Was missing my ol’ belly laugh pal TV Producer Adrienne Lopez. She used to live close by me but moved, and moved on to traveling for work. Hadn’t seen her in person since before Covid. Happened to a lot of friendships.
Can’t remember exactly how we originally became friends, but I think it started way back when 5000 years ago when she once booked me on a TV show. Adrienne’s been in the tv & film business a long time.
She’s a veteran television producer and talent executive. She’s been a casting director/producer in all tv genres including, reality tv, docu-series, and competition shows as well as scripted programming. She is a very successful celebrity talent booker and is currently The Senior Talent Producer on The Tamron Hall Show produced in NYC.
Adrienne said, “We usually tape a live show at ABC on 67th and Columbus, but the news is we’re moving. All of ABC Disney is moving way downtown to Tribeca. I just found out today that we’re moving in December. Everybody else is moving right after the election”.
Adrienne is used to being on the move. Both Adrienne and I were independent female entrepreneurs and single moms along the way of life. Always hustling because single moms always have to hustle, but also always laughing – even when things weren’t exactly going our way.
We’d stop and have a glass of wine together and commiserate. Once we were so broke, we had to share a glass of wine…at happy hour. LOL! We still laugh like hell about that one.
Though we haven’t seen in each in person in a while, I’d kept up with Adrienne online, knew she became the Sr. Talent Producer at The Tamron Hall Show, always joked she had fancier friends than me when I’d see her post about her celebrity pals, and found out when the great Willie Mays passed, she actually was his neighbor for a while growing up near ‘Shea Stadium’. Yes Willie Mays was her neighbor for while on the street she grew up on in East Elmhurst, Queens.
Told Adrienne it was time for her to come visit me and have a few of those same ol’ belly laughs we always like to have. I thought it would be fun to catch up with her in the studio live on the air with me, so she could talk about all those things that she does and knows about, that might interest you guys too. (Like what goes on behind the scenes on a live TV show and how to get booked as a guest on one!)
Adrienne has been at The Tamron Hall Show five seasons now and is very proud she’s been nominated for an Emmy twice. She didn’t win, but oh well, she says she’ll get ’em next time! The new season starts September 3rd.
If you’d like to be in the audience or submit a story idea, go to TamronHallShow.com.
Meet Adrienne Lopez and find out how getting booked a TV show works and more, in this podcast of our live conversation on The Debbie Nigro Show. If you’d rather listen the audio transcript is below.
The Debbie Nigro Show airs weekdays in the NY/CT area from 11-12 noon EST on WGCH Radio. Listen Live from anywhere in the world on WGCH.com.
0:00:00
And now, back to the Debbie Nigro Show.
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0:00:03
All right, rock and roll, I am so happy right now because I am sitting in the studio with somebody I really love and haven’t seen in a really long time. My good girlfriend Adrienne Lopez here on the Debbie Nigro show. Now she’s just the coolest thing ever. When I knew her in the very beginning, I just liked her personality. I don’t even remember how we met. I just thought she was fun and cool and pretty. I have no idea how we met but we were friends for a lot of years before I never saw her anymore
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0:00:50
because of COVID and she moved and I moved and I don’t know what happened. But then we became grandmas and our kids got married. I don’t even know where you’ve been, but today I’m looking at you for the first time in years because we figured it out, Adrienne.
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Hey, babe. So you just got, besides being a senior talent producer for the Tamron Hall Show. Yes.
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I’m very impressed with you.
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And I’ve been there five years. I’m very impressed with you. Since the beginning. You got a real job.
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I got a real job.
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You got a real job.
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I got benefits.
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You got benefits.
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We used to hustle deals together.
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Oh my goodness.
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And hustle. We’re always independent female entrepreneurs and single moms. We were rolling, but always laughing. We’d stop and have a glass of wine together. We’ll tell that story in a minute. Yes, we will tell that story.
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0:01:35
We were so broke we had to share a glass of wine. On happy hour. On happy hour price. We’d laugh like hell.
