Nancy O’Dell. A Celebrity’s Celebrity with Her Roots Still Firmly Ground in SC
Today’s installment in CRESCENT and on CRESCENT Radio almost didn’t happen…at least in the way you’ll hear it in the audio.
After more than five months of going over calendars, we were finally to schedule Nancy O’Dell, but after we finished our interview, the entire recording disappeared from the servers. We scrambled to write an article based on notes and memory because Nancy is too great not to share, but again, through the magic of technology, the audio reappeared, and we’re able to bring it to you.
Nancy O’Dell is a native of Sumter who moved to Myrtle Beach when she was 6 months old. She’s a Clemson grad who is about to receive an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, and there’s a good chance she’s been on your television more than once recently as the host of “Entertainment Tonight.” As a person, she’s everything you’d expect her to be…unless you’d expect something bad, and then you’d be completely wrong.
We hope you enjoy our time with Nancy, and thanks for visiting CrescentMag.com.
Listen to or download CRESCENT’s complete interview with Nancy O’Dell HERE.
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CRESCENT’s guest today fits in as easily on a Hollywood red carpet as she does at the Grand Ol’
Opry. If you’re in the Pee Dee, you may have watched her on WPDE in Myrtle Beach. If you’re in the Lowcountry, you may have watched her on WCBD in Charleston. Some of you may have gone to school with her at Clemson. She is originally from Sumter, and she is currently the co-host of the #1 syndicated magazine show on television, “Entertainment Tonight.” Ladies and gentlemen, Nancy O’Dell. It’s great to have you with us today. Thanks so much.
It’s good to be with you and all my Southern folks. Love my South Carolina. I miss it.
You know, I mentioned your time in South Carolina working at local network affiliates, but you’ve achieved an amazing amount of success so far beyond that, not just “Entertainment Tonight.” You’re a member of the Academy of Country Music; you were the original host of Nashville Star; you’ve done movies including almost the entire Scream series; you’ve voiced on The Simpsons; you’ve had guest spots on lists of shows too numerous to mention; you are heavily involved with charities; ranging from MDA to Red Cross to March of Dimes, and of course, your own foundation, Betty’s Battle named for your mother who passed away from ALS-related complications in 2008. In addition to all that, you have three best-selling books and you’re now engaged in the digital space with an educational iPhone and iPad app, Little Ashby Star Reporter. Generally, I ask people what they’re working on. Here I think an easier question is what aren’t you working on?
Sounds like I’m not working on rest too much. They’re all really fun things…like Little Ashby Star Reporter, the app that I did that you can get either for the iPad or iPhone, as you said. It was something that was like a labor of love because I learned that from watching my daughter doing all these educations apps and loving it and that’s just part of their growing up. It wasn’t a part of our growing up. It’s that they know how to work all these gadgets and stuff. I saw her learning so much by doing these fun game-type things and you know, I always thought, “It would be really cool to have a little cartoon character who was a reporter,” because that’s one thing that I love about my job is that I’m constantly learning because I have to go to different places and meet different people. I have to do research on them or research on the places and it’s just constantly a learning experience for me. So I thought, “How great for kids,” and then it turned into a game and fun videos that they can watch but it teaches them at the same time. So, a lot of the things you mentioned are things that I love to do, and to watch my daughter actually play an app that was named after her and her repeat some of the things back that she learned from it. Such a neat experience. And we have another one actually coming out soon. We’re working on the 2nd story. I’m doing a Little Ashby series.
Congratulations on Little Ashby because I think it was just announced that it was a finalist for Cynopsis Kids !magination Award for “Educational App.”
It was. Thank you for mentioning that. It was a thrill. The honor is for being one of the best in the educational arena, and for that, I take great pride in it. Like I said, we’re working on the next one where Little Ashby is going to go report next so when I tell everybody to see CRESCENT Magazine and listen to CRESCENT Magazine, that you can go to LittleAshbyStarReporter.com. I’d love for you to sign up so I can let you know when the next one is coming out.
And you can pull the current version from the App Store, correct?
