Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes) - Candice Bergen

Episode Date: July 8, 2026

Candice Bergen answers Ted Danson's questions about her unbelievable life, including an arson incident and her brush with the Manson murders. She also talks about her experience with Jane Goodall and the time she had a beef with a sitting Vice President—but not before a surprise visit from a dear friend.    Like watching your podcasts?  Visit http://youtube.com/teamcoco to see full episodes.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

And she didn't want anything to do with me. I wanted to go and visit her in Africa. Get away. And... Welcome back to where everybody knows your name. I am so excited to talk to my dear friend Candice Bergen today. She is the loveliest person and has led an extraordinary life in TV and film from Murphy Brown to Boston Legal to Gandhi to the book club movies. which she was in with my wife, Mary Steenbergen.

Speaking of Mary, you might be hearing from her laters. Oh, stick around. So let's get to it. Meet my dear friend, our dear friend, Candice Bergen. It's so interesting to sit down and talk on a podcast with somebody you know and love, which I do. Likewise. I know Mary's your favorite, and unfortunately she can't be here.

Your equal favorites. But she sends love. Oh, well, and I'll be seeing you guys. I know. Yes. Come on night. Yes. Yeah.

Pre-celebrations for a big birthday. No. No. Really, I'm going to be 80, and I just hate it. Yeah. You beat me by about a year. Really? Yeah.

You know, I had a big birthday celebration for my 70th. didn't phase me one way or another, but 80, it's like, go away. It's just not a good one. This is my impression of baby boomers passing the baton. No. Not yet. No! Yeah.

It kind of feels that way. Yeah. Just, I mean, I sat there looking at, I do, we have the wonderful research team. So I get to research even my own friends. But this is some of the, because it just cracks me up, what we're going to talk about. Grew up in Hollywood, your father, Edgar Bergen, and I'm just going to list stuff, and we'll go back. Arguably, no, not arguably, one of the most famous people in Hollywood during that period in his life, he and Charlie McCartney. Because he had a radio show.

There was no TV yet. So radio was it. I mean, it was a major form of entertainment. And my father had a radio show that was very popular. It was like number one or number two. So people listened to it and he was very funny. It was very well written, even though he was a ventriloquist on radio. Right.

I was going to ask you that. Such a contradiction. But everybody... Did he do other things so people believed that he was indeed a ventriloquist? Otherwise, you're taking his word for it on radio. I think they just took his word for it. Charlie McCarthy. Charlie McCarthy.

Charlie McCarthy. Yeah. Right. All right. We'll double back and get him in a minute. All right. As a young woman, a young teen in Switzerland, you burned down a restaurant. No, don't respond.

Don't respond, but it's true. You've had a date with Donald Trump and Henry Kissinger. Don't respond. You are a world famous model. You were by chance way too close. close to the Manson murders. You were a photojournal. You spent two weeks with Jane Goodell in...

Oh. Don't know. Wait, we'll come back to all these. Co-starred with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson, Sean Connery, Burke Reynolds. Ten years on Murphy Brown, one of the best sitcoms ever.

So good. You won five Emmys. We'll get back to that. So good that you were asked to be on 60 minutes as a journalist. afterwards. Come back to that. Married some of the most amazing men. Louis Mall, Marshall Rose, a daughter who's astounding, Chloe, and you have two or one grandson? Two. Grandson and a granddaughter. And a granddaughter. Six and four. Mary will never forgive me. You're not getting that right. And I got to

know you because of the book club movies. Got to know you more. Yes. Let's back up. Okay. Sorry. but you are just astounding. And this was the tip of the iceberg. But I know you've talked about this adenosium, but you were kind of second fiddle sometimes to your dad's dummy. Kind of. Always. I mean, I was, when I was born,

it was on the front page of the LA Times or examiner or whatever it was then. Charlie McCarthy has a sister. That's who I was Charlie McCarthy's sister. And then Charlie McCarthy was always my brother. And it just went on and on. He had his own bedroom. Next to mine. Yes.

Yeah. And he had heads in the bedroom. There was an old Charlie in the closet. And I would go in there sometimes. And there was an old Charlie head. There was a sleepy Charlie head. and my father would change the heads because when you were a ventriloquist

you had a dummy and you could and the head went into the body they were separate parts so back then as a young child you probably didn't feel second fiddle this was just the water you were swimming in yes or no

it was it was the water with a lot of wood in it yeah but then at some point when he had a will your father put Charlie McCarthy his dummy in the will and not you. Is that?

