Memorable Moments
Top Ten: Most Memorable ‘Oprah Winfrey Show’ Moments
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Tom Cruise jumps on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ couch, 2005
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Oprah Winfrey shares a laugh with Tom Cruise at the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Press Conference, Oslo, Norway, Dec. 11, 2004
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Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King at the NAACP Awards, March 19, 2005
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Tina Turner and Felicity Huffman pose alongside Oprah Winfrey on January 26, 2005
FIRST PUBLISHED: November 20, 2009 3:44 PM EST
LAST UPDATED: November 20, 2009 6:33 PM EST
CHICAGO, Ill. --
“The Oprah Winfrey Show” has been on the air longer than “Twilight Saga” star Robert Pattinson has been alive, and when the talk show host wraps up her 25th and final season in 2011, she’ll leave behind an enormous television legacy filled with some of televisions most memorable moments.
Here’s a look back at Access’ Top 10 Oprah moments:
10. Mackenzie Phillips Reveals Incest (September 24, 2009)
When she decided to give her first television interview about her claims she had been involved in what turned into a consensual, ongoing incestuous relationship with her father, Mamas & The Papas mainman John Phillips, Oprah Winfrey was the TV host Mackenzie Phillips turned to.
9. Oprah Joins Tina Turner On Stage (2005)
Oprah may not have pipes of gold, but that didn’t stop the TV talker from joining Tina Turner on stage in Las Vegas at the legend’s invite. Oprah, in a tight fitting black outfit, held her mic low, and shimmied alongside the legend. Reflecting later on in the DVD for her 20th Anniversary, Oprah said it was while on stage with Tina that she really learned how to just “enjoy the moment.”
8. Oprah’s Favorite Things (2004, 2005)
Tickets for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” were always hard to get, but never moreso than during the “Oprah’s Favorite Things” episode, which the host usually held around Thanksgiving. In 2004, Oprah decided to give goods like Burberry scarfs, Dooney & Burke bags and Sony VAIO notebook computers to a needy bunch – teachers. And a year later, she found another worthy group for the free swag – volunteers who helped out those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
7. Oprah Takes On James Frey (March 16, 2006)
After being endorsed by Oprah’s Book Club in 2005, sales for James Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces” skyrocketed. But a few months later, The Smoking Gun published an investigative story revealing that much of the book was more fiction than fact.
Oprah brought the author back on her show to confront him about his claims and she held nothing back. “I have to say, it is difficult for me to talk to you because I feel really duped. But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers,” Oprah said, before going on to pick apart most of Frey’s claims in his book.
6. Kirstie Alley Bares It In A Bikini (November 6, 2006)
In 2006, Kirstie Alley had become a tabloid target over her full figure. Paparazzi would follow the former “Cheers” star to the burger joint eagerly snapping away as she munched down on lunch. But the actress vowed to lose the weight and she promised when she did, she turn up in a bikini on Oprah.
On November 6, 2006, the then-55-year-old star lived up to her promise, sashaying out in a brown two-piece.
5. New Cars For Everyone! (September 13, 2004)
In 2004, for her 19th season premiere, Oprah literally made the day of everyone in her studio audience by giving each one of them the keys to a brand new Pontiac G6. Nearly 300 people (276 to be exact) walked away with swanky cars worth an impressive $28,400.
4. Oprah & Gayle’s Big Adventure (Summer 2008)
In 2008, lifelong best friends Oprah and Gayle took a road trip in a Chevy Impala. The two gave viewers an inside look at their close friendship, the bickering that comes with being on the road with your best friend and a whole lot of silliness as the two drove cross country hitting Las Vegas, Graceland and ending in New York City. In October 2009, Rosie O’Donnell recalled the trip while making a barb after Howard Stern asked her why there are so many rumors that Oprah and Gayle are gay – rumors they’ve denied. “When they did that road trip, that’s as gay as it gets,” Rosie quipped.
3. Oprah’s Historic Michael Jackson Interview (February 10, 1993)
When Michael Jackson decided to give his first television in more than a decade, he picked Oprah for the honor, inviting the talk show queen to his home at Neverland. The 90-minute interview was seen by more than 100 million people around the world and nothing was off limits. From addressing rumors like whether he bought the Elephant Man’s bones (he said he didn’t), to his changing skin color (which he said was a family inherited condition), it was all fair game. (Child molestation allegations weren’t made against the star until after the interview aired)
2. Oprah Gets In Her Skinny Jeans (November 15, 1988)
Oprah may have gotten into her size 10 Calvin Klein jeans for her November 15, 1988 episode, wheeling out a wagon of lard the equivalent to the amount she lost, but it was not to last.
“Two hours after that show, I started eating to celebrate — of course, within two days those jeans no longer fit,” she told USA Today years later.
1. Tom Cruise’s Couch Jumping Incident (May 23, 2005)
Tom Cruise took a seat on Oprah’s new angled interview couch on May 23, 2005, but it wasn’t the fascinating furniture that people remember – it was what the “Mission Impossible” star did to it.
After bringing up Tom’s then new love Katie Holmes, the actor quickly became animated, standing up, kneeling and moving about, but it was after Oprah said, “We’ve never seen you like this before,” that things quickly escalated. Tom jumped up on to the custard colored couch leaving Oprah to declare, “You’re gone. You are gone.”
Later, during an appearance on “The Late Show With David Letterman,” Oprah explained what she really thought of the moment. “I don’t think he’s nuts. I had never seen him that way before… I think that that’s what love does to you when you’re just all impassioned, but I do have to say I was really surprised by it. I didn’t expect it… and was just trying to move with the flow,” she said.
Copyright 2009 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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