AC2 – An Intimate Evening with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper: deeper talk and more shallow tales takes place on Saturday, November 2 at the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts at 8pm.
Join Cohen and Cooper for an unscripted, uncensored and unforgettable night of conversation. The late night talk show host and the journalist, longtime friends, interview each other and take questions from the audience. It’s a live, interactive look behind the scenes of pop culture and world events.
Andy Cohen is an Emmy award-winning host and Executive Producer of “Watch What Happens: Live,” Bravo’s late night, interactive talk show. Cohen is also the Executive Producer of the wildly popular “Real Housewives” series. Cohen has written two New York Times’ Bestsellers: Most Talkative: Stories from the Frontlines of Pop Culture, and The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year. He recently welcomed his son, Benjamin, into the world, to add the title of Daddy his resume of accomplishments.
It was a pleasure to sit down with Andy Cohen (even though I grew up in New York and have seen many stars on the streets, I have to admit I was fangirling out) for this exclusive Hotspots interview, just weeks before his appearance here in South Florida.
Were you always a ham, even as a child or when did entertainment begin for you?
I have to say, I was always a ham. I used to entertain my neighbors and family, and I always liked to make people laugh.
What was your first job out of college?
CBS news as a desk assistant.
What’s your favorite story from CBS?
It was the 90’s so it was all about OJ Simpson and Monica Lewinsky, but prior to those scandals the election of President Bill Clinton was a favorite—it was very hopeful time.
How did you get hired at Bravo?
I was in charge of programming at Trio (small cable channel), which was owned by NBC Universal and they were pulling the plug on Trio. They owned Bravo, and they offered me the job to keep me in company.
How did the ‘Housewives’ franchise come about and when did the network realize they really hit gold?
Basically the short version is Scott Dunlap pitched us some tape he had shot of neighbors of his in OC, (“Desperate Housewives” was big hit on ABC at the time) and we thought lets do this and call it “Real Housewives”…. It was soap opera-ish. I realized in season two that we hit gold, when I realized I cared about Gina’s marriage, and I thought this is an actual soap opera.
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Whose idea was it to do a late night live talk show and were you always going to be the host?
It started as an online after show after “Top Chef” and “Project Runway,” and I was the host. A production company came to Bravo about doing it live once a week for 12 weeks. We said yes and the ratings were good, and eventually it blossomed.
Marry, Shag or Kill: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kelly Ripa, and Anderson Cooper? (I thought I would turn the tables on Andy and ask him the question he asks everybody. I also thought I would stump him, but I was wrong, he answered it very quickly).
I would kill Anderson, because he wouldn’t mind that I would not kill one of those woman. Shag Kelly and marry Sarah.
Now that you have been a father for over six months, is fatherhood and Benjamin everything you expected?
On one hand I don’t know what I expected, and on the other hand yes it is. It’s magical in ways I didn’t realize.
You have done so many things in your career (way too many to list), is there anything new that you want to accomplish?
No, I just want the tour to keep going as I truly love working with Anderson.
Describe yourself in three words?
Fun, hippy-ish and cuddly
What do you like to do for fun?
Go to the beach, listen to the “Grateful Dead,” read, and hang out with my friends.
How did AC2 come about and is it still as fun for both you and Anderson?
It came about when Anderson interviewed me about my second book. We are just good together we have great chemistry and we know a lot about each other. His agent said Bill O ‘Reilly and Dennis Miller do a tour and she said if you guys should come up with something.We tried it out and it worked.
Why should our readers come out to AC2?
Because you will laugh. It’s a great night out, it’s fun, entertaining and silly. Anderson is so much funnier than anyone realizes and it’s not political. It’s like going out to a bar with the two of us, and we tell stories that we shouldn’t tell in public, but we do.
Tickets, which start as low as $73, are available at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office, Ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at 954-462-0222. For more information go to BrowardCenter.org or AC2live.com.
