Oprah

by Kitty Kelley

  TV/DVDS: The Oprah Winfrey Show 20th Anniversary Collection (DVD set); The Oprah Winfrey Show, WLS-TV Chicago, “Second Anniversary,” aired Jan. 2, 1986 (viewed at www.museum.tv); The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, aired Apr. 11, 1988 (viewed at The Paley Center for Media, New York); Scared Silent, PBS, NBC, and CBS, aired Sept. 4, 1992, and ABC, aired Sept. 6, 1992 (viewed at www.museum.tv).

  INTERVIEWS: Bill Zwecker, Oct. 11, 2007; Ed Kosowski, Jan. 18, 2008.

  TWO

  RECORDS: Transcript, Oprah Winfrey speech to American Women’s Economic Development Corporation conference, New York City, Feb. 25, 1989; death certificates, Patricia Lloyd (died Feb. 18 or 19, 2003, New Berlin, Wisc.) and Jeffrey Lee (died Dec. 22, 1989, Milwaukee, Wisc.), Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services; Vernon Winfrey, with Craig Marberry, sample pages for Things Unspoken: A Memoir by Oprah’s Father, 2007; verification of birth facts and verification of death facts, Vincent Miquelle Lee (born Feb. 8, 1969, and died Mar. 16, 1969, Nashville, Tenn.), Tennessee Department of Health, Office of Vital Records; transcript, interview of Oprah Winfrey by Diane Sawyer, 20/20, ABC, Oct. 25, 1998.

  BOOKS: Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Finding Oprah’s Roots (Crown Publishers, 2007); Merrell Noden, People Profiles: Oprah Winfrey (Time Life, 1999); Katharine Carr Esters, Jay Bird Creek and My Recollections: A Memoir (Solid Earth, 2005); Norman King, Everybody Loves Oprah (Bill Adler Books, 1987); Vince Staten, Do Bald Men Get Half-Price Haircuts? (Touchstone, 2001); Bill Adler, ed., The Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey (Citadel Press, 1997).