Yes, that's true, Ted. That's true. Years of therapy or what? That was a moment. I remember in my mother's living room and thinking, huh, there was just no other,

there was nothing else to say other than, huh. But evidently it was because I'd sort of gone off on my own from the age of 19 and made my own living. And I made a good one because I was in a profession that was overpaid. And my father didn't think I needed money. How old were you when he passed that? Rough? 30, maybe.

Oh, so you really were out in the world, not just as a model, but acting and that stuff. But he also took you around with him. He didn't exclude you from the business. You did go with him. I appeared on the radio show, and I loved it going on the radio. I was like six, and I was such a pain. I loved being on the radio show. And he gave you good advice about...

Yes, my father, at the time it was so boring, but it was so true. He said, Candy, I want you to focus on your interests and do not think exclusively about acting. He said, I want you to focus on your photography and on your writing and develop those interests as well. And you were already writing? I wrote a number of pieces for a magazine called Esquire at the time,

which was sort of a literary magazine. and I always kind of kept writing. Backing up a little bit, you went to, was it Westlake then? Westlake, Westlake. Now Harvard Westlake. Now it's Harvard, Westlake. When, for how long? I went for the full term. I went from first grade, there was no kindergarten, from first grade through senior year with a year away in Switzerland, my sophomore year. Okay, that's talking about it.

The restaurant. My favorite stories about you. Okay, you were a bit of a rascal, I guess, in Switzerland. Yeah. Yeah. But one time you were in a... Just tell the story. I mean, it's true.

The end result is you burned down a restaurant, but please tell it. It wasn't just any restaurant either. It was the nicest restaurant. It was the olden in Stad, in a ski resort, where the school I was going to was set. And we were a group I had snuck out because I was only 14. I wasn't allowed to go out at night. So I'd snuck out.

And I was sitting at a long table with other girls that were older. And we were drinking wine, which you could do in Switzerland because there was no age restriction. And I said, oh, let's, and we were having fondue, meet fondue, which, just meat cooked in fat. And I said, oh, let's flavor the fat. Let's put some wine in the fat. So I jauntily dumped my glass in the fat and this flame went up onto the ceiling of the restaurant. And we were all evacuated. It was snowing outside. So it caught wood and curtains? It caught a lot, especially me.

Well, no, but I mean, I was not allowed out for the rest of them. And quite rightly. And the restaurant was evacuated and repaired and then reopened. So, and then I went back to Stad with my second husband, Marshall Rose. We were walking in the village, and a very nice-looking, older ski instructor said, excuse me, but aren't you, Candace Bergen? And I said, yes, I am. And he said, aren't you the woman who burned down the old and I said, yes, I am.

So my name had lived on. That's fantastic. Why did you go away to school? Were you being sent away or was this just of? It was my idea. I don't know how I even knew about schools in Switzerland, but I had heard of them. And I thought, I need to get away from palm trees because I grew up in Beverly Hills. And it was beginning to suffocate. So I asked my parents if I could go away for a year to Switzerland. And they said, well, okay. I was like, why?

But they let me go. And I went with a friend of mine, Vicky Maland, who was the daughter of Ray Maland. And we went together to school in Switzerland. And my parents came to visit me two months after I'd started there. And I met them at their hotel. I'd put a moon glow rinse on my hair. And I pulled out of Marlborough. and I was 14 and ordered a Bloody Mary.

And my mother burst into tears quite rightly. And it was just like, Edgar, what are we going to do with her? I love that. Did you speak French going into the Switzerland? No, I didn't. I spoke French coming out of it. You did. Wow.

Which served you? Which served me well when I met Louis. Louis Mal, who was the love of my life. And I didn't mention that I spoke French to him until six months after we were married. And he somehow I answered the phone in our hotel in French. And he looked to me, he said, I didn't know you spoke French. Do describe Louis Mal because he was the most respected. a French filmmaker, one of France's finest filmmakers,

but he sort of abandoned France, which they never forgave him for, and went to America to make movies. He made a movie called Pretty Baby with Susan Sarandon and Brooke Shields and was about prostitutes in New Orleans. And he was a very gifted filmmaker. and from a very fine French family which made light bulbs or something. He lived up in sort of above Paris, and I went to visit where he was born, was really deadly. And he was a very cultivated, educated, charming.

He was the most charming guy. How did you meet? We met at a party, a lunch or a dinner at Dionne von Furstenbergs in Connecticut. And I was sitting next to him. I didn't know who he was. And we were sort of eating our whatever. She served very nice meals. And we were introducing ourselves.

And he said, I'm Louis Malley. You are? I was so impressed. I've been sitting next to this guy who was so quiet. quiet. And who made the first move? He did, thank God. And we were together, and

it took us a while. We saw each other again at another dinner in L.A. And then we started seeing each other. We jumped ahead just a little bit. Because when you were, I don't know, old you were when you, I'm going to bring up the time, the Manson kind of connection to your life. And one of my best friends was Guy Webster, who you knew as well. Yeah.

