Whoopi
Encyclopedia
Whoopi is an American situation comedy
, starring Whoopi Goldberg
. The series revolved around the events and people at her hotel, the Lamont Hotel, in New York City
. The show aired on Tuesdays from September 9, 2003, on NBC
to April 2004.
and That '70s Show
, Academy Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg
(Ghost
) executive produced and starred in this comedy as one-hit wonder
Mavis Rae, a cigarette-smoking, alcohol-drinking, menopausal and especially opinionated hotelier. The former one-hit wonder runs her own small hotel in New York City
- and does it any way she wants.
Fifteen years earlier, Mavis had one huge, spectacular hit song, "Don't Hide Love". Quickly realizing that her initial success was a fluke, she parlayed her finances from that hit into purchasing the Lamont Hotel in Manhattan
. Mavis operates the hotel on her charm and wit while assisted by Nasim (Omid Djalili
), who is a native of Iran
. Also in the regular cast were Mavis's brother Courtney (Wren T. Brown
), a conservative Republican
, and his girlfriend Rita (Elizabeth Regen), who spoke jive
and was portrayed with an exaggerated urban black stereotype despite the fact that she was white. Rita and Mavis frequently clashed over the course of the series, leading to many of the conflicts that drove the plot of each episode.
Terry Turner
Larry Wilmore
David Wyatt
Chris Alberghini
Marcy Carsey
Mike Chessler
Whoopi Goldberg
Mike Larsen
Tom Leonardis
Caryn Mandabach
Pat Nugent
Laurie Parres
David Regal
Tom Werner
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, starring Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
. The series revolved around the events and people at her hotel, the Lamont Hotel, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The show aired on Tuesdays from September 9, 2003, on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
to April 2004.
Premise
From the creators and executive producers of 3rd Rock From the Sun3rd Rock from the Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet...
and That '70s Show
That '70s Show
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
, Academy Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
(Ghost
Ghost (film)
Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.-Plot:...
) executive produced and starred in this comedy as one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
Mavis Rae, a cigarette-smoking, alcohol-drinking, menopausal and especially opinionated hotelier. The former one-hit wonder runs her own small hotel in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- and does it any way she wants.
Fifteen years earlier, Mavis had one huge, spectacular hit song, "Don't Hide Love". Quickly realizing that her initial success was a fluke, she parlayed her finances from that hit into purchasing the Lamont Hotel in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Mavis operates the hotel on her charm and wit while assisted by Nasim (Omid Djalili
Omid Djalili
Omid Djalili is a British Iranian stand-up comedian, actor, television producer and writer.-Personal life:Djalili was born in Chelsea, London to Iranian Bahá'í parents and is a Bahá'í himself...
), who is a native of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Also in the regular cast were Mavis's brother Courtney (Wren T. Brown
Wren T. Brown
Wren Troy Brown is an American film, theater, and television actor.A fourth generation Angeleno, Mr. Brown is also a fourth generation theatrical. He is in his third decade as an actor, producer, and director.-Biography:...
), a conservative Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, and his girlfriend Rita (Elizabeth Regen), who spoke jive
African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
and was portrayed with an exaggerated urban black stereotype despite the fact that she was white. Rita and Mavis frequently clashed over the course of the series, leading to many of the conflicts that drove the plot of each episode.
Cast
- Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
– Mavis Rae - Omid DjaliliOmid DjaliliOmid Djalili is a British Iranian stand-up comedian, actor, television producer and writer.-Personal life:Djalili was born in Chelsea, London to Iranian Bahá'í parents and is a Bahá'í himself...
– Nasim - Wren T. BrownWren T. BrownWren Troy Brown is an American film, theater, and television actor.A fourth generation Angeleno, Mr. Brown is also a fourth generation theatrical. He is in his third decade as an actor, producer, and director.-Biography:...
– Courtney Rae - Elizabeth Regen – Rita Nash
Notable guest stars
- Diahann Carroll as Mavis's mother, Viveca Rae (episode: Mother's Little Helper)
- Sheryl Lee RalphSheryl Lee RalphSheryl Lee Ralph is an American actress, singer, and activist.-Personal life:Raised between Mandeville, Jamaica, and Long Island, New York, Sheryl Lee Ralph was born in Waterbury, Connecticut to an African American father and a Jamaican mother. Sheryl attended Uniondale High School in Uniondale, NY...
as Mavis's former band mate, Florence Lamarck (episode: She Ain't Heavy, She's My Partner) - Patrick SwayzePatrick SwayzePatrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
as Mavis's former choreographer, Tony (episode: The Last Dance) - Rue McClanahanRue McClanahanRue McClanahan was an American actress, best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on Maude, Fran Crowley on Mama's Family, and Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1987.-Early life:McClanahan was born Eddie Rue...
as a hotel guest using marijuana with a group of "ill" seniors (episode: American Woman)
Main crew
Shannon FogartyTerry Turner
Terry Turner
Terrance Lamont Turner was an infielder in Major League Baseball who played between 1901 and 1919 for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Cleveland Naps/Indians and Philadelphia Athletics . Turner batted and threw right-handed...
Larry Wilmore
Larry Wilmore
Larry Wilmore is an American writer, actor and television producer.-Early life:Wilmore grew up in suburban Los Angeles, the child of a Catholic family. His father is a doctor...
David Wyatt
David Wyatt
Davit Wyatt is an English commercial artist. Born in Northampton, he was adopted and raised in West Sussex. As a child, he learnt to play the piano; however, his interest in reading and drawing combined into a love of comics....
Chris Alberghini
Chris Alberghini
Chris Alberghini is an American television director and producer. Alberghini has worked on several shows as a producer and director, the most popular being Tori Spelling's VH1 sitcom, So NoTORIous, and Reba.-External links:*...
Marcy Carsey
Marcy Carsey
Marcy Carsey is American television producer. She is best known for her work with fellow producer Tom Werner forming the company Carsey-Werner Productions in 1981.-Life and career:...
Mike Chessler
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
Mike Larsen
Tom Leonardis
Caryn Mandabach
Caryn Mandabach
Caryn Mandabach is an American television producer.Caryn Mandabach produced ground-breaking US hits including The Cosby Show, Roseanne, A Different World , Grace Under Fire , Cybill , 3rd Rock from the Sun , That '80s Show , That '70s Show , and Grounded for Life .Most recently...
Pat Nugent
Laurie Parres
David Regal
Tom Werner
Tom Werner
Thomas Charles "Tom" Werner is an American television producer and businessman who, via his investment in New England Sports Ventures, is chairman of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club....