  ARTICLES: Lyn Tornabene, “Here’s Oprah,” Woman’s Day, Oct. 1, 1986; Laura B. Randolph, “Oprah Opens Up About Her Weight, Her Wedding, and Why She Withheld the Book,” Ebony, Oct. 1993; Leslie Rubenstein, “Oprah! Thriving on Faith,” McCall’s, Aug. 1987; “Chicago’s Grand New Oprah,” Newsweek, Dec. 31, 1984; Kathleen Fury, “Oprah! Why She’s Got America Talking,” TV Guide, Mar. 5, 1988; Gretchen Reynolds, “Oprah, a One-Woman Show,” Options, May 1994; Edna Gundersen, “Wildest Dreams Do Come True,” USA Today, May 15, 1997; Adam Richman, “Oprah,” People Weekly, Jan. 12, 1987; Patricia King, “Move Over, Phil Donahue—Here Comes Oprah,” Family Circle, Oct. 21, 1986; Jim Nelson and Barbara Sternig, “Talk Show Star’s Wild and Wicked Childhood—Sister Reveals the Shocking Truth at Last,” National Enquirer, Mar. 20, 1990; Marilyn Johnson, “Oprah Between the Covers,” Life, Sept. 1997; Bob Michals, “The Uncle Oprah Accuses of Sexually Abusing Her,” Globe, Sept. 8, 1992; Jonathan Van Meter, “Looking for Oprah,” The Oxford American, Apr./May 1999; “Living Legend Barbra Streisand,” www.oprah.com, Sept. 24, 2009; Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, “The Importance of Being Oprah,” New York Times Magazine, June 11, 1989; Stephanie Mansfield, “And Now Heeeeeeere’s Oprah,” Washington Post, Oct. 21, 1986; Lee Winfrey, “Talking Her Way to TV Stardom,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 7, 1986; “Thursday Rites Set for Zelma Winfrey, Oprah’s Stepmother,” Nashville Banner, Nov. 5, 1996; Tony Brown, “Even Without Scissors, Elder Winfrey a Cutup,” Newhouse News Service, Feb. 12, 2007; Susan Goldfarb, “I Drove the Devil Out of Oprah Winfrey—Says Her Dad,” Globe, Mar. 3, 1987; Joanna Molloy, “Dad’s Book Is No Oprah Pick,” New York Daily News, May 22, 2007; LaTonya Taylor, “The Church of O,” Christianity Today, Apr. 1, 2002; Jill Nelson, “The Man Who Saved Oprah Winfrey,” Washington Post Magazine, Dec. 14, 1986; “Oprah Winfrey’s Commencement Address, Wellesley College, May 30, 1997,” www.wellesley.edu; Jaap Kooijman, “From Elegance to Extravaganza: The Supremes on The Ed Sullivan Show as a Presentation of Beauty,” Velvet Light Trap (Spring 2002); Diahann Carroll, “From ‘Julia’ to ‘Cosby’ to ‘Oprah,’ ” Ebony, Nov. 2005; Barney Brantingham, “Oprah: ‘This Is My Montecito Coming Out Party,’ ” Santa Barbara News- Press, Apr. 25, 2003; “Eugene H. Abrams,” Chicago Sun-Times, Sept. 5, 1991; Irene Hoe, “I Went to School with Oprah Winfrey,” Straits Times, Sept. 17, 1993; Marilyn Jackson, “Oprah Between the Covers,” Life, Sept. 1997; Judy Markey, “Brassy, Sassy Oprah Winfrey,” Cosmopolitan, Sept. 1986; Barbara Sternig and Jim Nelson, “Oprah’s Shameful Secret Past—the Sister Who Saw It All,” National Enquirer, Mar. 27, 1990; Ian Woodward, “The World of Oprah,” OK!, June 29, 1994; Jill Brook Coiner, “Oprah Sets the Record Straight,” McCall’s, Nov. 1993; Ginny Holbert, “Oprah Winfrey Breaks Silence on Child Abuse,” Chicago Sun-Times, Aug. 30, 1992; Bob Michals and Bob Hartlein, “Oprah’s Torment,” Star, Mar. 23, 2003; Eirik Knutzen, “Oprah Star,” Toronto Starweek, Jan. 10, 1987; Barbara Reynolds, “Because of Others I Can Live the Dream,” USA Today, Aug. 6, 1986; Honie Stevens, “From Rags to Riches,” Saga, May 2002; Rod Gibson, “How Oprah’s Baby Died,” Globe, Feb. 8, 2000; Oprah Winfrey, “What I Know for Sure,” O, The Oprah Magazine, Feb. 2007.

  TV/DVDS/PODCASTS: “Oprah Winfrey: Heart of the Matter,” A&E Biography special, aired Jan. 16, 2000; The Barbara Walters Special, ABC, aired Apr. 11, 1988 (viewed at The Paley Center for Media, New York); Oprah Winfrey speech at the Women’s Business Development Center luncheon, Chicago, Ill., Sept. 27, 2006 (mp3 downloaded from www.odeo.com/audio/2003955/play on Nov. 13, 2006); The Oprah Winfrey Show 20th Anniversary Collection (DVD set).

  INTERVIEWS: Katharine Carr Esters, July 30, 2007 (along with Jewette Battles), Aug. 1, 2007, Sept. 11, 2007, Feb. 5, 2008; Vernon Winfrey, Apr. 22, 2008, and Apr. 24, 2008; correspondence with Jewette Battles, Mar. 4, 2008; Larry Carpenter, Apr. 21, 2008.

  THREE

  RECORDS: East Nashville High Grey Eagle, 1971; Oprah Gail Winfrey application for Miss Black Nashville of the Miss Black America Beauty Pageant; Vernon Winfrey with Craig Marberry, sample pages for Things Unspoken: A Memoir by Oprah’s Father, 2007; Listening to Youth Voices, U.S. Government Printing Office pamphlet on White House Conference on Youth, 1971.

  BOOKS: Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Finding Oprah’s Roots (Crown Publishers, 2007); Robert Waldron, Oprah! (St. Martin’s Press, 1987); Merrell Noden, People Profiles: Oprah Winfrey (Time Life, 1999); Norman King, Everybody Loves Oprah (Bill Adler Books, 1987).