That’s correct.
Let’s kind of go back to the beginning. When you were growing up, at what point did you have that moment of realization when you said “I’m going to live the rest of my life in front of a camera.”?
You know, I really didn’t. I can honestly say that I remember sitting in my home in Myrtle Beach, SC watching “Entertainment Tonight” and thinking, “That’s got to be the coolest job ever.” Remember Mary Hart in her beautiful gowns and thinking, “That seems like such a fun job,” and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would someday eventually become the host of that show. I actually majored in marketing at Clemson, so I started out in a small TV station in Myrtle Beach/Florence, selling television advertising, and because it was small market, they didn’t require a lot of experience, and on the weekends, I started doing news cut-ins for them, and that’s when I realized that I really liked it because I was constantly learning. Again, one of the reasons I did the app was that I was constantly learning. It was changing every single day, and I thought it was fun because the job never got old. In fact, that’s one thing I love about my job now. I’m going to interview Tom Cruise for the 50th time, but it’s a different movie in a different location and different co-stars and a different story, so I’m constantly learning. When I realized that I liked it, I got an offer from Charleston from doing the weekend cut-ins at Myrtle Beach to come in and work there, and that’s the point I said, “OK. I really like being a reporter. I really like the fact it’s changing every day, and the stories are different and unique.” So I accepted the job and thought it would be fun to live in Charleston and lived there for 3 years on the police beat, covering the crime beat and anchoring the morning news there. An agent called, and I signed with him, and he got me a job in Miami, and from Miami, I went to Los Angeles. So that’s kind of how it happened. Kind of happened by accident.
And things have really changed, too, since you first got involved because there has been so much of an inclusion of digital integration. When you first got started in television, who would have thought that you didn’t necessarily have to schedule what time you were going to watch something, that you were going to be able to watch it on a phone that fit in your pocket or on a computer that sat on your desk? Those kinds of things have changed the way that you’re able to get out there and promote yourself, promote what’s going on, see what’s happening in the world of entertainment, what’s happening in the world of current events, all of those things. How has that changed for you?
I mean, digital has changed the world for everybody as far as news is concerned, whether it be entertainment news or news in general. It has provided a lot more competition, so it’s great to be on “Entertainment Tonight”, which is such a standard and really the one that started all the entertainment news. It was the first of its kind, the gold standard when it comes to entertainment news. The tough part of it…so it was king back when it started, and so now, it’s just like maintaining that position because there are so many different places where you can get your news, so we’re constantly trying to make things different and do them sooner and get the exclusive. So that is different in the world. I think the great thing about ET is it kind of stands on its own just because the name has been around for so long.
And everybody else just kind of followed the formula.
Just from being the veteran, just from being around from the beginning. That helps.
With everything that you have going on, you still maintain very close ties to your home state. Anybody who follows your Twitter feed at @NancyODell, especially during football season, knows your Clemson Tigers are never too far from your thoughts.
That’s right.
How difficult is it to be as involved as you are in family and work and your philanthropic endeavors on the West Coast and still stay so deeply rooted in the Southeast?
Well, that’s where digital has helped, that’s for sure because I can keep in contact. You know, it’s funny, I …on my Twitter not long ago. I said, “Hey, you know, how are my Clemson friends out there? Let me know about your other Clemson friends and Clemson conversations.” I get the tweets to my phone, and all of a sudden, it started lighting up like crazy. It nice to know you’ve got a community like that kind of sticks together, so that’s been fairly easy so I can keep in touch with everybody via Facebook and via Clemson, but it’s something that’s important to me. I mean, my dad still lives in Myrtle Beach so, of course, huge tie right there alone, my daddy.
Absolutely. You graduated Summa from Clemson, too, didn’t you?
I did. Summa Cum Laude.
And I believe that on May 10, you’re even going to get an honorary doctorate from the fine folks in Tigertown.
I am. I’m very excited about that. Clemson University give me…I was telling my co-host at ET today, actually, I was teasing him, “You know as of May 10th, I’m not expecting you to call me Nancy anymore. I want to be called DOCTOR Nancy O’Dell.” We got a good laugh out of that.
