Caryn Elaine Johnson, better known as Whoopi Goldberg, was once a phone sex operator.
On the December 16, 2011 episode of “The View”, which Goldberg is a
co-host of (since 2007), Elisabeth Hasselbeck was doing a segment on
stay at home moms working as phone sex operators. Specifically, she was
covering the fact that the number of moms working as phone sex
operators is on the rise. Sherri Shepherd then commented about how she
would never let any child of hers go over to someone’s house if the mom
was a phone sex operator and Whoopi seemed to take offense and then
dropped the interesting little fact that she “…was [once] a phone sex
operator, too”.
Obviously this was before she hit it big with
The Spook Show and the film
The Color Purple,
though she failed to elaborate on exactly when she worked that job.
Goldberg was a single mother when she moved away from Manhattan at the
age of 19 to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, so one can
see how that job probably would work out, getting to stay home with her
baby girl while she performed her uh, duties. And, as she said, “…the
money was great” and “you have to be a good actor”. So it was win/win-
earning the bucks, not having to pay for a daycare, and getting to
practice acting to live audience.
Other jobs Whoopi has held before her rise to stardom included being a
mortuary beautician (applying make-up to corpses), a dishwasher, a
bricklayer, a camp counselor, and a bank teller.
Bonus Whoopi Goldberg Facts:
- Whoopi Goldberg chose the first part of her stage name from often
being called “like a whoopee cushion” due to her fondness for frequent
flatulence when performing. As she stated in a Q&A with the New
York Times, “Here’s the thing. When you’re performing on stage, you
never really have time to go into the bathroom and close the door. So if
you get a little gassy, you’ve got to let it go. So people used to say
to me, ‘You are like a whoopee cushion.’ And that’s where the name came
from. “ The second part of her stage name, Goldberg, was suggested by
her mother as she felt using a Jewish last name would help Whoopi in
Hollywood. Given her flatulent past, it’s ironical that she went on to
write a book lamenting how the world no longer has good manners (Is It Just Me? Or is it nuts out there?)
- Before making it big, Goldberg grew up in a housing project in the
Chelsea region of Manhattan, with her mother and her brother, Clyde. As
a teen, Goldberg found herself addicted to drugs, including heroin, and
dropped out of high school. She subsequently got herself cleaned up
and at the age of 18 married her drug counselor, Alvin Martin, (that
probably violates some patient/psychiatrist rule I’m guessing). Shortly
thereafter, she gave birth to a daughter by the name of Alexandrea.
The couple divorced about a year later and in 1974 Goldberg struck out
for California where she helped found the San Diego Repertory Theatre,
as well as worked with the Spontaneous Combustion theater group, then
later the Black Street Hawkeyes improvisational group in San Francisco.
This all culminated in her award winning one-woman production The Spook Show,
which on Broadway alone ran from October 24, 1984 to March 10, 1985
with 156 sold out shows. Because of this show, Goldberg caught the eye
of Steven Spielberg and was offered a part in his film, The Color Purple, which vaulted her into super-stardom.
- When Whoopi Golberg first learned they were making a new Star Trek
series (The Next Generation), she got Levar Burton (Geordi LaForge) to
ask the producers of the show if she could have a part because she had
been a huge fan of Star Trek since she was a little girl. She
particularly was enamored with the character of Uhura, who was the first
main character of any TV series to be black. Goldberg even stated when
she first saw the character of Uhura on the show, that she yelled
“Momma! There’s a black lady on TV, and she ain’t no maid!” The
producers initially ignored Goldberg’s request, as they didn’t think she
was serious in wanting to be on the show. They later learned she was
indeed set on getting a part after she approached them directly when
Gates McFadden briefly left the show. She told them she wouldn’t be
able to do every episode, so wanted a semi-regular role and, thus, they
wrote the character Guinan for her, which is personally one of my
favorite characters on the show next to Picard, Data, and Geordi.
- The character of Guinan was named after famed early 20th century
performer and nightclub owner Texas Guinan who died of dysentery in 1933
at the age of 49.
- Guinan is of the race El-Aurians. El-Aurians derives from the Latin
“Auris”, meaning “ear”. This is in reference to Guinan’s character
being a good listener and why Soran from Star Trek Generations, who was
also of that race, said they were a “race of listeners.”
- Although she played the role of someone on a star ship, Goldberg has
stated she’d never go up in real life due to her hatred of flying in
all its forms.
- The restaurant Goldberg worked at as a dishwasher is still around
today. If you live in San Diego, you can go visit it at 3003 Grape St.
It’s called the “Big Kitchen Cafe“.
- Goldberg was just the second black woman to win an Oscar, after
Hattie McDaniel who won one for “Best Supporting Actress” in 1939 in Gone with the Wind.
Goldberg also has performed the rare feat (only four actresses have
done it, ten people overall) of winning not only an Oscar, but an Emmy, a
Tony Award, and a Grammy, the quadruple crown of the entertainment
industry. Among other awards she’s been given are a Golden Globe
Award, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and the Hans Christian
Andersen Award for outstanding achievement by a dyslexic person. (She’s
dyslexic.)
- Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah both made their acting debuts in The Color Purple.
The two haven’t kept in touch since; Oprah didn’t invite Goldberg to
her Legends Ball honoring African American Women, and Whoopi has stated
she’s never seen an episode of Oprah.
- Goldberg has stated on numerous occasions that she detests being
called an “African American”, such as in this instance in an interview
with the Daily Telegraph in 1998: “Most of all, I dislike this idea
nowadays that if you’re a black person in America, then you must be
called African-American. Listen, I’ve visited Africa, and I’ve got news
for everyone: I’m not an African. The Africans know I’m not an African.
I’m an American. This is my country. My people helped to build it and
we’ve been here for centuries. Just call me black, if you want to call
me anything.” As someone whose parents have live in Africa for a little
over a decade (Guinea Bissau to be precise where incidentally according
to a recent genetic test is where Goldberg’s African heritage primarily
lies, with the Papel and Bayote people of Guinea-Bissau), I can say
that the Africans do indeed find it extremely odd that black Americans
are called “African” Americans and find it just as strange when black
Americans travel to Africa and act like they are African. Basically,
they don’t understand why anyone would want to say they are African when
they are American citizens. Granted, this is a perspective from one of
the poorest and most war torn areas of Africa, so people from other
African nations might feel very differently.
- Goldberg became a grandmother at just 34 years old when her 16 year
old daughter, Alex Martin, gave birth to Amarah Skye. Martin actually
appears in The Color Purple with Goldberg, as an extra. Today,
Martin is married and now has made Goldberg a grandmother thrice over,
giving birth to Amarah, Jerzey, and Mason.
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