  ARTICLES: Ken Harrell, “My 2½-Year Romance with Oprah,” Globe, Oct. 26, 1993; Honie Stevens, “From Rags to Riches,” Saga, May 2002; Academy of Achievement, “Oprah Winfrey Interview,” Feb. 21, 1991, www.achievement.org; Pat Embry, “Oprah Winfrey’s Father Says Her Success Is No Surprise,” Nashville Banner, Jan. 20, 1986; Sandy Smith, “Oprah Reunites with First Love,” Tennessean, Feb. 12, 1992; “Oprah Heads for Forensic Nationals,” East Nashville High East Eagle, Apr. 1970; Gary Ballard, “Oprah Winfrey,” Drama-Logue, Mar. 20–26, 1986; “Mayor Evers to Receive Award,” New York Amsterdam News, June 20, 1970; Louis Martin, “White Elks Show: How to Inspire Racial Violence,” Chicago Daily Defender, Aug. 1, 1970; Marilyn Johnson, “Oprah Between the Covers,” Life, Sept. 1997; Leslie Rubenstein, “Oprah!” McCall’s, Aug. 1987; Joan Barthel, “Here Comes Oprah,” Ms., Aug. 1986; “Miss Wool Contest,” East Nashville High East Eagle, Dec. 1970; Lucia Monet, “Estes Park Conference on Youth,” Christian Science Monitor, Apr. 16, 1971; “The Voice of Youth,” New York Times, Apr. 23, 1971; John Mathews, “Game Plan for a Youth Conference,” Nation, May 17, 1971; “Discontent of the Straights,” Time, May 3, 1971; “Snow Country,” Newsweek, May 3, 1971; “U.S. Youth Chooses Radical Path,” Christian Science Monitor, Apr. 26, 1971; Nan Robertson, “White House Youth Conference Proves to be Anti-Establishment,” New York Times, Apr. 22, 1971; R. C. Smith, “She Once Trashed Her Apartment to Make a Point,” TV Guide, Aug. 30, 1986.

  TV/DVDS: The Oprah Winfrey Show 20th Anniversary Collection (DVD set); The Oprah Winfrey Show, “Is There Life After High School?” aired 1994 (viewed at East Nashville High Alumni Association, East Alumni House, Nashville).

  INTERVIEWS: Andrea Haynes, Sept. 1, 2008; Luvenia Harrison Butler, Apr. 22, 2008, and Apr. 24, 2008; Larry Carpenter, Apr. 21, 2008, and correspondence with Larry Carpenter, July 29, 2008, and July 30, 2009; Cynthia Connor Shelton, Aug. 26, 2008; Gary Holt, Apr. 23, 2008, and correspondence with Gary Holt, Aug. 22, 2008; correspondence with Jackie Oates, National Fo
rensic League, Feb. 11, 2008, and Aug. 1, 2008; correspondence with Jeannine Kunz, National Elks Foundation, Mar. 19, 2008; correspondence with Sylvia Watts Blann, July 30, 2008; Sheryl Harris Atkinson, June 25, 2008; Nancy Solinski, Apr. 25, 2008; correspondence with Patsy R. Cline, Apr. 12, 2008, and May 7, 2008.

  FOUR

  RECORDS: East Nashville High Grey Eagle, 1971; Tennessee State University Bulletin, 1971–1973; Fisk University Catalog, 1971–1972; transcript, “Oprah” segment, 60 Minutes, CBS, Dec. 14, 1986; Oprah Gail Winfrey application for Miss Black Nashville of the Miss Black America Beauty Pageant.

  BOOKS: Vince Staten, Do Bald Men Get Half-Price Haircuts? (Touchstone, 2001); Robert Waldron, Oprah! (St. Martin’s Press, 1987); Merrell Noden, People Profiles: Oprah Winfrey (Time Life, 1999).

