MARG ON ‘THE QUEEN LATIFAH’ SHOW – (TRANSCRIPT)
January 27, 2014
Queen Latifah: My first guest though is one of the coolest ladies in primetime TV. I’m such a big fan of hers. She’s an Emmy winner who starred twelve seasons on the hit CSI. Now she’s returned to television with another hit, Intelligence. Please welcome my girl, Marg Helgenberger!
Marg: Oh wow! Thank you.
Queen Latifah: Thank you so much for being here.
Marg: My goodness, what a lovely audience you have here. Fantastic!
Queen Latifah: Marg Helgenberger.
Queen Latifah: Oh man, I feel like I know you. I’ve had people say this to me sometimes when they meet me: “Hey, I feel like I know you.” I feel like I know you.
Marg: Oh…
Queen Latifah: I mean you’ve become so familiar with us. Right, you guys? (Audience applauds.)
Marg: Oh, thank you.
Queen Latifah: And we just missed each other at the People’s Choice Awards I heard.
Marg: We did. In fact, Josh and I were standing backstage when you received your award…Congratulations!
Queen Latifah: Thank you so much. Thank you.
Marg: And Josh said, we were looking at the monitor just like here, and he goes “God, I really like her.” and I said “I do too.” I said ‘I had one of her albums back in the day.”
Queen Latifah: Are you serious?
Marg: I did. I had your album ‘Nature of a Sista’.
(Marg and Queen Latifah high five.)
Queen Latifah: Oh my, girl!
(Cover of album is shown)
Queen Latifah: You know what? I knew I liked you for some reason. See, so you know what ‘Nature of… And she said it right, ‘Nature of a Sista’
Marg: Yeah.
Queen Latifah: It wasn’t sister. It was sista’
Marg: And one of the tracks was ‘Bad as a Mutha’.
Queen Latifah: Yes it was. Bad as a…you know, I was in my zone. I was like ‘Woman!’ and ‘Roar!’
Marg: And that was a great photo of you too.
Queen Latifah: I love that picture.
Marg: You had that African hat on.
Queen Latifah: I did. I got that crown on. Soft lighting and a decent make-up person. Which was hard for me to get back then in those days. You know, I’m all right now. I’m good now.
Marg: Yeah. You look awesome.
Queen Latifah: I’m good now, but yeah I loved that photo shoot. Thank you so much.
Marg: Yeah, I was a big fan.
Queen Latifah: Well, how about that? And we have another thing in common other than hip hop. Football.
Marg: Oh yes. I’m a big football fan.
Queen Latifah: You a big football…
Marg: Yes, I am. Huge.
Queen Latifah: Okay, Super Bowl is coming up.
Marg: Yeah.
Queen Latifah: Who’s your team? Who you got?
Marg: Well, my team the Carolina Panthers, were in the playoffs, but they didn’t make it. They got beaten by San Francisco.
Queen Latifah: Yes.
Marg: Who got beaten by… Who did they? It’s a blur now.
Queen Latifah: The Seahawks.
Marg: The Seahawks.
Queen Latifah: I think the Seahawks have really the coolest uniforms. And I just like their uniforms.
Marg: I like the blue green, yeah.
Queen Latifah: It is.
Marg: That lime green, navy.
Queen Latifah: Maybe it’s the girl in me, but I like the uniforms. I’m like ‘I could match that. You know I’ve said it. I could match that with a pair of jeans.’
Queen Latifah: But you guys are actually…It’s funny because what I hear on the show Intelligence, you guys are winning all the football pools. The ladies are sort of ‘in the know’ about…
Marg: I won two weeks. Yes, I won two weeks. I won actually in CSI too. Because we did the whole season. I tied for first, got second place one year. But yes, Meghan Ory and I, we talk about football and the guys are talking about, believe it or not, like lactation experts because they are all having babies and we just look at each other and kind of roll our eyes like ‘Can you believe these guys?’
Queen Latifah: Okay, that’s funny.
Marg: They’re talking about diapers and this and that.
Queen Latifah: Meanwhile, you’re like…who you got in the game.
Marg: My son’s way past the diaper phase.
Queen Latifah: Oh wow, that is so cool.
