able
to dance if you wanted to work on Broadway. And
so I had to immediately, Thank goodness, I had already
started theater before I left Atlanta. I did two projects.
One was called I Feel My Goodness it was Manhattan
Yellow Pages, and the other one was called Blackbirds of
(02:47):
nineteen seventy eight. I was still in school when I
did those projects in Atlanta, but they helped me to
launch I guess what. I realized that that time was
going to be my acting career. And then I went
to New York ended up being on Broadway doing Ain't
Misbehaving the Fats Waller Musical, which was awesome. Yeah, and
then from there.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Go Ahead, which let on a little bit because small town, yes,
you know, and I come from Houston, Texas, so you know,
I started as a stand up comedian and from a
big market, but I wasn't in New York, and I
wasn't in La you know those two markets people say
you gotta go to. So what was the mentality? Was
there any fear translating from a small market, small town
(03:33):
personality to a big place like New York.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
That's a great question, Rashan. And I'll never forget that
day when I arrived. You're making me go back and
live relive some moments. But the blessing for me, Thank
God for my parents, my dad at that time when
I was moving away, my dad actually had become a pastor,
a minister of a church.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
But we've been, I've been.
Speaker 5 (03:58):
I grew up in the church, so faith was one
of the things that I did learn growing up and
I had to hold on to it. But yes, there
was great fear. And when I was traveling to New
York from Georgia, a situation happened where the producer that
I had done The Manhattan Yellow Pages with and the
(04:19):
Blackbirds of nineteen seventy eight, he was supposed to be
bringing me my final check because I was getting ready
to travel and he was late, and he caused me
to miss my flight, which caused me to miss the
person who was going to be picking me up. When
I got to New York, and so when I arrived
in New York, he couldn't get back to the airport
in time to get me. So he was like, I
want you to go out, and you're gonna take this bus.
(04:40):
And this bus landed me on a street that I
was so not prepared for. Trust me, I was green,
beyond green. I mean, I was so naive young at
the time. I was on forty second Street. But all
I kept singing to myself was and saying to myself,
first of all, I don't believe you brought me this
(05:02):
far to leave me. And there was a song that
I learned that I used to sing in the in
the church choir when I was little, and it goes,
I don't feel no ways tied. I've come too far
from where I started from. Nobody told me the road
the water be easy, And I don't believe you brought
(05:26):
me this far to leave me. That was my mom.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
You know, I'm gonna tell you some forty second screen
for people who go there now, the forty second Street,
because I went to four I saw forty chuccle Stree
in eighty eight, so I know exactly. I mean, the
cops sing that they had bigger guns than I've ever seen.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
You couldn't walk two feet without being a lady of
the night or a man in.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
The knight approaching you.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
You could walk two feet without somebody wanted to sell
you drugs. She and I was from Houston, Texas. I
was stunt, so I know from cover, Georgia. You were
really taken back, taken back.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I've never seen anything like it.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
And even though I'd lived in Atlanta for a while
before I moved away, I never got in those communities,
I never saw anything like it. It was so crazy,
and I was blessed because right after I got off
the bus and I looked around and saw where I was,
a taxi driver pulled up. And when he pulled up,
he pulled up in front of me, and his tires screeched,
(06:26):
and he was like, hello, You're not from here, are you?
And I went no, I'm not. He was like, where
are you going? And I told him where I was going.
I didn't realize it was really right around the corner,
and he said to me, get in this taxi and
get in here now. And I jumped in the taxi
and he just drove me around the corner and got
me to the apartment complex that I needed to be in.
I said, that's when I went, Okay, Angels, thank you.
(06:48):
My angels were truly watching over me that day.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
We know I can remember that.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
You know, my New York experience was very similar to
yours because it's so many people, it's move so fast.
When people were watching this show or listen to the show.
Any advice that you can give them by, you know,
an opportunity you went forward, But you need to be
a little concious, better planner for that situation that you
(07:16):
walked in like I walked in, you know, because every
plan doesn't go correct.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
What would you suggest I would.
Speaker 5 (07:23):
Truly, in this day and age, I would tell young
people get informed. We have access now to information that
you and I didn't have at the time. I mean
when I had to go look something up, we still
had to go to the library to get this information.
But we have information at our fingertips now with the internet,
(07:43):
you know where you can and then we've got our Google.