  ARTICLES: Transcript, Larry King Live, May 1, 2007, www.transcripts.cnn.com; Richard Severo, “Kenneth Clark, Who Fought Segregation, Dies,” New York Times, May 2, 2005; Sugar Rautbord, “Oprah Winfrey,” Interview, Mar. 1986; Alan Richman, “Oprah,” People Weekly, Jan. 12, 1987; transcript, “A New Earth Online Class, Chapter 7,” www.oprah.com, Apr. 14, 2008; J. Zamgba Browne, “Angela, ‘Free at Last,’ ” New York Amsterdam News, June 10, 1972; Mary Ann Bendel, “Oprah Winfrey,” Ladies’ Home Journal, Mar. 1988; Oprah Winfrey, “Oprah Talks to Charlize Theron,” O, The Oprah Magazine, Nov. 2005; Joanna Powell, “Oprah’s Awakening,” Good Housekeeping, Dec. 1998; Leslie Marshall, “The Intentional Oprah,” InStyle, Nov. 1998; Lee Siegel, “Thank You for Sharing,” New Republic, June 5 and 12, 2006; Arline Ambrose, “Martin Luther King Murdered Twice,” Tennessee State University Meter, May 14, 1973; Academy of Achievement, “Oprah Winfrey Interview,” Feb. 21, 1991, www.achievement.org; “Oprah Returns to Mississippi Birth Place,” www.foxnews.com, Sept. 5, 2006; Francine Knowles, “Becoming Oprah,” Chicago Sun-Times, Sept. 29, 2006; “Transcript of Oprah Winfrey’s Commencement Address,” Stanford Report, June 15, 2008; Judy Markey, “Brassy, Sassy Oprah Winfrey,” Cosmopolitan, Sept. 1986; Patricia Towle and Roger Capettini, “Oprah Stole Beauty Contest Crown,” National Enquirer, Oct 20, 1992; “Miss Black Nashville TSU Student,” Tennessean, Mar. 12, 1972; “Oprah Faked a Robbery,” Globe, Mar. 8, 2004; Luther Young, “She’s Found Success by Just Being Oprah,” Baltimore Sun, Jan. 27, 1985; “Miss Black America Rejects Title,” New York Times, Aug. 28, 1972; “Beauty Refuses ‘America’ Crown,” Chicago Daily Defender, Aug. 28, 1972; Ken Beck, “50 Years of Channel 5,” Tennessean, Aug. 4, 2004; Ruth Ann Leach, “Outrageous Racism Still Alive in Every State,” Nashville Banner, July 25, 1995; “The Price of Fame,” Celebrity, Oct. 1987; John C. Shelton, “Ex-Local TV Anchor Enjoys Her Success,” Nashville Banner, Dec. 26, 1985; Patricia King, “Move Over, Phil Donahue—Here Comes Oprah,” Family Circle, Oct. 21, 1986; Richard Sanders and Barbara Kleban Mills, “TV Host Oprah Winfrey Boots Up for Star-Making Role,” People Weekly, Dec. 16, 1985; Jamie Foster Brown, “Everything Negroes Ever Wanted to Ask Oprah, Part 2,” Sister 2 Sister, Dec. 1997; Ken Beck, “Nashville TV Icon Chris Clark Signs Off the Air,” Tennessean, May 1, 2007; Margaret D. Pagan, “Oprah,” Metropolitan, Oct. 1979; Eirik Knutzen, “Close to the Hart,” Toronto Star, Aug, 22, 1989; Bill Zwecker, “It’s True, Prince Will Take a Bride,” Chicago Sun-Times, Feb. 1, 1996; MacKenzie Carpenter, “Former WPXI News Director Knew Young Oprah Was a Keeper,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept. 8, 2006; Eve Zibart, “Baltimore Position Only ‘Stopover’ for Oprah Winfrey,” Tennessean, May 4, 1976.

  TV/DVDS: The Oprah Winfrey Show 20th Anniversary Collection (DVD set); “Oprah Winfrey: Heart of the Matter,” A&E Biography special, aired Jan. 16, 2000; Oprah video tribute to Chris Clark at the time of his retirement, WTVF-TV, aired May 23, 2007 (viewed at www.newschannel5.com May 25, 2007); The Oprah Winfrey Show, “Oprah Anchors the 5 O’Clock News: Celebs Go Back to Their First Jobs,” aired Nov. 3, 2009.