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0:01:39
But you just got back from…
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0:01:40
I think someone would buy us a drink, too. Yeah, because… Because we looked so pitiful. Because we were fun. We were fun and pitiful. We mostly didn’t want drinks from other people, because we just didn’t want to be obligated to take that.
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0:01:51
Exactly. They have to chit-chat.
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We could have got a lot more free drinks.
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I think so. A lot of free stuff.
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0:01:55
So get closer to me. A lot of free stuff. You just got back from Gail King’s son’s wedding. Son’s son. Well, and he’s from… he grew up here. He went to Greenwich I’m sorry, Brunswick school. Oh, how’s name is Will Bumpus? Yeah, congratulations A lovely woman named Elise and now she’s at least Bumpus. It was fabulous
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0:02:14
We were held at a place called Tyrannia resort in outside of LA You had the coolest friends Adrian and watch you on social media. I always give you love on social media. I go, how cool are you? Look at your friends. I need better friends or something. I have great friends. I have twins, you know, and they grew up with Will. And the singer Miguel came out and sang the song for their first dance.
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You were just pulling the…
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It was amazing. Both of my sons and their wives were there too. How cool. It was very lovely. And your sons are gorgeous and they’re all grown now. Thank you. They’re all grown. Gail King’s a nice person. She’s lovely. And from here. Yeah. Well, not from here, but she lived here for a long time.
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Yeah. It’s funny. In the beginning, it was like a really Oprah’s get her best friends getting a show too, but she pulls, she carries it, man. She has the goods. Totally the goods. She’s a big star. Tamron Hall, great show. She’s got the goods. It’s a great show. It’s been five years. I joined in 2019, just before the big March 15th, 2020. Senior talent producer.
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Yeah.
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You gotta get me on there somehow. You do. Maybe with my new book. We do. Well, you’ve gotta send it to me. You’ve gotta get me on. Jesus, I know ya.
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Yeah, I know.
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It’s all you do.
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You might be able to make that happen. Help a sister. Could you help a sister? Willie Mays was your neighbor. I thought that was so crazy. I grew up in East Elmhurst, Queens.
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Yeah. On a street called Dittmars Boulevard. And he was my neighbor. And we used to ride our bikes down there and if we saw something, you know, we would get in a lot of trouble
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because we really weren’t supposed to go to that part of the street. And my girlfriends and I were like, we’re going. We’re good, we’re going in. It’s worth the punishment, we don’t care. What a gentleman he was to the industry of baseball
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and to the world. I was a little girl growing up, you know, I was in that fan, my father took me to the games. Willie Mays was a name that everybody was looked up to. He had charm, he had a smile, he was like the magic of the game. We could walk to, well it was Shea Stadium back in my day.
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It was not Citi Field. Oh really?
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Oh yeah, Shea Stadium.
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It was Shea. And you could walk there from his house. Tommy Agee, a lot of the players lived kind of in that neighborhood because it was so close to the stadium I think a lot of people don’t realize when a pro baseball player gets signed to a new team They are you know given housing for a little while and that the team chooses or at least Guides them to where they might want to live back in the Mariano Rivera days when he first signed with the Yankees
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0:04:42
He lived in my building in New Rochelle and his wife and it gave and so you know and then other baseball players but the neighborhood obviously maybe chose to be closer right and have a house as opposed to a mansion. He deserved a mansion. He played with his kids? We played with yes my girlfriend Vanessa and I. Shout out to Vanessa. We would go we played with his with his son Michael was our friend. So it’s a big story having him just pass away and of
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0:05:13
course you know we never want to see anybody great leave us. It always hurts. Nobody gets out alive. Bad game show we’re living here on earth. Now that he’s gone, people are spending a lot of time talking about him and there are big stories every day about what game he played.
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0:05:33
So what were you starting to say before about a game? You’re a fan of sports. You love sports. I’m a big sports fan. One of my sons played college basketball up at Middlebury College. Both of my sons are athletes. They went to Scarsdale High and they were on every team you could think of because as a single parent you’ve got to
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find stuff for the kids to do after school. Yes. So like what sport meets from three to six you know. Boy, single parents really run around. Yeah. You just do what you have to do. And they both went to great schools and they’re both very, very successful in their businesses. I know. I’m so happy for you and proud of them. Just back to William Mays for a second because I have got a little blip in my news.
