This is Later with Lee Matthews, The Lee Matthews Podcast more what you Hear
weekday afternoons on the Drive. She's been in so many things it's difficult to
list, from Little House on the Prairie to Golden Girls, home improvement,
twins Er Parks and recreation Better Call Saul. Bonnie Bartlett Daniels is that person,
that character actress that can mold right into her role to the point where
she's believable and it's very easy for you to see her and then move on.
She's written all about her experiences in Hollywood and her new memoir Middle of
the Rainbow, the audio version of which is out now. Greetings, Bonnie
Bartlett Daniels, Hello, how are you good? To have you along?
You've been through and seen a lot of Hollywood, from the Golden Age of
television to I imagine intimacy coordinators. What was the last intimacy coordination? Yes,
the people, I don't know what that means. Oh okay, those
are the people that coordinate the love scenes. I don't understand that. Okay,
well, good, because that's usually involving nudity. But in your mom
in your in your memoir, you get into a lot of the of the
old school Hollywood, yes, and the old school and New York, Old
New York in the sixties. I don't know New York in the sixties wild.
I don't know that. A lot of people remember that You've been doing
this for quite a while now, Oh yeah, ninety five years. I
mean, I'm on this planet ninety five years. Yes, so so give
us give us an idea. It's stretched lung. And the Hollywood actually has
been since we got here in seventy three. I don't call that old school.
I called that that's before me, before I got here. But seventh
Hollywood has been great for me in terms of work. This is where I've
found most of my work. Bonnie Bartlet Daniels is with us. Middle of
the Rainbow is the name of the memoir. Can you explain the significance of
the title. I just like it. I think it's it's it's it's it's
a bit of a It's like, it's okay, you're not going to get
the whole thing, but it's okay. You can get the middle of the
rainbow. You can get you can be okay, You're going to be fine.
You can have bad things happen that you can rise above them and you
can go on and be great. You can just move along. And the
middle of the rainbow appealed to me because it says it's still it's a rainbow,
and you're in the middle of it, You're not going to get to
the end. I know. You all so talk a lot about some of
the grits of this notorious business in Hollywood in your memoir some of the what
grit grit, Well, there was more grit in my life up till that
time. Out here. It has been good. The only thing I think
in the book that I take I do mention some of the men, and
I mentioned one show where the behavior of the star was not good and it
hurt me, and it continued and I had to I didn't have the strength
at the time to say, you're not to say that. You don't you're
not allowed to do that. Now on the set, I don't think they
will allow it. No, at that time, Yeah, now now,
I don't think they allow that kind of I guess they call it harassments.
Yeah, just hurts. It's it's like sending daggers into women. I don't
know why. I don't know why the men are that way. I guess
they're afraid of us in some way. They men, I guess like power.
They like to be on top. And uh uh, it's changing,
but it needs to change more Daniels now and and and it's so hard to
prove it that it's so hard for women to be believed. And that's right
out there now with the trials, the trials of of mister mister Trump and
then the Weinstein back, that has been a setback for the me too people.
But good for them, Good for them. They're gonna they're gonna fight
it, So that's good. That's good. I don't like all the fighting.
I just think it would be so much better if everybody was brought up,
you know, better, and didn't take up bad habits. Bonnie Bartlett
Daniels. The Rainbow is the name of her act of her memoir How did
everything start? Field? How did you get into acting in the first place?
Well, I was a little girl. I was always acting. My
father was an actor, and so we we did a lot of stuff together,
listening to wonderful people on the radio, and the wonderful actors, the
Lunths and Helen Hayes, people like that. So I was always acting from
the town of the old Girl, and I did anything I could around town.
I did. I did a radio show when I was in junior high
school. It was about sports where I knew nothing about it, but anytime
anybody wanted somebody to speak, I was there. And so that's how I
started. And then all kinds of school plays. I was always in every
school play. And then when Northwestern and that's where I met Bill and we
did we did make Vepp together at Northwestern, and we went on to New
York and you know, struggled there for a while, but I was acting
from a times a little girl Bonnie bartleta Daniels Middle of the Rainbow, she
tells all in her memoir and behind the scenes from some of the Hollywood greats.
Can you give us a sample of some of the people you worked with?
For instance, is there someone that you worked with as a co star
that impressed you the most as a co star? Yes, well, Ed
Flanders. He was amazing to work with. And of course Bill, Bill
and Ed and me, oh god, we had wonderful scenes, wonderful scenes
to work with. I loved working with them. I've forgotten his name now,
but Anyway, It's all in the book, and most of them are
wonderful. Some of them, I mention, I mentioned some bad things,
but certainly better called Saul. He was just lovely. He wasn't. I
was just a small part on that. But I love actors and most of
them are wonderful, really, Bonnie bart La Daniels. Middle of the Rainbow
is her memoir in audio right now and everywhere you get your books and on
Amazon. We thank you for joining us today and thanks for the story.
Thank you. Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews the Lee Matthews Podcast,
and remember to listen to The Drive Live weekday afternoons from five to seven
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