  INTERVIEWS: Luvenia Harrison Butler, Apr. 22, 2008, and Apr. 24, 2008; Sheryl Harris Atkinson, June 25, 2008; Katie Rawls, Apr. 21, 2008; Barbara Wright, July 2, 2008; confidential source, Oct. 30, 2007; confidential source, May 24, 2007; Bonnie Goldstein, June 2007; Gordon El Greco Brown, Apr. 24, 2008; Patrice Patton-Price, Sept. 17, 2008; Chris Clark, Apr. 23, 2008; Joseph Davis, Apr. 25, 2008; Patty Outlaw, Apr. 21, 2008, and correspondence with Patty Outlaw, Apr. 27, 2008; Jimmy Norton, May 9, 2008; Joyce Daniel Hill, Apr. 25, 2008; Elaine Garnick, June 30, 2008; confidential source, Jan. 23, 2007; Janet Wassom, Apr. 24, 2008.

  FIVE

  RECORDS: Transcript, “Oprah” segment, 60 Minutes, CBS, Dec. 14, 1986; transcript, Oprah Winfrey speech to American Women’s Economic Development Corporation conference, New York City, Feb. 25, 1989.

  BOOKS: Countee Cullen, “Incident,” from Color (Harper and Brothers, 1925); Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey, Make the Connection (Hyperion, 1996); Robert Waldron, Oprah! (St. Martin’s Press, 1987); Michael Olesker, Tonight at Six (Apprentice House, 2008); Merrell Noden, People Profiles: Oprah Winfrey (Time Life, 1999); Norman King, Everybody Loves Oprah (Bill Adler Books, 1987); Katrina Bell McDonald, Embracing Sisterhood (Rowman and Littlefield, 2007).