We can go in and google anything. Be informed, make
sure you learn, make sure you and the good part
was I did have contacts when I came out, so
I wasn't coming out just.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
On my own and being a lot loan.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
I actually had some actors that I had worked with
who had come to Georgia and that show that I
did call the Manhattan Yellow Pages, and they were there
as well. So they were there to help me, to
guide me, to tell me, you know, what I needed
to do, how to get to the auditions, how to
ride the trains. So you do you need, like I guess,
not necessarily a village, but you do need like your core,
(08:21):
a core group of people that you can trust when
you're there, and that who's lived in the community and
they know it and they can definitely steer you the
right way and in the right course. So I would
advise people to make sure you stay informed.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Quite speaking earlier English on healing on the Jamie Fox Show, I'm.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
Gonna leave with that.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
We're gonna get to Curvey on Tuesday, but I'm gonna
go back to what I first met her. You know,
this beautiful personality. It was nineteen ninety eight. I was
co executive use of the Jamie Fox show, Jamie's on five.
He just finished any given Sunday. The show was like
one giant party. It was an amazing time because Black
was taken off you know, had W B C W
(09:04):
and UPN and all these things over care black programing.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
How did you get cash on the Jamie Fox Show.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Oh that's a great question. We had a mate.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
First. We started out with this open call and it
was every black woman of course that was in California
was definitely at the audition and they were auditioning for
all the roles, you know, and when they started to
do the you know, the weeding them down and bringing
the callbacks, I'll never forget my final callback. And actually, Rashana,
(09:36):
I don't know if you know this, I was actually
the youngest of all the women that were auditioning. They
were much older and they so they they all knew
they had the role because they were like, as she's
too young, she can't do it anyway. But I'll never
forget when I got an opportunity on that last callback.
Jamie was there and I got the opportunity. He you know,
(09:57):
Jamie took me off script.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
First.
Speaker 5 (09:59):
We had you know, we had a script that we
had to learn, but Jamie took me off script and
it was so wonderful.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
It was like going on this little roller coaster.
Speaker 5 (10:08):
Ride with him and wherever he went, I was right there,
and wherever I went, he was right there. And we
had such a great chemistry in that audition. It was
just an audition, it wasn't the show, and I believe
that was where the blessing came in me being able
to be the one. I am so grateful. I can
never thank them enough. I can't thank him enough.
Speaker 6 (10:29):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan MacDonald.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Now let's get back to why she came on this show,
My show Money Making Conversation, Elliot English, you know she
really came on it for one reason.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
All curb your enthusiasm.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
Yes, yes, wow.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Created by Larry David, who also created a Sciinfield Show,
which was a tremendous hit a NBC.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
How did you get cast in the role of Auntie Ray?
Is Auntie Ray? Correct?
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Auntie Ray? That's correct? Oh my goodness, thank you. That's
another great question. The audition that I had for that
show was, I mean, really amazing. I had an opportunity
in that particular audition where I had to attack Larry David,
and so this is my first time meeting him. I mean,
(11:27):
this is the legendary Larry David. Like you said, he's
done Seinfeld, I mean, he is amazing. And so I
had to and he was and he, you know, was
saying to me, don't feel bad, don't just don't hold back,
just go ahead and do it, and I truly did.
I can't remember what our dialogue was, but I know
it was a scene about him doing something that I
(11:47):
had to stop him from doing, and I truly did.
When it came time for me to have to come
and take him down, I took him down and everybody
in the room lost it.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
They aft so hard. And then after we were done,
like are you okay?
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Are you okay?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Are you Like I'm.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
Fine, I'm fine, He says, I'm glad you whip for it,
and that I believe might be exactly why I was
blessed to be Auntie Ray.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Let's work down the show because I know Kid Widley,
good friend of mine long has done the show, and
I've had on the show talking about the structure. Before
we get into other characters, JB's smooth character and vificult
Fox character.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Rememberable characters on this series, as is your character? How
does it work?
Speaker 3 (12:30):
How does because they say it's improvisational, how does how
did you get a script at all to do the
show Coby Enthusiasm.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
No, we do not get a script. We get would
they tell us, like of what they want the scene
to be about, so we at least have an idea
of what we're going to be doing and what the
scene is going to be about. But once we start
the scene, once they say action, it's dialogue that is
coming raw from us.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
However, what I love about.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
That is my training ground for improv was in theater,
and I'll never forget I think I was. Was I
still nineteen, or maybe I had finally turned twenty, But
I got to work with this woman who she's a
legendary actress. Her name was Peggy cast and Peggy Cast
I had seen also growing up as a kid with
those old black and white movies when she played in
(13:18):
Auntie Maine. She was the secretary Agnes Gooch, and so
I actually got to start in a production called Nonsense
with her. So first of all the intimidations of playing
opposite this legendary actress, and then we were at the
fordth Theater in Washington, DC that they kept exactly the
(13:39):
same as it was, and the the what is it
that balcony where President Lincoln was shot? I had to
play to that every night, so that was like really intimidating.