And I didn't know you were friends with Guy. Yeah, Guy and Leon. From Ohio. Yes, from Ohio. From there, everything comes to me via Mary, except my kids. But I think Leon Webster, his wife, you. you may have modeled with at the same time. She was a world famous all over the place model.

But anyway, Guy was best friends with Terry Melcher. Yeah. And you were going out with Terry Melcher when you were, I don't know, young. Twice I went out with Terry when I was 15 or 16. And then again, when I was 22, maybe. Right. and Terry is son of Doris Day and a big music producer and you were you guys were living together in this house right

and at that time Manson fancied himself as a perhaps a person of music and was trying to sell or get Terry interested is that do I have this story right Terry went out to Minson, I think, was camping at a ranch in Malibu Canyon, and Terry went out. He wanted to have his, he had a group of women who lived with him, and they wanted to, wanted for Terry to hear them sing. And so Terry went out to hear them sing. And then somebody came to the door. And Terry and I were living together at a house up in a canyon of Beverly Hills. And someone came to the door.

And it was, in fact, one of the Manson family members. And he was asking for Terry. And I just said he's not here and close the door. But then I was called to testify when they were arrested for the murders. Then Manson went on. Manson knew the house because he had visited Terry there. And then one day Terry came home and he said, we're moving. And I went, oh, oh, when?

He said, today. And Terry had found out that Manson now knew where he lived. And he was afraid of Manson coming to exact revenge for not giving him a recording contract or whatever, which is what you do. And so we left and moved to his mother's house at the beach. And then sometime later that was rented by Sharon Tate. And then the house on the hill was rented by Sharon Tate. And then Sharon, who was at the time pregnant,

had some guests over. And the Manson's, Manson didn't come himself, but he sent members of the Manson family. And they were all murdered and they were all horribly murdered. It really changed, I mean, I can only imagine. Changed L.A. overnight. Probably the whole country. Gates went up overnight. You locked your doors all of a sudden.

You locked your doors, you locked your gates and you did not let anyone in. Yeah, yeah. I know it was incredibly hard on Terry's life had an impact, I think, for the rest of his life. Yeah. It should have. Yeah. No, of course.

Of course. Was it, it must have rocked you as well. I mean... Yeah, I had... I had... We didn't find out who had committed the murders for months. Right. And I don't remember.

I remember, Terry and I had separated, and I called him to see how he was. I was away someplace, maybe back east. And he said, I can't believe you called me now. He said, the police have just left, and they know who committed the murders. And it was Charles Manson. And you just, it was by a hair. Sure. Crazy. Sorry. I mean, it's not, but it is one of those stories. It's just remarkable. Well, it affected the country, you're right. I mean, everybody was incredibly spooked by it. Yeah. Because no one was safe. That and Truman Capote's, I can't remember the name of the people. Black and white.

No, in cold blood. Yes. That book also, not the book, but the book that was about the murders in the middle of the country, I can't remember where. Really were the kind of two events that changed us all. Oh, wait, you know, we don't live in the 50s. We're vulnerable. So backing up again in that time frame, won't hold this against you. Oh, God.

No, no. No, it's funny. I love the story. that, I don't know, you were 18 or 19 or something, and you were at Penn. University of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania. And you had a date with Donald Trump. One date.

One date. Yes, one date. A young Trump. Young Trump. Right. They were the same age. Who showed up in a maroon limousine and matching suit and vest and shoes, boots. Maroon, patent.

leather boots. Yeah. Yeah. I love that story. And without any editorializing, I've heard you say I was home by nine. Yeah. It was short. And then the other famous date, explain Henry Kissinger. We're great friends with David Kissinger, who lives near us. But Henry Kissinger, when was that? Was that in the same time frame? Didn't you have a date with Henry Kissinger? I don't. Oh, no. No, you know, what? I think I did. I think he picked me up to go to Bob Evans' house for dinner. And he was lovely. Henry was great company, and he was smart. Smart. Beyond smart. And had great manners, and he was just, he was lovely company. Yeah. So that's just a little tidbit. I love those little tidbits in your life. But now you're modeling, then do you move to acting and then becoming a

photographer, photojournalist, or when did that photojournalist part of your life? That sort of was between the cracks from the beginning, from when I was 18, I think. Right. And so whenever I was in acting, I would go after, sort of follow stories. And And then I got a job with the Today Show, which was a very different creature in those days. But I would tell them what I wanted to photograph. They'd approve it. And I'd go off and come back and I'd make big prints of what I'd photographed. And I was so primitive.