Queen Latifah: So we’ve had a lot of amazing guests on this show. But I don’t think we’ve had anyone who’s had an actual street named after them. You have a street named after you.
Marg: Well, there’s only so many of us.
(Audience applauds.)
Queen Latifah: How on earth did that come about?
Marg: Well, my hometown of North Bend Nebraska — population 1,200. They wanted to honor me. They were so proud of me and they wanted to honor me and they said…they suggested, ‘How about a street?’ And I said, ‘Sounds good to me.’
Queen Latifah: How about a street?
Marg: Helgenberger Avenue is the street I grew up on.
(Picture of Marg and her mom in front of street sign shown.)
(audience applauds)
Queen Latifah: So cool.
Marg: There it is. That’s my mom.
Queen Latifah: Wow! Hi mom.
Marg: Yes.
Queen Latifah: What is that like? To go home and, like, drive down you own street? And what do you do if somebody litters on your street or double parks?
Marg: Well, I went back…
Queen Latifah: Do you get bossy about your street?
Marg: Well yes, I get territorial, I guess. I was there when the unveiling, or whatever you call it, that happened a few years ago. But I was in North Bend a couple summers ago and I had to, of course, check and see what was going on on my street. It was dead. There was nobody around, you know. But it was still there. You know because sometimes I think that they’d either vandalize it…
Queen Latifah: Yeah.
Marg: or steal it or something. But it’s still there.
Queen Latifah: I get nervous about that with my star. I don’t want…there’s not to many things in my career that I’ve ever been, like, so excited about but that star on the Walk of Fame, I’m really, really (audience applauds)…Because it’s kind of like the realization of a 17 year old kid’s dream, you know.
Marg: I know. I know.
Queen Latifah: But I’m always nervous that it’s going to move.
Marg: Where is yours?
Queen Latifah: It’s near the…I’m, like, right by Michael Jackson and, like, Sharon Stone and Hattie McDaniel. But I…kind of right there in the mix of things. But I’m, like, there’s no way they can leave this here forever. You know, this thing’s gonna go down by Gower or…I mean you’ve got to come to L.A. to know these streets. Somehow I’m just gonna go there one day at two in the morning and it’s just going to be gone.
Marg: Awwww.
Queen Latifah: Please don’t move my star, man.
Marg: Yeah.
Queen Latifah: And don’t you dare move her street sign either. You guys be nice.
Queen Latifah: Hey, so you seem pretty quick on the draw you know. You’ve kept us going on CSI and now you’re on Intelligence. So I wonder if you would stick around and play a fun little game in our next segment?
Marg: I would love to play a game.
(Audience applauds.)
Queen Latifah: Yes! That’s a good sport. Well, I’m going to put Marg on the spot with a little game called Blankety Blank. We’ll be right back.
(Commercial Break)
(Clip from Intelligence is shown)
Queen Latifah: There it is. That was Marg Helgenberger in her new hit show Intelligence.
Queen Latifah: You always play strong women. Is that something you kind of set out to do intentionally or you played strong women. Is that an intentional…
Marg: I can’t say that I set out to play a strong woman, but I am happy to be the one to fulfill that role. I mean, I think it’s really important to put that image out there, that women are strong.
Queen Latifah: Yes, absolutely. Strong, capable, smart.
Marg: Yes.
Queen Latifah: I just think…I love the complete characters that you seem to get to play. The range of the type of characters you get to play is really cool.
Marg: Oh, thank you.
Queen Latifah: So congratulations because it was two years ago today that you yourself got your star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(picture of Marg at her star shown)
(audience applauds)
Marg: Thank you, thank you.
Queen Latifah: Where’s that, girl?
Marg: I’m in front of Musso & Frank’s.
Queen Latifah: Musso & Frank’s
Marg: Which is a classic Hollywood joint.
Queen Latifah: Yeah, How was that for you? That experience.
Marg: It was great too, because my family from Nebraska came and fans. I’m sure you had fans that came from all over the world.
Queen Latifah: Yes.
Marg: It was so amazing. It was just touching, really touching.
Queen Latifah: I’m sure that…
Marg: And then when they really reveal it. And you’re like “Oh”. Kind of stops your heart, right? A little bit. It’s cool.