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0:06:12
I’m catching the blips of news every day and try and make them relevant to whoever’s in the studio, right? So they said Birmingham, Alabama, this is where William Mays was born, raised and launched his Hall of Fame baseball career. And apparently there’s a big game tonight. Let’s see.
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0:06:29
What the heck is going on with the game? Major League Baseball is holding its first game at Rickwood Field, the historic Negro League field in Birmingham, Alabama, where Willie Mays began his career with the San Francisco Giants, playing the St. Louis Cardinals, tonight. So it’s the first game Major League Baseball is doing there tonight.
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0:06:46
So there’s a lot going on. Yeah, there was a big celebration I saw with John Baptiste doing a tribute in that right field stadium to the Negro Leagues, which you know The first players is a lot of question about the history of the Negro Leagues and stuff And that’s something that fascinates me as well.
Yeah me too, so what’s going on with your life that you can tell on the radios?
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0:07:08
I don’t know. I don’t know if I should go there. I think I better keep it clean. Anybody interesting? In your life? Yes. We have to talk about that at lunch. Yes, that’ll be the lunch that you’re paying for.
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0:07:26
I did say I was treated. I said, come on, please drive up. Like to go to the plaza. I used to work next door to the plaza. That was my cheers bar. Was it Mickey Mantles? No.
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0:07:38
No, but that was up the street. Oh, but I actually worked next door to the Plaza Really? Yeah, cuz I worked in Avon’s world headquarters of course right on seven nine West 57 and they invited me for a minute and I stayed 10 years and They said come on in let’s incubate your company whenever I have working mom on the run and they gave me a little office And I think it was a 20th floor, but then we spread out a little bit There was a printing shop there and we’re like, oh, can we just borrow that printer?
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0:07:59
and then there was something else before you know we had a whole floor of the building next door so I used to go to the plaza for fun after work when I if I ever finished I never finished well never finished no that’s amazing but I will I will talk about the Tamron Hall show yeah come on talk to me a little bit more I’ve been there five seasons and that’s how long it’s been on so how do you decide who to buck it’s
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0:08:20
it’s it’s a it’s a challenge I will say that I’ve been nominated for an Emmy twice oh yeah I hear I’m so proud yes I’m we didn’t win. Oh darn. It’s okay. Okay. I’ll get them next time. I can now say Emmy nominated. Yeah we’ll get them next time. So our season starts November 3rd, September 3rd. So you’re already planning already? So how does it work with TV? You actually tape in advance? Well our show is usually live. Oh yeah. So it’s a lot so we tape a live show at ABC right in ABC on 67th and Columbus, but
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0:08:52
The news is we’re moving. Oh all of ABC Disney is moving down way downtown to Tribeca Really two different that’s local. You know I don’t you ever seen it on Columbus when you drive past in New York City No, the ABC in New York City. Yes, of course So we’re moving, but I just found out today as I was that’s why I was late, I found out today that we’re moving in December. Everybody else is moving right after the election. I don’t have to use that, that’s fun, that’s a far ride.
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0:09:24
To get down to Detroit, that is far. It’s like another country. It is another country. It’s very cool. And now I take one train, one stop. It’s a six minute train ride.
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0:09:36
Right, now what tips to be honest I was thinking about the other day I said okay so what am I what am I moaning about yeah what are you moaning about it’s 20 minutes okay and I’ll post it to six six and one and one train that you just get on you don’t even sit people you know the guys are as often you’re saying I’m like no I’m kidding now you gotta be like yeah I’ll take that seat I know yeah I’ll take all the seats you know the whole section of
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0:10:00
Tribeca in New York City is a fascinating area. Fabulous. But it really is like going to another state. It’s no man’s land. It’s no man’s land.
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It’s hard to get to.