And I would say, and this is a picture of the Ku Klux Klan and cross burning. I mean, and that's what I would do. And you did that? Yeah. Where'd you go for that? to Louisiana. Louisiana. David Duke, who was the grand dragon of the plan.

You also, on the other flip side of that coin, you went to Africa for two weeks. Yeah. Jane Goodall, who had just written a book called In the Shadow of Man about the closeness between chimpanzees and humans. And I was just fascinated by her. And she didn't want anything to do with me. I wanted to go and visit her in Africa. Get away. Pretty good, back the way.

And so finally, I just had to bribe my way in. So I got a magazine, a woman's magazine, to pay her $10,000, which she very much needed to keep her station, her research station, going on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. and I went there and I went there in a little boat and I was sort of had a seat on the top edge of the boat. And one of the men in the boat said, you want to marry me? I said, no, he really didn't take it well. And so then when we came near the beach, they sort of circled in the area of the beach. But I had to get out and water up to my chest. and held my cameras above my head, and I had a cheese.

Jane Goodall had said, you want to come bring a cheese. And so I had this 10-pound wheel of cheese in red wax on my head with my cameras, trying to not get the cheese wet, my cameras wet. And I stayed for two weeks on the beach. It was very primitive. I had just like a box with a screen door. was glad there was a screen door because the baboons would come in the morning because I was stupid enough to have bananas. I took a couple of bananas because there wasn't much to eat there.

And so they'd come from my bananas. And I was like, go away. And so I would throw the bananas out the door. And then I'd tear out the door and go in the opposite direction to the camp to see if I could get any kind of coffee look alike. Yeah. And did she let you tag along? Did you see gorillas or chimps? I didn't see it before. There were chimpanzees.

Gorillas were Diane Fosse territory. Sorry, you're absolutely right. And that was more toward the Congo, I believe. But the chimpanzees, and they were very leisure. I mean, they just would lie about and they'd pick fleas. off each other and they'd eat them like crackers and they were great and and and and Jane was eventually sort of let her guard down a little bit and would talk to me about stuff and and and then I went home I went home which makes it sound easy it was not to go home if you didn't go

in a boat across the lake. There were no boats around that time. You had to climb up a really big mountain. And I had a pair of sneak. All I brought... So you had to climb the mountain on the way out. Yeah. So I climbed the mountain on the way out.

And all I brought to wear were sneakers and blue jeans and a khaki shirt and four pair of underwear. And that's all I could fit in my camera bag with my cameras. So I climbed out and got a bus going into some town in Tanzania and got out. Wow. Did you guys stay in touch over the years? I would see her. I'd go to events where she was and she'd never recognized me.

She wasn't really cuddly with me. I think she men were, I sat at a dinner with her. Really? And Mary contends that she flirted terribly with me. Well, I know when I got there, she was still married to Hugo Van Wawick, who was a baron, a baron, Hugo Van Lovic, and he was a very handsome but slightly chimp-like man. and like to groom his wife

and darling can I root through your hair oh she's one of those people that I got to meet two or three times and oh no

here goes the neighborhood oh honey oh this is great blue Seth why does Ted get all the fun.

Blue, come here. I remember when you guys got Blue. Yeah. You had to give, Arthur, who was our dog beforehand, was one of your favorites, I know. Oh, he was. Blue is pretty, uh, yes.

I remember you being in front of the hotel because you were on Arthur duty when Mary was doing the movie. That did not go well. Can you describe what happened in front of, like? I was handing my bananas. way to go. No, in front of so many people in Rome with our dogs on like the first day. He was, yes, he will comfort you. He's very soft to touch.

Y'all can't see him, but this is a beautiful dog over here. He's a beautiful. Yeah. An Australian. Australian shepherd. Yes. Beautiful. And so clean. Yeah. Very clean. Blue. Come here and I'll get you up here so people can enjoy your.

Blue. Come here. Your beauty. By the way, Jane Goodall paid no attention to me. I was just telling you. And loved Ted. Loved him. What do you expect? That's what happens.

I've had to work at having you pay attention to me when Ted is around. It's very clear. When we go out to dinner, Candice is very nice and ask me one question and then she's all over you. That's always the way it goes. We fight over you. That's the truth. Blue, come here. Oh, well.

Blue's not on camera, so people are going to be very confused why we're... Oh, there we go. Ladies and gentlemen. Blue. Blue Dan Bergen. Yeah. Wait, tell them, have you told them the name of your dog? Bruce?

Bruce. Oh, and Bruce's brother? Lloyd. It's the best name ever. It's one of my best favorite names for a dog. Come on up. Okay. Now we got it.