Are you going to start out at Esso before you go over to Littlejohn?
I might have to. I was there not long ago. I went back to see my sister. She has a house near Clemson, and I went to see them over the summer. That’s where they took me to eat and I was like, “The Esso Club’s fabulous, but I sure do remember it tasting a lot better when I was in college.” It’s funny. In college, it’s about all you can afford. Right?
The Tigers are looking pretty good this baseball season, but as you know, being from the South, everybody is already looking to fall, so putting you on the spot, what are the Tigers going to do this football season, and will they end their 4-year drought against the Gamecocks?
Absolutely, it’s time. You know, that game you can never predict because it’s just so competitive. It doesn’t matter how much better one team is over the other. It just the adrenaline and everything gets going, but my Tigers will win because they’re going to be the National Champions this year. There you have it.
Dabo would probably agree.
Yes, and Dabo and I have texted about this when he invited me back to some women’s clinic or something. I was laughing so hard because a lot of times I’ll tweet back and forth with different celebrities and stuff. It’s a natural thing for me, but it was so special the other day when Tajh Boyd tweeted me. “Tajh Boyd tweeted me. Woo!” I told Tom Cruise “Tajh Boyd tweeted me!”
It was funny to watch the Governor’s State of the State address back in January and see Tajh Boyd in the House gallery waving to the Governor was she recognized him during her address.
It shows you how big the sports are, especially Clemson football, in South Carolina. And Carolina, too, they’re doing so well.
There’s no doubt about that, and as much as I want to see my Clemson Tigers beat Carolina every single day, it is a great source of pride for the state to see both teams doing so well.
It is.
The state seems to be getting a lot of notice from Hollywood and from New York, as well. The host of movies that have been filmed in the Carolinas including…there were a few months when George Clooney made a temporary home in Greenville when he filmed “Leatherheads.” The Today Show recently broadcast from Charleston. There’s a new Food Network competition show that is about use Spartanburg as a backdrop. Lifetime’s Army Wives has called the Lowcountry home for a few years. CBS announced back in March that it has a new fall series called Reckless that’s going to shoot in Charleston, and even the General Assembly has taken up legislation to boost film incentives. Living in the entertainment world, do you ever have industry people who know that you’re from South Carolina comment on our little corner of the world?
Oh yeah. They’re always asking me about Charleston, that’s for sure. A lot of them ask me about Wilmington, and I have to explain that’s actually North Carolina. It’s only about an hour from South Carolina, from Myrtle Beach so I have to have to explain to them that, from my hometown, it’s only about an hour. But yeah, they do. They often ask especially the more infamous locations like Charleston, and I’m always trying to find something that’s taking place in South Carolina so I’ll have an excuse to go back home. So I’m always volunteering to cover those. That’s for sure. And of course, you forgot about Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds getting married there.
You know, I had completely forgotten about that.
I know. That was a big story on ET.
It was.
It was all about where they got married.
They kept it under wraps though until the last possible minute.
I know. They did a good job keeping it secretive.
And that’s difficult to do in that world, but there’s something about being able to have an event like that in South Carolina. People will just kind of leave you alone. Although George Clooney would disagree because he said that women would not leave him alone the entire time he was here.
Well, do the women leave him along anywhere?
I can’t personally speak to that one way or another.
Yeah. I think George kind of gets attention no matter where he goes.
He and I run in different circles.
I’m sure you get a lot of attention, too.
As busy as you are with family and career, you still make time for a tremendous amount of charitable work. What first got you involved in philanthropy, and really, how do you fit it all in?