  ARTICLES: “Chaos in Charm City,” Time, July 22, 1974; Mark Kamine, “Walk This Way,” New York Times Book Review, Dec. 16, 2007; Laura Charles, “ ‘Defector’ Oprah Gets Sweet Send-Off,” Baltimore Sun, Dec. 14, 1983; “Off-Camera: The Living’s Convenient in Cross Keys,” Baltimore News-American, June 1, 1980; Rod Gibson, “Secrets of the Mortician Oprah Was Dying to Wed,” Globe, Feb. 16, 1999; Peter Williams, “Oprah and Her Men,” Star, July 6, 1993; Peter Williams, “The Untold Story of Oprah’s Heartbreak,” Star, Dec. 13, 1988; Patricia King, “Move Over, Phil Donahue—Here Comes Oprah,” Family Circle, Oct. 21, 1986; Bill Carter, “Baltimore’s First Hour News,” Baltimore Sun, Aug. 13, 1976; Bill Carter, “Look for Hour-Long Baltimore News Programs,” Baltimore Sun, May 14, 1976; Bill Carter, (title unknown), Baltimore Sun, June 18, 1976; Bill Carter, (title unknown), Baltimore Sun, May 11, 1976; Larry Carson, “Area TV Series Was City Hall Brainchild,” Baltimore Evening Sun, Sept. 1, 1976; Grant Pick, “Oprah!” Republic, Jan. 1986; Oprah Winfrey, “This Month’s Mission,” O, The Oprah Magazine, Dec. 2003; Bill Carter, “The WJZ Weeknight News Is Looking Better and Al Sanders Is Why,” Baltimore Sun, Apr. 27, 1977; Academy of Achievement, “Oprah Winfrey Interview,” Feb. 21, 1991, www.achievement.org; “Transcript of Oprah Winfrey’s Commencement Address,” Stanford Report, June 15, 2008; “Oprah Winfrey’s Commencement Address, Wellesley College, May 30, 1997,” www.wellesley.edu; Bill Carter, “Hour News Is Smooth and Professional, But Why Is Tom Boyd So Cute?” Baltimore Sun, Sept. 9, 1976; “Baltimore TV Reporter Dies at 58,” Washington Post, Jan. 1, 1988; Alan Richman, “Oprah,” People Weekly, Jan. 12, 1987; Oprah Winfrey, “It’s Not Over Till It’s Over,” O, The Oprah Magazine, Jan. 2004; Lisa Kogan, “Oprah and Gayle Uncensored,” O, The Oprah Magazine, Aug. 2006; Bill Carter, “WJZ Announces News Shake-Up,” Baltimore Sun, Apr. 2, 1977; Eve Zibart, “Baltimore Position Only ‘Stopover’ for Oprah Winfrey,” Tennessean, May 4, 1976; Jon Anderson, “Wingin’ It with Ch. 7’s Oprah Winfrey,” Chicago Tribune, Mar. 13, 1984; Margaret D. Pagan, “Oprah,” Metropolitan, Oct. 1979; transcript, “A New Earth Online Class, Chapter 9,” www.oprah.com, Apr. 28, 2008; Jeffrey Strickler, “Winfrey, Having Achieved Quite a Bit, Expects ‘Great Things from Myself,’ ” Minneapolis StarTribune, Apr. 18, 1986; Elizabeth Colt, “Oprah Winfrey Goes National,” Boston Globe, Sept. 2, 1986; Linda Robinson, “Over 1000 Turn Out for Turner Funeral,” Baltimore Sun, Jan. 4, 1988; Lyn Tornabene, “Here’s Oprah,” Woman’s Day, Oct. 1, 1986; Ian Woodward, “The World of Oprah,” OK!, June 29, 1994; Fred Hines, “News Man Reports on S. African Horrors,” Afro-American, Sept. 10, 1977; LaTonya Taylor, “The Church of O,” Christianity Today, Apr. 1, 2002; Ann Kolson, “Sassy Oprah Has Her Say,” Providence Journal, Feb. 6, 2007; Cheryl Lavin, “It’s All Going Oprah’s Way,” Chicago Tribune, Dec. 19, 1985; “Carter Foundation Presents Oprah Winfrey in a One-Woman Show,” Afro-American, May 28, 1983; St
ephanie Chetas, “One Woman Show,” Goucher College Goucher, Feb. 11, 1982; Kathleen Fury, “Oprah! Why She’s Got America Talking,” TV Guide, Mar. 5, 1988; Pat Gregor, “Oprah Hides Lover,” Star, July 18, 2000; Judy Markey, “Brassy, Sassy Oprah Winfrey,” Cosmopolitan, Sept. 1986; Joe Mullins, “Touching Last Interview with Oprah’s AIDS-Stricken Brother,” National Enquirer, Jan. 16, 1990; Jamie Foster Brown, “Everything Negroes Ever Wanted to Ask Oprah,” Sister 2 Sister, Nov. 1997; Gerri Kobren, “Co-Hosts Love Their Work,” Baltimore Sun, Sept. 17, 1978; Oprah Winfrey, “This Is the Body You’ve Been Given—Love What You’ve Got,” O, The Oprah Magazine, Aug. 2002; Francine Knowles, “Becoming Oprah,” Chicago Sun-Times, Sept. 29, 2006; “Oprah: The Story of My Life,” National Enquirer, May 14, 1996; Leslie Rubenstein, “Oprah! Thriving on Faith,” McCall’s, Aug. 1987; Bill Carter, “Winfrey’s Show Goes On,” Baltimore Sun, Aug. 19, 1986; Bill Carter, “Sher, Winfrey to Host 13’s Talk Show,” Baltimore Sun, Aug. 2, 1978; Bill Carter, “Channel 13 Getting Over Its Morning Jitters,” Baltimore Sun, Aug. 23, 1978.

  INTERVIEWS: Barbara L. Hamm, July 23, 2007, and Aug. 2, 2007; Dr. William F. Baker, Mar. 12, 2008, and Oct. 28, 2008; Bob Turk, Mar. 3, 2008, and correspondence with Bob Turk, Mar. 4, 2008; Gary Elion, May 27, 2007; Hilda Ford, Nov. 6, 2008; Frank Miller, June 11, 2008; Cynthia Todd, Sept. 21, 2007; correspondence with Bernice Johnson Reagon, Feb. 10, 2007; Jane McClary, Nov. 6, 2009; Katrina Bell McDonald, Jan. 6, 2008; correspondence with Peter Gethers, Nov. 11, 2008; Dr. Frank M. Reid, Sept. 21, 2007; Adam Shapiro, June 16, 2008; Larry Singer, June 19, 2007.

  SIX

  RECORDS: Documents in the case of Donna P. Watts v. Timothy C. Watts, case no. 88CSP133, Circuit Court for Baltimore County, Maryland State Archives; transcript, “Oprah” segment, 60 Minutes, CBS, Dec. 14, 1986.