Now we got a podcast. Now we got a podcast. Yes, we do. I fell in love with you even more during the book club movies because you did love our dog, Arthur. Oh, I did. I did. And we flew with him to. Yeah.

Yeah. He was a smaller version of this. L.A. We spent Mary's pretty much salary on getting Arthur to Rome. Because Arthur was not well. I'll just do this quick story about Arthur. Arthur was not well. And we said, well, we can't leave him and think of a while.

He was an older dog. Older dog. He was almost 18. Yeah. He was too old. He had intestinal problems. Let's put it that way. And we got to Rome.

And my first day there, I think pretty much as we were getting out, I said, of the car from the airport to the hotel, the Hotel de Roussey, which we loved, we, he needed to go to the bathroom. So I was just praying to get far enough away from the entrance to the hotel before he exploded. But I didn't. He right there in front of everybody. And then I made the mistake of trying to clean it up, which just makes it worse. Then I go down because he's not through. People were laughing.

It's one of those moments where... Paparazzi were there. Yeah, there were so many paparazzi that you learned how the word paparazzi came to be. Do you remember that? Like every day, early in the morning when we would go to work, they'd already be out there. And it's like American paparazzi. They're like, it's 10 o'clock. I guess it's time to go to work in the morning.

These guys were out there at like 5.30 in the morning. I don't remember. So they're capturing this whole thing with me cleaning up Arthur's mess. and I go, I got to get away from the front door. So I go down to the right a little bit. And there was that outdoor restaurant, remember? Where right in front of them, another explosion. And I leaned down to clean it up and my glasses fall off.

It was the most humbling time. Oh, God. Happy story is Arthur got well and lived for another year or two as a result of the vets in Rome. So anyway, there you are. And your glasses are, I... Yes. All new. Partially.

So here we are. I've gone through... Actually, I'd love to start talking about your acting career. We just did Jane Goodall. Because you have acted with... Well, tell me, all right, start with... First film was the group. Yeah.

Right. I did a minute in the group. Right. second film was, what was it? The sand pebbles? Yes, thank you. Sand pebbles, which you were really, really good in. That was forever in Taiwan.

And Taiwan in those days, there was no plumbing. So you'd be driving to work, and people would be squatting over the curb. Oh. How old were you? 20. Wow. How long were you there? I was in Taiwan for five months.

And then I was in, it was endless. I was in the Golden Dragon Suite. And I ordered oatmeal one morning, and they brought me half a watermelon. So that's how it went. And then we went to Hong Kong. We moved, which was heavenly. We were there for a month and a half. And then we went to Malibu Canyon.

I mean, it just went on. Wow. I was about 30 when we finished the movie. I just went forever. Okay, I hate people asking him, what was I like to work with questions, but come on. Steve McQueen.

He was great with me. He was great with me. He was, I mean, of course, he had a motorcycle there. He had whatever he wanted there. And I was dressed like a missionary, so it was not a fashionable thing. And so he would say, want to go on my back? Sure, Steve.

And I'd hop on his back, and we'd go off down the beach in the middle of shooting. And they say, okay, Steve, Steve. And nobody knew where he was. I mean, you would just, and he had, he traveled with three guys. They were like three goons. And then on the weekends, they'd beat people up. It was kind of like... Really?

Yeah. It was like gym or something. And I mean, they wouldn't kill people, but the room... In Asia, you have room boys. You have a... They are not boys, they're men, but they're called room boys, and they're on the corner of every hall. And if you need anything, they will get it for you.

So they would, let's go beat up a room boy. It was like, good. So the room boys got organized. And, I mean, there were brawls going on at night. Wow. Wow. Don't you love how he went, tell me, Candice, what's it like? Oh, sorry, Steve.

There you are. Wow. But he was great to me, and he was wonderful in that movie. Yeah, he was really good. Yeah, the whole movie was really good. Richard Crenna was in it and also very good. It was about the sand pebbles. The San Pablo.

The gunboat was called the San Pablo. And they would call them the sand pebbles, the sailors, the sand pebbles. Oh, sorry, thank you. And was it the Boxer Rebellion? Yeah, the Boxer Rebbeffield. Yeah. Really good movie. And you were wonderful in it.

You were, you were wonderful. But you didn't really know. You didn't take acting. I had no idea what I was doing. Yeah. And, but I tested for it. They said, okay, go. And then when they said, okay, go, little did I realize that it would be to spend the rest of my life in Asia.

Because you just never, it just never ended. Yeah. What's the longest movie you've ever been on? It wasn't a movie. It was, I did for the BBC. I did F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. and played Nicole Diver. And it was barely seen in the U.S.,

but the thing that it brought me was that Audrey Hepburn had watched it three times in three different languages. And we happened to meet one day in New York when I was waiting for an interview. And I'd asked when I heard she was there because my mother was there up from Arkansas. And I said, is there any way my mother and I could meet Ms. Hepburn?