Queen Latifah: And you’re more than happy to get on the ground and kind of, you know.
Marg: I know it.
Queen Latifah: It just means a lot to have your family and your fans there and just know how far you’ve come. It’s a great recognition.
Queen Latifah: And we learned a lot about your professional side. But I’d like to learn a little more about your personal side there, Marg.
Marg: Okay.
Queen Latifah: In a fun little game we like to call Blankety Blank.
Marg: Bring it on.
Queen Latifah: Oh, bring it on, that’s what I’m talking about. So I’m going to you know kind of throw these sentences out and you have to fill in the blanks.
Marg: Okay.
Queen Latifah: Alright. Number one, Never interrupt me when I’m ‘blank’.
Marg: Watching my Carolina Panther football team.
Queen Latifah: Don’t talk to me when the game is on. Seems so simple.
Marg: It is.
Queen Latifah: Doesn’t always happen.
Marg: I know.
Queen Latifah: Alright, Two. If you ask my family and friends to use one word to describe me, it would probably be…
Marg: Solid.
Queen Latifah: That’s a good word. Rock solid. I like, I like.
Queen Latifah: For Valentine’s Day, my boyfriend gave me a…
Marg: Gave me ‘a’ or…. (Marg laughs)
Queen Latifah: Whatever the blank.
Marg: Well, he better give me…. Satisfaction! (Laughs).
(audience applauds)
Queen Latifah: It’s the simple things. You know she’s solid. You know don’t talk to her during the game. And give her some sat… See, I know I liked you for a reason, Marg. I’m telling you.
Queen Latifah: I’m never happier than when I’m…
Marg: As earnest as it may sound, Swimming in the ocean with my guys. With my son, with my boyfriend.
Queen Latifah: Yeah.
Marg: It’s just, I love… If the ocean water is warm.
Queen Latifah: Yes.
Marg: If it’s cold, not so much.
Queen Latifah: Not so much, not so much. Got it. You make me have visions of that right now. That’s be so nice.
Queen Latifah: It’s a waste of time, but I just can’t stop, blank.
Marg: Oh, there’s some silly blogs that I find myself reading, you know, late at night. (Marg laughs.)
Queen Latifah: Anything good?
Marg: Nothing even raunchy. That’s how pathetic it is.
Queen Latifah: What kind of subjects?
Marg: There’s one called ‘Go Fug Yourself’ (Audience Laughs)
Queen Latifah: Go Fug Yourself, I’ve heard of ‘Go Fug Yourself’.
Marg: It’s a fashion blog actually. And these girls are funny. The woman who write it are really funny. They make some hilarious comments about some tragic fashion faux pas.
Queen Latifah: (To her producer) Yeah, we’ll find them. We’ll find them, Corin? Alright, good because if we don’t, I’m gonna blank and we gonna blank and it’s blank. (Marg and audience laughs)
Queen Latifah: So back to Blankety Blank. If they ever made a movie of my life it should be called…
Marg: ‘From Boner to Boss.’ (Audience applauds)
Queen Latifah: From boner to boss.
Marg: Yeah, You may wonder why I say boner.
Queen Latifah: I need you to…I’m sure they’re wondering why from boner to boss.
Marg: Because when I was working my way through college in the summers, I worked in a meat packing plant. One of my jobs was as a boner. You know, I was trimming meat off, fat off. Oh god! I’m going to dig myself into a big hole here. But that’s what I was called. That’s what they’re called, boners.
Queen Latifah: But now you’re a boss.
Marg: But now I’m a boss.
Queen Latifah: Now you’re a boss.
Marg: That’s right.
Queen Latifah: You see, hard work and a…
Marg: It paid off.
Queen Latifah: You know, Oh there’s a million of ’em we could, we could go there all day long. But thank you so much for being here, Marg.
Marg: Thank you. My pleasure.
(audience applauding)
Queen Latifah: (jokes) And look for for her new book ‘From Boner to Boss’, (Marg and Latifah laugh) New York Times best selling author. I definitely would read it. In the meantime, you look for Marg on Intelligence every Monday at 10PM on CBS.