You know, sometimes, it’s tough. I always say that you choose your causes that are important to you and you’re passionate about, whether it is for personal reason or a friendship reason, it means to me, I think the best ones to be involved in are the ones you have personal ties like Best Buddies, I’m very involved with them. They help people with intellectual disabilities in the community and form one-on-one friendships with them because they tend to lead isolated lives. My aunt was a person with Down syndrome, so I totally understand what the organization is all about, because I know my aunt would always say, “I don’t understand why I can’t be a cheerleader. I don’t understand why I don’t go to school every day. I don’t understand why I can be a member of the basketball team.” That’s exactly what Best Buddies does, is they take these individuals, and they form one-on-one friendships so they can participate in all these things, and they then get them jobs. They have a whole jobs program. Because of my involvement with Best Buddies and my wonderful bosses here at ET and The Insider, our sister show. Both have hired a Buddy so now we have 2 Best Buddies here working for the show. They often make better employees than everybody else because they’re very into their job and take great pride in it. I work a lot with MDA, Muscular Dystrophy Association. I learned about them when my mom was diagnosed with ALS. They were the first people that came in and said, “You know, it’s a horrible diagnosis that you’ve gotten, but we’ll be there for you every step of the way,” and they were there for us every single step of the way. They have specialized doctors who know about ALS, which is…it’s not that common so to be able to find a general doctor who knows a lot about it is difficult because it’s just not that common. So for them to have these clinics across the country for you to be able to go to was a huge, valuable resource. So the least I can do is try to help them to pay back how much they did to help us and the whole process of knowing what to do and where to go and who to turn to.
And this is ALS Awareness Month.
Yes it is. May is ALS Awareness Month, so hopefully, more people will understand it better and help us to someday find a cure for it.
We can hope. We can definitely hope. Changing to a couple of quick lighter notes. These are two questions that I always have to ask. The first one is, “What do you hate to get asked?” I don’t want to sound like James Lipton here, but what question do you hate to get asked more than anything else?
Let’s see. “What celebrity do you like the least.” I hate to get asked that because I never want to tell it.
They’re your bread and butter.
Exactly. It’s my job. I can’t tell you the ones I like the least. I can tell you the ones that are not the best interviews, but I don’t like to say who I like the least. So that would probably be the one because I get asked that a lot. People want to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. Right?
They do, and I know there have been some unfortunate situations that have been reported recently, and everybody is questioning why this person does one thing or says something to law enforcement and they should know better. Things happen. You just have to let it ride.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
What do you rarely or never get asked that you wish somebody would, in the middle of an interview, just pop right out so you can say what’s been burning to come out.
Oh, gosh. Well, that’s a good question. I never get asked that question. I never get asked the question of what question do you not ever get asked that you want to be asked. I don’t know. That’s a good question. I’ll have to think about that one. I would think that…a lot of time people will definitely get into the celebrity stuff and not focus as much on the charity stuff you asked me about. Thank you for asking about that. Or they won’t focus on your family stuff, which is as important to me, way more important than anything in the world, so I like to be asked about that. But people are just so fascinated about celebrities, which I do appreciate because that’s how I make a living, that’s for sure.
But you’re a celebrity in your own right.
Well, I don’t know about that, but I appreciate your saying it.
You have become a celebrity dealing with celebrities and there’s a certain sociological interest in that.
That’s true.
Because you became famous dealing with famous people.
There is such an interest in celebrity, which I find fascinating even though I do this for a living, and maybe that’s why I find it so fascinating. I’ve been around it. I’ve been doing it for…I’ve been a journalist for 23 years now… of course, I started when I was 5 but…
Absolutely.
But I’ve been doing entertainment for 15, 16 years now, so maybe I’m so used to being around them that the celebrity side of it is not as fascinating to me. It’s more what they do as a human being or how they behave or how they behave when the cameras are off. Having been around them so much it’s not…you’ve done it so long you don’t get star struck anymore. But I’m always interested that people are so interested in every element of their lives. That’s interesting to me. But like you said again, I’m glad they are because it allows me to do what I do.
And…where we had talked about digital integration before, that has changed what allows people to become celebrities. You know, whether it’s YouTube, whether it’s shows that I would not mention that deal with our state that may take place in a certain mobile home park in the Independent Republic of Horry…
I do know what you’re talking about.
Where cast members are getting arrested… That’s what qualifies for celebrity now.
You know that has changed. Reality show stars are definitely celebrities now so that has certainly changed in the world.