But the one thing that was happening, because she was
an older actress, she started going up on her lines
and I had to be the one because it was
most of our scenes were together to bring her back.
(14:01):
So I had to learn how to make sure I
did my dialogue but created dialogue to get her back
on track and make sure that the audience was none
the wiser. No one knew that I was doing that,
and that was my training ground for improvisation. And then
when we were doing the Jabie Fox Show, you guys
would let us do the script right and once we
(14:22):
got the script landed, you let us play and that
was so much fun. That was my next experience of improving.
And like I said, I also did the improvisation with
Jamie for the audition and so when by the time
I got here this he gave us the playground. It
was just a playground to just improv. And Larry David
(14:46):
is so generous. I mean he is so kind and
he just he lets you go. He doesn't stop you.
He lets you go. You just keep going, going, going
until he says stop, sometimes if it's too far. But
it's wonderful to do that improv. And I noticed that
even when we were doing the Jamie Fox Show, a
lot of the things that we were able to do
with our improv, you guys ended up having it in
(15:08):
the cut and I was excited about that. So we know.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
It's a couple of things. I want to bring up,
Eliot about you that a lot of people.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Out there want to not just act, but want to
do things in life and they and they tend to
allow fear the unknown. Like you moving to New York.
You change your comfort zone to move New York. You
know what I'm saying, Because it wasn't like I had
to move to Houston, New York. I didn't want to
move to New York. I didn't want to move to
LA but I had to for my career. And then
(15:38):
you talk about improving with Jamie Fox, you talk about
improv and Larry Davis, those are uncomfortable moments. How could
you advise people to push past those uncomfortable moments?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Wow? That's a great question.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
Most of us who find ourselves in this entertainment, especially
acting career, we've been doing it all of our lives.
We've been play acting since we were kids, right, And
so you let yourself go back there, you revisit that
time when you were playing with your siblings and you
(16:15):
guys created the scene or you created the story.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
It's like, I'm gonna play this character.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
I'm gonna play it, but we didn't call it that
because I didn't know that back then. I was when
I was growing up in our backyard. The one thing
I used to do, we would play what was called church,
and I would always be the preacher and I would
give the sermons. And so all I was doing was
mimicking what I saw, mimicking what I saw. So we
were when children that are very what do you call,
(16:42):
I guess, observant because we watched the adults and oftentimes
for me too, when I was growing up, you know,
there was.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
This rule of children should be seen and not heard.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
So because we couldn't talk a lot, we had to
watch a lot, and we've got to listen a lot,
and and just do that observing and then just let
yourself be free and have fun.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
It is so wonderful.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
If you go in thinking I gotta think this through
and you're gonna you'll it'll it'll, it'll block you, It'll
block your creativity. You gotta let your creative side come
through and just have fun. It's not easy. I'm not
gonna pretend it's easy. It is work. It is definitely work.
But if you let yourself go and let go of
(17:27):
the inhibitions and just have fun. Now, I remember here,
here's the story when see when I was growing up.
Of course, remember I said my dad was a pastor, right,
so we couldn't curse.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Now.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Before my dad became a pastor, we heard our relatives
cursing all the time, so we knew curse words.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
But and so we would practice.
Speaker 5 (17:45):
Actually when our parents left home, we were practice cursing
on each other. So when I did curb your enthusiasm,
and I had to do that line, David, when we
were out there just carrying on.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
When we were when they said cut, I.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
Would go back and a room, and like I was
shaking and nervous because I was like, Okay, I'm gonna
get in trouble. Like Elliott, you're a grown woman, you're
not home. Your parents are not going to get upset
with you. It's okay, it's not you. You're portraying a character.
It's not something I run around doing every day of
my life.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
But you know, when you raised a certain way and
you talk skill set and being respectful, I admire that
and so and I can understand you saying you didn't
want to make them believe that all that training, all
that work they getting poured into you, that you went
out there and just forgot about it, became disrespectful, that's
(18:37):
what you was talking about.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
And I understand that.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
But you had some characters on the show that you
worked for did not care about what they say.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
I'm talking about JB.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Smooth, I'm talking about visiting for Fox, and I want
to just talk about the importance of your you guys
character on Curve enthusias I always knew about Curve Enthusiasm,
but it wasn't until you guys, guys on the show
started watching them. Do you realize the impact of what
y'all roles or y'all characters played in the success of
(19:06):
Curby Enthusiasms?
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Do you know?
