Will Rosie O'Donnell Revive the TV Variety Show?

By Andrew Gans
28 Jul 2008

Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell

Once a network television staple, the family-aimed variety show — think Carol Burnett or Ed Sullivan — has long been absent from the airwaves.

Emmy Award winner Rosie O'Donnell, the stand-up comic, actress, TV host and Broadway performer, producer and champion, may soon rectify that reality.

Fox News reports that O'Donnell, who was most recently on Broadway in the revival of Fiddler on the Roof, hopes to revive the variety-show format for network TV. The news organization says that O'Donnell's show would likely be filmed live Sunday evenings from a Broadway theatre (just as the old Sullivan show was) and would include a mix of skits, musical performances and various acts.

With the possible departure of "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno, O'Donnell's show would likely land on NBC.

There has been no official comment from either O'Donnell or NBC about the variety program.

Rosie O'Donnell made her Broadway debut as Rizzo in the 1994 revival of Grease!, and she played a limited engagement as the Cat in the Hat in the Ahrens-Flaherty musical Seussical. The performer also spent some time on the other side of the footlights as producer of the Broadway version of Boy George's Taboo.

O'Donnell rose to fame as a stand-up comic before landing roles in such films as "A League of Their Own," "Sleepless in Seattle," "The Flintsones" and "Exit to Eden." Her Emmy-winning talk show, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," ran from 1996 to 2001, and her more recent TV credits include appearances on "Will & Grace" and "Queer as Folk" as well as the made-for-television movie "Riding the Bus with My Sister" and the cable series "Nip/Tuck." She also spent a year as co-host of ABC-TV's "The View."

O'Donnell is married to Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell; the couple has four children. O'Donnell's autobiography is titled "Find Me"; her newest book is "Celebrity Detox."