And this very officious person said, no, no, no, she's very busy. Please don't even ask again. So I'm like, okay. And so I said to my mother, not to be deterred, if we stand and watch down this hallway, we might catch a glimpse of her when she leaves. And so she was leaving at one point. And we were like pinching each other going, there she is. And she looked down and she looked at me.

And then she comes walking up to me. And she said, are you Mary Steenbertschen? And first of all, cannot believe she knows who I am. Second of all, cannot believe she said my name correctly. And then I said, yes. And she goes, I've seen tenders the night three times in three different languages. Let's sit down and talk about it. So I was able to introduce.

to my mother and I have this amazing. And she kissed your cheeks. Yes. She said, may I kiss you? And I said, yes. And she kisses three times. You're very European. You're used to all these things.

But a kid from Arkansas, I was pretty blown away to all that stuff. I love that story. Yeah. Let's jump around. Who cares? What's some of your first memories of Candace and meeting her? Well, I met you, I met you early on when we were doing our one year, we did a series. Diane English wrote.

Yeah, Inc. And you played Ted's girlfriend or you guys dated or something for a while in the show. I looked that up this morning on Google and they have no record of it. But I do believe we even kissed. I'm just saying. I think we did. Very chastly. I think in Ted's mind, it was much, much more.

It was full on. It was a full on kiss, Candace. I think she had a lot of fantasies about it. And then she tilted her chin up just. Oh, I love that. It didn't even make Google, but in your mind it was like the hottest scene at Hall of Television. But was Book Club the first time you guys really got to hang out? Well, the crazy thing about Book Club was it was Candace, myself, Jane Fonda, and Dying Keaton, still have trouble talking about her in the past tense.

So maybe I won't. But anyway, none of us had worked together, really. We had been on the same show, but we didn't. I don't think we had scenes. together or if we did it was very minimal but but um all four of us had not worked together but i will tell you jane's best story about meeting candis which was when you were they were teenagers well candis was a teenager i don't know if jane was a teenager no offense jane but she's a little bit older than candis but jane was dating someone

Sandy Whitelaw. Okay. Oh, wow. And Sandy, they were talking about beauties or the most beautiful people in Los Angeles or something, one night. And he said, I know who the most beautiful person in Los Angeles is. I've seen her. And it's Edgar Bergen's daughter and Candice Bergen. And Jane goes, well, I have to see her.

And he goes, well, I actually have a reason to have to go over there. If you want to tag along, she might be there. And so they come over to your house and you're, I think, about 16 or something. And you had climbed up on a ladder. It's just such a perfect visual, you know. You climbed up on a ladder in the library. And you're like getting a book and they walk in. and you're getting the book,

and then you turn around, blonde hair, you know, swirls around, and you look at them, and Jane goes, oh, my God, you are right. And that was the first time she ever saw you. And you became known from that moment to anyone they would talk to

as the single most beautiful human in Los Angeles. Which went over, your head completely back in the hour. Yeah, you could care less. Yeah. Although you did say I read in some interview, it does give you a certain amount of license. To be really beautiful. Yeah, being beautiful is sometimes also you cut too many corners in a way that, you know,

if you walked in the room without being so beautiful, maybe your brain would have had to work harder or faster or something. There's certainly it dumbs you down. Yeah, that's, I didn't want to. want to say that in front of you, but those are the words. How do you feel, Ted? Oh, yes. You're known as quite. Terrible. And it succeeded in dumbing me down. Okay, jumping around back, because we mentioned Inc. and Diane English, how did that come about, Murphy Brown, which was just huge, but how did it come about in the very beginning? Do you remember

the first? I remember when she and her ex-husband, who was a producer, and, um, came to my apartment and to meet me because I think my agent, who was Brian Lord, a baby Brian Lord at the time, suggested me. And they were like, really? And I met with them. And then they gave me the script and I read the script. I said, I want to do this. And Brian, please get this for me. and then I read the script for them at Diane's house in Malibu Canyon, where they then lived. And it was done. Had you done theater before then?

Had you done anything in front of a live audience? No. Wow. Did you take to that right away? It was three-camera, four-camera, live audience, right? Yeah, which was invented by. by Desi Arnaz. I know.

I love that. I have his book. I love that. At Paramount. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So what was that like, your first audience?

Was that just effortless because the material was so good or what? The material was great. I mean, Diane wrote the scripts for the first four years. Wow. And so every show was solid. and smart, and the references were sophisticated, and the jokes hit home. And then she left.