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Probably not to the greatest extent, but I have heard
people say that that he definitely he got a bigger audience,
especially the African American community right when he brought the
blocks on and that eleven and we.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Were funny though, don't get me wrong, now, you know,
coming into his house not wanting to move, y'all, it
was like it was unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
But Larry David played the straight.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Man so well and he didn't even move and Vibica
Fox and the relationship.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
I'm just saying is that it was so funny.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
It was needed because you know, in this business Eliot's dad,
as black actors and actresses, we tend to get type cast,
we tend to not be in these type of roles.
And this is a show that not only broaden their audience,
but broaden your audience, Yes, your level of respect in
the industry.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Talk about that.
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Oh my goodness, it was absolutely amazing. First of all,
having working with JB. Smooth that you know, not only
is was he Auntie Ray's nephew, He's like my next nephew.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Remember Jamie was my first television nephew. Now JB.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
Smooth my nephew. I loved working with JB. Smooth and
still do because we as the Black family. We instantly
became a family. Like you said, I had Vivica Fox
who played Loretta, my niece. I had oh my goodness, JB.
Smooth who played Leon.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
My nephew. And then I had a great niece and nephew.
Speaker 5 (20:33):
I think his name was Nick Nick Nervi's I think
was the baby's name, and he played Darryl. And then
the little girl who played Kesha, her name was Carla Jeffrey,
and we were we became an instant family. Because what
I loved was when Larry used that opportunity. Remember we
had the Katrina Hurricane. Katrina was an atrocious thing that
(20:54):
we had to go through, and so he took an
experience and decided, let me take a displaced family because
that was what was happening at that time too. A
lot of people were displaced a lot of people lost
their homes and they were having to move or people
were having to take them in and so and it
was truly two different cultures.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
You talk about a culture clash.
Speaker 5 (21:15):
You know, the Blacks they were coming from their you know,
southern town where they had just had just something to
t you know, a traumatic experience for them, and they
were being saved by this guy who brought them into
his home, and the beauty of JB. Smooth character Leon.
Leon didn't come from the southern town that they came from.
(21:36):
He was already living in California, but when he found
out that his auntie and his cousin they were living there,
he moved into and that's when it really just became amazing.
And yes, Larry David, oh my god, God bless him.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
I mean I remember the Hurricane Katrina, and I was
going through my memory bank and I forgot jabe Be
was really the one who's saying bag because Larry was
trying a good deed.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
It was yes, he who clean clean in and.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Messed it all up for everybody because he was scamming everybody.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. And then he ended up
being Larry's best friend. Can you believe it? Larry ended
up datings. I loved it.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
I loved it when we talk about this industry and
having Lungeerviy and I want to wrap this up.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
I want to keep him.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Thank you for allowing me to discuss your journey and
the final seasons and Curby enthusiasm.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
I'm gonna miss you. But right now you have a
new series, a YouTube series.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
It's called My Sister's and Me, a half hour multi
camera comedy that crosses three distinct generations. Tell us about
that and why are you doing it?
Speaker 5 (22:48):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
My goodness.
Speaker 5 (22:50):
Matty Carruthers, who you know. She also worked on the
Jamie Fox Show. And when Maddy was working on the
Jamie Fox Show, she and I became very very close
and very good friends, and we used to talk about
all the time, often about wanting to create a project
for me. I wanted us to create a project that
she and I could work on together, and so we
ended up being able to do that. And I'm talking
(23:11):
about Maddie. It truly is an awesome director, Rashan. I mean,
she started her career. I don't know if you know that,
she started her career with the iconic Norman Lear and
so when she got us, she's talking about directing.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Us with that show. It was just amazing.
Speaker 5 (23:29):
And the storyline, which was wonderful for me, was that
there were these black sisters, vivacious, ageless black sisters who
had to live under the same roof without killing each other.
And my character, I played the me and my sisters
and me right, I'm the baby sister of the bunch.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So my character, who thought.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
You know, now that my older sisters moved out, I
can now have my life. My bossy sisters are no
longer around, and I can go on with my life.
Well then they come back into my life and now
they are with their bossy attitudes and everything else. And
then it goes on from there. Guess what, I feel
like I'm a kid again. I feel like I can't
do anything. So you, everybody, I know, everybody can relate
(24:12):
to that, whether you've got to, even if even I
know a guy was telling me about his big sisters
when he was a little boy, and he his mother
told him, you're going to be the man of the house,
and you have to go be the man at the house.
