Most Talkative by Andy Cohen – My Review

Regular readers of EverBeautiful.com will know that I love me some Real Housewives. They’re my guilty pleasure. I DVR the shows because I spend the bulk of my TV time watching C-SPAN and The History Channel. Ok, not really. I DVR the shows because sometimes I like to watch them over again. (Aghh, did I just admit that out loud?) I talk about the shows with my friends who watch. My daughter and I call each other on the commercial breaks to discuss the shows and, especially in the cases of New York and Beverly Hills, the clothing. As soon as the show is over I start to get Housewife withdrawal symptoms and then Watch What Happens Live (WWHL) comes on and it’s like dessert after a fulfilling meal. For those of you who may not know, Watch What Happens Live and the entire Housewife franchise for that matter, are the brainchildren of Andy Cohen, Bravo executive vice president of development and talent and all-around genius. He is also the author of Most Talkative which, as of this writing, is number five on The New York Times Bestseller List. And, oh, there’s an asterisk next to the title indicating that it’s sales are “barely distinguishable from those of the book above it.” (Hell, yeah, I’m giving that credit to Andy Cohen! It’s impressive.)

Of course I read it. It was part of my Mother’s Day gift from my daughters and I couldn’t wait to turn the first page. I was not disappointed. For those of you who have seen Andy Cohen, now a celebrity in his own right as opposed to a behind-the-scenes producer, the book reads as if you and he are sitting around the Watch What Happens Clubhouse as he regales you with stories from his childhood, his career, his friendships. He is funny, charming, brutally honest and completely disarming. I laughed out loud as I read the book and couldn’t resist the urge to read some of the funny parts to my husband. I also read him the moving parts. And yes, there are many moving parts. Andy Cohen’s honesty, especially about his homosexuality and his coming out made me cry.

Often, when I watch WWHL, I wish I was in the Clubhouse, hoisting a drink whenever a celebrity or Bravolebrity says “the secret word.” I want to be at that party. It seems like the most fun place to be on any week night. Reading Most Talkative gave me the same feeling. For 273 fast-paced pages, I was part of the party that is Andy Cohen’s life. And, despite it seeming to always be fun, his life isn’t always easy. He had/has his share of heart-wrenching drama, uncertainty and insecurity. We know, however, that he emerges with his sense of humor intact and with his ego healthy, if not a little bruised.

And that’s part of what makes Andy Cohen’s book, TV show and career so successful. He is like us, enamored of celebrity and surprised to find himself in the (equal) presence of his idols. And, he is fearless. He tells a story in the book of how, as an intern for the CBS Morning News, he sauntered onto the set of  the CBS Evening News where Dan Rather, one of his idols was doing his live show. He plopped himself down at a background desk and picked up the phone to call his mother to tell her to watch. He was later removed from the set, but the story is classic Andy Cohen. (Read the book for more stories about celebrities and for one in particular who tried, in a most unusual way, to get Cohen to pick up a show she was pitching.) When Dan Rather visited the WWHL Clubhouse last week, it was obvious to viewers that Cohen was excited and thrilled to have him there. It’s not that he fawned or flattered. I’ve never seen him do that with anyone on his set. He conversed, and interviewed and when Dan Rather answered a question that showed him to be a real person and even more than the icon that we all respect, Cohen grinned widely at Rather’s response – just as I, and countless others in his viewing audience did.

Most Talkative is not just “stories from the front lines of pop culture” as it says on its cover. It’s the story of a man who made good against certain odds. It’s a life lesson in overcoming those odds, being true to who you are, never burning bridges and appreciating people for a myriad of reasons that may not be initially apparent. (Case in point? The Housewives, who Andy Cohen loves for all their humanness.)

My daughter, Victoria Riess, a fairly recent graduate of The George Washington University where she majored in Political Communications with the hope of eventually producing a news show for CNN or MSNBC, two places she interned, is currently Associate Producer for the HGTV show Kitchen Cousins. She adores “lifestyle TV” and “telling stories,” as she says. I cannot wait for her to read Most Talkative which, besides being a primer for how to succeed in life is also a primer for how to succeed in television.

But you don’t need to want a career in TV to enjoy Most Talkative. Andy Cohen throws a great party. Pour yourself a drink, turn the page and enjoy the festivities.

Read more about my close Housewife encounters …

Bethenny’s Skinnygirl Workout DVD – My Review

The Vogue/QVC Launch Party  of 25 to Watch – I Was There (and so was Jill Zarin) 

Ramona Singer Hosts Party to Launch Covet Lounge, Midtown’s Newest Hot Spot – (Update: Covet is now closed. Bummer.)

And one more, but I hadn’t written about it for EverBeautiful.com: When my daughter, Victoria Riess, won a Gracie Award for a film she produced while still a GWU student, we all flew out to Beverly Hills to attend the gala. On the night we left, I wanted to experience “California Cuisine.” A MenuPages search revealed a nearby restaurant named Villa Blanca, which turned out to be the most beautiful restaurant I’d ever been in, in any city, anywhere. As we were waiting for our food to be served, a man came in to the restaurant. He was carrying a little teacup Pomeranian in one hand. We had left our new Coton puppy in the hotel and oohed and aahed over the little Pom. The man came over, asked, “How are you?” as if he knew us. We told him we were from New York, were celebrating our daughter’s Gracie Award and left our little puppy in our hotel room. He introduced himself as Ken,  welcomed us to his restaurant and told us all about his dog Giggy’s skin condition and how he and his wife had taken the dog to some of the best skin care specialists in town. He then asked if we ever watched any of the Housewife shows. I told him I was a huge fan, especially of New York. He pointed to a beautiful woman at a nearby table and told us she was his wife, Lisa, and was going to be part of the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. They had just begun filming the week before. He told us about his daughter, Pandora who was also part of the show.  My memory recalls that we were seated by Cedric, but I may be wrong about that. (These names will be familiar to RHOBH fans.) At the end of our meal, my daughter was presented with a beautiful dessert (I’m pretty certain it was Cedric who presented it). The plate was decorated with the word “Congratulations” in chocolate. It was a touching and great way to end a fantastic meal and a close encounter with our soon to become favorite Housewife.