And the show continued for far too long, but nobody could really face leaving. Yeah. But... Well, you also won a jillion awards as it kept going. I mean, I feel like... Five. Five Emmys.

You won five Emmys. And here's what, I'm so glad we brought this up because it just irritates me, no end. Mostly because you won five and I won two. But besides that, besides this, this is the killer. After five, you told people, I don't want to be nominated anymore. Oh, my God, I read that. Yeah, that's wrong. That's just wrong for the rest of us.

That's right. I did. because it was Helen Hunt's turn. Wow. You're such a better person. I love that. Was that really like, yeah. I could feel the house turning on the fifth Emmy.

I just sort of felt the house going, we think she's had enough now. And I thought it's time to go. Award rooms are the toughest audiences. on the planet. Yeah. Yeah. So then it was not,

it wasn't just humility. It was also smart. Yeah. Yeah. What do you think? I mean, you guys were on the map before Vice President Quayle

made that speech referencing Murphy Brown. Weren't you? Were you already, or was that? Yes. No, we were. Was Diane English still there?

Was that in the year? Yes. Great. Because that really did. Did it change? I mean, you were already hugely popular, but you became a little more political or current or what? It pushed us up a couple of notches to like number one for a year or two.

Describe what that moment was, William? Dan quit. You know, I don't know if Diane was still working on the show then, but they had done a show where Murphy talks about the importance of fatherhood. it was felt that we were dismissing fathers as a critical component of the family. And in fact, because Murphy had had a baby. So it was like, what do we do with Murphy? Let's make her pregnant.

Okay. And then, well, who's the father? Ex-husband. And so it wasn't completely like a random thing. Right. But it caused a big. hoo-ha in the audience, in the viewership. And somebody had made a, many people were quoting Dan Quayle in it.

And Dan Quayle then made a rebuttal speech saying, and Murphy Brown, I can still hear it in my ears, but not exactly, dismissing the importance of fatherhood and calling it just another lifestyle choice. And so I just stayed in my room. I didn't come out of the house while it was going on because it was so huge. It was on the front page above the fold of every paper, including the Times. And I was like, yeah. It was just too much for me. So Diane handled it. I never said a word. And she handled it by, you mean, in her writing in the Murphy Brown, yeah. Where you did address it.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Isn't that amazing? Wow. Diane English. Really good writer. Yes.

Yeah. You're still friends, yes? Yeah. We don't see her as often as we used to, but yeah, she's quite amazing. Yeah. We saw each other for dinner here. Good. You mean, you know, let me ask.

Was that before our dinner or is it? Who's first? Usually on your call. Our dinner is tomorrow night, Ted. Oh, I hate this. Are you messing with the spacetime continuum here or something? In real life, our dinner is tomorrow night. Yes, that's true.

Just in case she has other plans. I'm all over the place. But after Murphy Brown. 60 Minutes, this I just love, reached out to you, CBS 60 Minutes and asked you if you wanted to join the team of 60 Minutes as a journalist. Correct? Yes, they did. They did. I'm not sure that the regular correspondence supported this as an idea.

In fact, they didn't. It was like, what are you doing? But the head of 60 Minutes said, would you consider? And we did a test. I interviewed some Oakland official. It was a disaster. But would you like to be a 60 Minutes correspondent? I said, well, sure, but can I still do movies?

And he said, no. So I said, well, no. I said, I want a little more latitude. He said, well, you can't have it. So I didn't do it. What do you think they saw in you? Do you think they were hiring Murphy Brown? Yeah.

Because you had written amazing. You're a really brilliant writer. Oh, my God. I love your books. I love your writing. And your articles. I love even my emails from you. They're hilarious.

And they shall remain between us. But it's tempting because they're so freaking fun. So do you think they saw you as a writer and thought, well, she's very good as a writer? I don't know what they saw me as, because it only lasted a few minutes. Oh, really? Okay.

I love where you live. We won't say where, but I love that you can... Well, my house is gone. We know that. Yeah. But where you are now? In New York. In New York.

Yeah. Yes. But Candace lost. her home in the Palisades Fire. And was that everything from your childhood there? Wow. Yeah. So all the photographs, all the photographs of Chloe and you guys and your history was there.

I mean, we have some of them in New York, but the major part was there. It was so strange and horrible and scary. It was a very mismanaged fire. That's what we're beginning to learn, huh? Where were you? Were you in New York? I had left the morning of the fire to go back to New York. Nobody knew the fire was coming.

And by the time I got to New York, my house was gone. Wow. Yeah. Wow. You talked once about, because we didn't drive up into the palisades for months. It was blocked. It was blocked, but then it was also devastating, and I guess part of me was whatever. I didn't want to be devastated. Yeah, it was very hard.

