Rona Barrett: Old-School Gossip Girl

Article

By Richard Knight, Jr.
June 24, 2009

From the late 1960s through the 1980s Rona Barrett—queen of the gossip columnists—was practicing a form of respectful, empathetic celebrity journalism light years away from the “gotcha” tabloid approach that is the norm today. After conquering Hollywood via her syndicated print outlets and self-named magazines, Barrett was also the first to bring the long-form, intimate celebrity interview specials to television. In 1986 she purchased a ranch in Santa Ynez , Calif., commuting to and from Los Angeles. By 1991 she retired to the ranch and devoted herself to various pet causes, including her own Rona Barrett Foundation for the Elderly Poor.

Now, a DVD compilation of many of her famous interviews, titled Rona Barrett’s Hollywood : Nothing but the Truth, has been released, with $1 from each DVD going to the foundation. Barrett, famous for compassionate interview technique, was warm and forthcoming in an exclusive interview with Windy City Times.

Windy City Times: When I watch these interviews again I’m struck by your gentle approach to these celebrities and your ability to get them to trust you. Is there a journalist working today who still practices that kind of journalism?

Rona Barrett: I want to say Robert Osbourne on TCM but only because he’s given the time on TCM to do more in-depth pieces and I think that’s the real issue and the real problem with all of these new programs that have come along. It’s two minutes and out, a thirty second sound bite and very rarely do they allow more than a few minutes for anyone to say anything.

WCT: You work very hard to raise the profile of the plight of the homeless elderly–that’s what led in part to this DVD collection—as a way to raise funds.

RB: I’m sorry if I ramble when I get on the subject but I’m very passionate about it.

WCT: No, no, I’m right there with you as an aging gay man. There’s a whole other set of issues to talk about there. A lot of elderly gays and lesbians go back into the closet.

RB: Yes, they’re fearful that they’re going to be shunned. Proposition 8 here deals with people’s freedom and you can’t say everyone is basically free and has the right to do what they want to do when you suddenly put up a bar and say, “I’m sorry, gay people cannot get married if they want to.” It’s not about gay people–it could be about anybody. Who’s next? What’s next?

WCT: Your prime years as a gossip columnist coincided with the rise of Barbra Streisand and the death of Judy Garland, both major gay icons. Did you get a chance to interview either of them?

RB: One day after one of my newscasts I was in the newsroom around 11:30pm and someone said, “Hey, Rona there’s a phone call for you” and I said, “Who is it?” and they said, “They say it’s Judy Garland.” Sure enough, it was Judy Garland and she was calling to tell me how much she appreciated my honesty on TV and that I was so refreshing and then we met and continued as friends and that’s how I met Liza. I probably did one of the longest obits ever on television when Judy passed away. I think it ran about 13 minutes.

WCT: She died much too young.

RB: Oh, yes. And Barbra–I never got to interview on television for reasons that only Barbra knows but I did her first big, syndicated newspaper article and we got along famously. We ended up a number of times together at her agents Sue Mengers home together. Barbra was always very careful about what she was saying even at a private party.

WCT: Now Cher, another gay icon, is interviewed in this DVD collection, and you mention in your newly recorded intro that Chastity, her daughter, has come out and is a big part of the gay community. What was the perception of LGBT celebrities in your heyday? I’m sure the closet door was much more securely in place.

RB: Absolutely, and had been for years. I think the feeling of most of the press and there were far many more men than women, was to look the other way. Everybody was in the closet but a lot people knew who was and who wasn’t gay but stars were exceedingly careful. I know what your next question is—how do you feel about outing, right?

WCT: Sure, right, yes. I’d love to have your opinion on that.

RB: I never have believed in outing. I believe it is a person’s right to state what he or she prefers and if they feel like stating that, bravo to them.

WCT: Bravo, indeed!

RB: I mean all of us in Hollywood knew that Rock [Hudson] was gay but he was so good to the press, people just didn’t want to damage him. We all knew that the marriage to Phyllis was an arranged marriage but the star machinery was at work and we went along. That was true of almost every homosexual actor. The women managed to hide it a lot better.

WCT: It was great to see this huge collection of celebrities together. Will there be another volume and who will be included?

RB: Let me put it to you this way: If this does well, we’ll see! [Laughs]