Does that give you a certain frustration?
A little bit. I understand the actors’ and actress’ frustration because they studied so hard to be where they are and gone through…worked so hard on what they call their craft being actors and actresses, then all of a sudden, these people who do something on a reality show become big celebrities. I can’t say that…it’s not frustrating because I enjoy a lot of the reality shows so much myself. I love to watch American Idol. I love to watch The Voice. I love to watch those kinds of shows. So I like the entertainment it provides. It’s just changed the world, that’s all. And it’s changed the way TV is because programming is so different and what you watch on television now. You can’t…there’s no network that you can watch that doesn’t have a reality show. They all realize that they have to continue to create it.
And there’s the cost that goes into that compared with a fully-scripted, fully-produced, “Let’s bring in a host of writers, and do a 3-camera sitcom or full hour-long drama.”
Yeah, it’s certainly cheaper to produce a reality show, no question about that, so that plays a big part into it because a reality show that doesn’t have the same amount of ratings that a scripted show has may survive just because it makes more profit because it costs less to produce. So it’s funny that can happen, but it can actually be a lesser rated show, but it makes more money, so it’s going to stick around.
What season is this for ET? I was trying to think.
I think it’s the 31st.
That’s amazing. And I know that you had mentioned Mary Hart earlier on and I know that that had to be a…not so much a daunting chair to fill but she had been there for so long. Did you have any hesitation when you got offered the gig?
It was a little daunting in knowing that she is the one that started it all. She was the host of the beginning of the entertainment shows so even my 13 years of Access Hollywood…I told Mary when I came aboard and I knew Mary from many years before because we had been on the red carpet together. I have always adored her and we were friends so…but I told her I credited her with my job at Access Hollywood that I had for 13 years because if I had not been for Mary’s success, for ET’s success, then Access Hollywood would have never been created, which afforded me that job which wound me back at ET so then I tell her that I have her to thank for my job. And to get her blessing, too. You know Access and ET…when I was on Access. We were competitive shows in that we aired the same thing. ET was a much bigger show as far as their ratings, and the way it is produced and stuff like that but they’re considered competitors because they cover the same thing, so having been around in that world for a while helped to transition a little bit. Not quite so daunting because it wasn’t all new to me. It was going on a different show but to get her blessing helped in that feeling, too. For her to know that she had said, “This is the person I would like to replace me when I retire.” To have her say that is a huge help and a huge honor, and that helped in that transition a lot.
It probably took off a lot of pressure, as well.
It did and then, you know, I came in to ET…I forget how long before I took over but I was here for a good while while Mary was still here reporting, so that made the transition easier, as well.
Now, she was famously known for having her legs insured…
And she’s still got good legs, by the way. Maybe I need to. She still has good legs by the way. That’s one of the first things I noticed when I came here. No, I don’t have anything insured. Maybe I should do that. Maybe I should insure my Southern accent.
You know, it’s still there, just a little bit. If you pay attention and you listen, it’s there. And if you’re anything like I am, if you get upset it really comes out.
Now, see, you’ll say it’s there just a little bit because you’re used to hearing massive Southern accent like I am when I got back home. But here, everybody notices it.
Really?
Yeah, because just a little bit stands out to them. So people will be like, “Where in the South are you from?” And when I’m on stage, you know, I have to take it out and do more general, but Nancy is Nancy. And I used to have a massively Southern accent, so just years and years and years of doing the news, it kind of slowly came out. But if you could hear my sister and my dad and my family, there is no question. I’ve got a Southern accent.
You were able to play off that a little bit on Nashville Star.
Right. I was able to become a little more Southern and say, “Y’all” or “All of y’all.”
Which I’ve noticed is becoming more prevalent in general vernacular. People seem to be using it more outside of the Southeast.
They are. I think it is very contagious. People pick up on a Southern accent. I think that it’s fun. Like I said, the plural of “y’all” is “all y’all,” and everybody seems to like that little phrase.
How have the TMZs of the world, the Tyler Durdens, or Superficials changed the way that you approach reporting from a mainstream entertainment outlet news reporting angle?