And so he goes to his sisters and tells them
I'm the man of the house. And he says, she
punched him and knocked his teeth out. So everybody is
gone something with these older siblings. And so that's where
(24:35):
the real beauty and the fun comes in. And then
we got to figure out how to live together without
killing each other. And so I'm excited about that.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
What's the future. What's the future for you?
Speaker 3 (24:46):
A young small girl from coming to him byway up
Atlanta through New York in LA. You know you've done
Dan misbehavior, You've shown that you can do broadwood, You've
shown you can do sitcom. You've shown that you can
you can handle them stage of improv and scripted theater.
Now you producing and launching your own YouTube show in January?
Speaker 4 (25:08):
What is the future? Twenty twenty four is here?
Speaker 5 (25:11):
Oh my goodness, and I'm I excited about twenty twenty four. Okay,
thank you so much for asking that question. And I
will preface it with I don't know if you knew
that in twenty eighteen, I dropped everything because I had
to come home and make sure my mom was okay.
I had to take care of my mom, and I
(25:31):
ended up becoming it changed.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
It was.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
I thought I was just going to be come here,
make sure I was a companion, make sure you know,
she didn't wander off, make sure somebody was there with
her all the time. Well, she ended up getting an
infection in her toe and her big toe, and it
created the whole trajectory of why I came here changed.
I ended up becoming her nurse. I had to learn
how to change dress wounds. I had to make sure
(25:57):
she was at the hospital. I was staying in the
hospital with her with however long she was there, I
was there. I never left her side. And so my
mom transitioned in twenty twenty, and so that I had
to take the rest of twenty twenty, you know, And
that was when thank god, it wasn't COVID, you know,
And so yeah, she didn't it wasn't COVID that took
her out and we were able to keep her protected
(26:20):
from that. So then in twenty twenty one, I needed
to process that. And so in twenty twenty two, I
was blessed with the opportunity. I am a member of
the Sigma Gamma Row. I got to give my sisters
a shout out. So we had our boulet in twenty
twenty two, and it was our one hundredth anniversary, and
(26:42):
so thank you so much, and so I sort of
like decided to get my feet wet. I ended up
being able to go. We had it in Indianapolis, Indiana,
which is where the original for started the sorority, and
I did workshops. I did workshops for the kids. I
was also, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. My sister was saying
something to me. What happened in seven? Original seven?
Speaker 2 (27:05):
She said?
Speaker 5 (27:06):
She corrected me, she's a sorrow, she corrected me. She said,
the original seven, not the original four.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
So forgive me.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
I'm gonna keep this in there.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
I'm gonna keep this moment in there because this needs
because all scream sorrow, check it, all scream, get it right,
this moment in it.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Don't worry about So I love this.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
Excuse me, seven not four.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
I remember Megati five fraternity, so I know you go,
you know, you gotta get those facts right, Rashan, you
know what I'm talking about, not for it's seven.
Speaker 5 (27:44):
So thank you, my sorrows. But so then look, don't
let me lose my train of thought though. Anyway, what
was happening at that time, Rashaan was kurb was looking
for me, and I didn't know. The moment I stepped
out to do something, they were looking for me. And
right after I finished and I came back from the
Boulet our one hundredth anniversary, which was amazing, It went awesome.
(28:07):
I ended up going in and filming this season of
Curb Your Enthusiasm. So when you ask that question, what's
next for me? You know my mom who is still
my heart, She's still my everything, and for her, she
tells me the sky is the limit. She's like, you can,
and you can go beyond the sky, go ahead and shoot.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
So I'm back. I guess what I would say.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
Eliot's back, like Antiray is back, and I'm ready now
to embrace it and to really do what I love,
every aspect of it. My singing, my acting, my dancing,
my writing. I still love to write. So as long
as I'm my heavenly father gives me breath to live,
I want to be everything he created me to be
(28:51):
and do everything he created me to do, so that
when it is done, all said and done, I get
to hear my father say, well done. You're good and
faithful servant. And I am looking forward to that, so
thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Content is keen, but more importantly you are Queen. You've young,
longevity in this business and good luck, and I can't
wait to see Kirby and three have the More importantly,
sisters and me premiering in January on.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
Your January eighteenth on YouTube, that we're going to do
some We're going to re releasing webisodes of the show
on YouTube January eighteenth, twenty twenty fourth.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations, Mastercline.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
Thank you for having me and good Load and God
bless thank you you too, God, Please.
Speaker 7 (29:39):
Thank you for joining us for this edition of Money
Making Conversations Masterclass. Money Making Conversations Masterclass with rough Shan
McDonald is produced by thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. More
information about thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. Is available at
thirty eight to fifteen media dot com.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
And always remember to lead with your gifts.
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