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Yeah, what a schlep. And you don’t want to drive if you’re driving. You can’t drive. Because at the end there’s no end. Like you just, there’s the water. You have to come back.
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0:10:15
Well it was crazy. I went down to Tucci’s restaurant last night, Max Tucci’s new restaurant. I love him too. Oh he’s fabulous. He’s, I love him. He’s up here somewhere.
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0:10:23
Yeah. Anyway, so we went to the restaurant last night and my girlfriend and I came out and we said let’s get Ubers. She goes to get on to get the Uber. It was $88 to get uptown. Crazy. It cost me $35 to get there. Well to supply and demand. She had never been on the subway. I don’t think ever. That’s what she told me. I think she lied. No, you’re not taking me with you either. She got on with you? Because there was a point where this was just highway robbery.
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0:10:55
It was the principle of the thing. You could get me to come with you if it was $88.
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That’s what I’m saying.
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0:11:01
It was crazy. I will go on the subway like Dave works way downtown in New York City. He knows I hate subways, I hate tunnels, I hate anything underground. Underground, me too, but there’s a point. That $88. Like NASA, for zillions of dollars you never NASA
1
0:11:16
no never get me no they’d have to turn the thing around they have to be that we’re gonna make a left and get her back because she’s going to have like a freak-out moment the craziest thing I’ve ever done with you know that out of my comfort zone was beyond evil Knievel’s boat when I was younger and it wasn’t even with evil Knievel was some guy who bought his boat or when he was in jail so that was my big move he did a lot of this I remember correctly.
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0:11:38
So you asked me about, so what happens generally. Bring it back home. Are you a talk show host?
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Because you brought it back around.
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0:11:44
I work with one, so a lot of times we have to be in her ear. So I was saying, could you ask question number four that I’ve been asking you like the past ten minutes? Oh, wait a minute. You’re in her ear sometimes? Sometimes. Not often.
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0:11:58
But sometimes somebody is in her ear or I’m telling the person who’s in her ear, this is what’s going on, we need to wrap this.
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Move it on.
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Yeah, but there are executive producers who are in her ear, but you might have to give them a note and sort of say, let’s wrap this up or ask about this or let’s speed this up. So she’s like, yeah, she has to concentrate and not flinch when that’s going on. She’s going, yeah, well, we find the guests. So back to that. We find the guests for the show and it could be anything.
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0:12:27
Publicists send us stuff. We get books, you know, when movies are happening we get the you know plays. We did last year, I created this whole thing, we did it an hour on The Wiz, the new play that’s on Broadway. And we did it for Halloween. Deborah Cox is starring. Deborah Cox. We redecorated the whole studio and we had them come on in costume
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0:12:48
and it, you know, it’s just it gives you an opportunity to just do all Kind of creative things we had a great Mother’s Day show at wave Hill. Yeah, we taped away Yeah, and is that I hear music that means and you know you’re in the business hold on a second We’re gonna be going that’s how my cue in my ear that we have a little bit of time before we go to a commercial Break we have one more segment so we can finish talking okay Did you even know that I did a voiceover for the movie Challengers.
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0:13:15
I did not know. I didn’t tell you. See, I’ve got to keep you in my back of my pocket. Yes, and I just have to add that. I do cool things and I forget I did and I have to share them with people. I do have to say the first talk show I worked on was with Joan London, a show called Every
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0:13:28
Day with Joan London. Right. And then I went to the Phil Donahue show. Maybe that’s how we met. Somehow back with the Joan London. Wasn’t I on her show or somebody’s show and that’s how we met?
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0:13:36
I think that’s it. We met up in Westchester some kind of way. I think I was on a show though and you were a producer. This is 5,000 years ago. 5,000 years ago. Maybe 10.
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0:13:46
You look the same.
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Thank you. Look at you. Look at me.
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You look fabulous.
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Look at you.
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Come on right back. Me and my gal pal, A.J. Lopez bonding here.
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I need that tan. I need that tan.
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I need that tan.
Transcribed with Cockatoo