But you told the story of driving with your brother and somebody else for the first time, and it was just so overwhelming that your brain just kind of shut down and you'd fall asleep and wake up and fall asleep. Yeah. Yeah. It was just too much. Yeah.

Can you look at, because you have experience, we all have, but you've experienced some big losses in life. People, homes, things like that. How do you handle, do you think, grief, sadness, Do you compartmentalize? What is it, I mean, it feels like there's something very healthy about you and you're, or is it, I'm just missing it and I don't see you? I think I just stuff it down.

I don't deal with it. I just, I mean, I've never dealt with it. And I've never wailed in a doctor's office. I just don't deal with it. I just stuff it down. Well, that's kind of remarkable because people who usually do that are ill. Yeah. Wow. Well, good for you. Thank you for being here and healthy.

You are also an amazing listener, so you do let other people talk about their feelings to you. Well, it's important. Yeah. But, yeah, the invitation's always there. Should you need to wail, I am here. Thank you, honey. I thought I could poke and pinch and make you cry, but I guess I'm not going to, no, shoot, okay.

I've got. She could make you cry easier than. I have armor that you have no idea. Just as a commentary on my skills as a podcaster. That's what blue thinks. Soundously, yes. Sound asleep,

waiting for the door to open so his life can continue. He's got his eyeball. So grandmother, mother, life is good. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm, you know, I would never, I would, because I'm so careful with my daughter because she's such a force and bossy,

but I would never said, are you going to have a baby? I didn't, never passed my lips, but she had two. And I mean, it's just thrilling, just thrilling to have these. They're my granddaughter's four, my grandson is six, and they're just heaven. They are really adorable and really smart, funny kids. Yeah. And you live very close to them.

So it's really. Yes. I can walk to their, I mean, they live in my old apartment. And so it's just three long blocks up to the top of their building from me. I love that you can look out your window. And if you time it right, you can see them exit their building and walk down the street. Yes. Underneath your building.

Yeah. Yeah. That's pretty cool. Yeah. Candice. Thank you. I can't imagine how boring our dinner is going to be tomorrow night because what do you want to talk about? Nothing, please.

Don't ask me anything, please. But thank you so much. Thank you, Ted. It's always a pleasure. I feel cheated that I didn't get to just go on a love fest about how much I love you. Let's go out on that. Okay. That my most hilarious memories of both book club and book club, the next chapter,

which we did film in Rome and Venice, which was a thrill because, sorry, Chatsworth, but I usually, that's usually where I end up shooting things. And to go to Rome was such a thrill. But from Candace was a terrible influence on my. me because I've never had a drink when I work. And on the very first night at the Hotel DeRousi, you had this lovely pink thing and a goblet. I had no idea what it was. And you said, Naparl Spritz, that's what you have to drink in Rome. So I'm like, okay, I'll have one. And then every night I had to have one. And I don't, I don't need to drink. Literally.

Mary, it's barely considered a drink. Okay. Well, that's the kind of attitude. that caught me in big, big trouble. That's why I weigh like twice as much at the end of the film as I did. But I just have so many moments of you. You have this amazing, naughty child inside of you. She once started a fire in a restaurant. We did that one.

You did? Okay, and nearly burned the place down And like 20 years later, when she goes back there with Marshall, they still went. Oh, yes, that was you. But she has this like absolutely a live, naughty child dinner at all times. And that is one of my favorite things about you. You are just your enthusiasm for life and your deliciousness as a friend. you're also a really good friend.

You show up, and I just, I showed up today to be able to say how much I adore you and how my life is graced by our friendship. Likewise, mine too. Yeah. Thank you, sweetie. All right. Any closing thing about me gracing? Not really.

Okay. But we can talk about blue a little bit more. Teddy, you are a gift to all of us. And you are the best of men. You are. And cut. Wow. That was our lovely friend, Candice Bergen.

It was a real pleasure to have you on, Candice. And thank you, Mary, for dropping in. That's it for this week. Special thanks to Team Coco. If you enjoyed this episode, send it to a loved one. Rate and review on Apple Podcasts, if you have a mind and you're in a good mood. Once again, you can watch our full-length video episodes at YouTube.com slash Team Coco.

See you next time, where everybody knows your name. You've been listening to Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson sometimes. The show is produced by me, Nick Leow, our executive producers are Adam Sacks, Jeff Ross, and myself. Sarah Federovich is our supervising producer, Engineering, mixing by Joanna Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez. Research by Alyssa Graal. Talent booking by Paula Davis and Gina Battista. Our theme music is by Woody

Harrelson, Anthony Gen, Mary Steenbergin, and John Osborne.