Funny thing about “Entertainment Tonight.” It’s just that huge credibility from the fact it’s been around for so long. You know it doesn’t have the banner of being a tabloid show attached to it, so we see it in our ratings. When there is a big entertainment story, a celebrity gets in trouble, or the day after the Oscars or the day after the Golden Globes or whatever. Our ratings spike so much. I get so proud of that because to me, that means that…we’ve got that credibility factor when there’s a big story, we’re the one that everybody turns to. On a daily basis, it happens as well, but you really see it when big stories happen and you want to get the truth and you want to get the information first. You want to get the total information and I think that’s what ET prides itself on — the fact that celebrities do come to us to reveal the true side of the story or they do come to us with a big exclusive or they do come to us for an interview and I think that is how the show will always distinguish itself as truly the entertainment news, not the gossip because we’re going to go out and get the facts and the figures, and we’re going to cover it like no one else covers it. I say that with great pride.
And after 31 years, like you said, there is that credibility. People know that they can trust it.
They’re doing something right to have stuck around for 31 years. You know?
Absolutely. Well, I know that we’ve been trying to get this discussion scheduled for quite some time but there was awards season that you had to get through first, and it seems like there was something every weekend. What event during awards season is your number one?
I love the Grammys, first of all, which are fun and loose and crazy. We get special access because they’re on CBS, and my personal favorite is…everybody thinks it is going to be the Oscars or Golden Globes, but I’m sure you can probably guess that the Country Music Awards are my personal favorite because I am Southern
and I grew up listening to country music.
And you’re a member of the ACM.
I am, and to be there, and to present and hang out with the country music stars… It is my favorite for several reasons. A) I’m a huge fan of country music. B) The country music stars are so down to earth and normal. They don’t walk around with huge entourages, not that all the other celebrities do that, they don’t but a lot of them do, and it’s just that country music stars are just…they’re very genuine. They’re very down to earth, act very normal. You know? You feel like you can just go greet them left and right and hang out and have a good chat with them.
And, of course, one of the biggest country stars around right now is also from South Carolina. From Charleston. Darius Rucker.
That’s right. I saw him at the ACMs. I love Darius, and that’s what we always say when we see each other. “Hello, fellow South Carolinian.”
Even though he may have gone to a different school and wears a different color jersey, that’s OK. We love our Gamecock friends.
Now listen. I always say this, and my Clemson Tiger friends get a little mad at me for saying this, but I say I pull for South Carolina when they’re not playing Clemson. And they’re like, “How could you do that? You cannot pull for South Carolina.” Absolutely I do because my mother went there, and it’s a fellow…it’s another school in the state. I think we should all be supportive of each other when we’re not playing each other.
Well, I would agree. The degree on my wall says University of South Carolina but I have already written my IPTAY check, and I have to pay for our season tickets to Clemson by Monday.
There you go, so you can be both, too.
We split the money and allegiance here, as well.
I hear you.
But you have to do that. You really do. I know you have a lot going on and I do so much appreciate your taking time, Nancy. Congratulations on the award nomination for Little Ashby. Congratulations on the honorary doctorate from Clemson. Congratulations on all of the success that you’ve achieved so far and continue to build. I just wanted to remind everybody that you can watch Nancy on ET all week long. Check your local listings for air times and stations. You can watch each day’s full episodes online at etonline.com. Thank you so much Nancy. It was a real pleasure. I appreciate you joining us here at CRESCENT.
It’s so good to talk to you. Thanks for having me.
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- Visit Nancy O’Dell Online: www.nancyodell.com
- Follow Nancy O’Dell on Twitter: twitter.com/NancyODell
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- “Entertainment Tonight”: HERE
- Nancy O’Dell’s Award-Nominated App “Little Ashby Star Reporter” HERE
- Nancy O’Dell’s Foundation to Cure ALS “Betty’s Battle” HERE
- Best Buddies HERE
- Listen to or download CRESCENT’s complete interview with Nancy O’Dell HERE
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