Well, we got her! We are just delighted to score this interview with the woman of the moment, Emmy winner, Valerie Mahaffey. You Might Know Her From French Exit, Dead to Me, Big Sky, Northern Exposure, Women of the House, Powers That Be, Jungle 2 Jungle, and Desperate Housewives. We chatted with Valerie about this moment in her career, celebrating her role as Mme. Reynard in Azazel Jacobs’ French Exit opposite Michelle Pfeiffer, playing against type as Christina Applegate’s mean mother-in-law on Dead to Me, being part of the Delta Burke sitcom Women of the House, getting locked in attic by Dixie Carter (thanks, Marc Cherry), and making her Broadway debut in the Richard Rodgers/Sheldon Harnick show Rex (a fave of the pod). All that plus acting in reverse for a blowdart in Jungle 2 Jungle. 

 

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Real World Homecoming

Ace of Base, Venga Boys, Aqua

Ace of Base has a skinhead in their history

Good news: Aqua does NOT have a skinhead in their history

Real McCoy “Come and Get Your Love” cover has lots of talk singing

"Solid Potato Salad"  c/o The Ross Sisters @MGM

Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her role in French Exit (dir: Azazel Jacobs)

Big Sky was filmed during the pandemic

Her role on Seinfeld as Patrice, George’s pretentious girlfriend “The Truth”

Dead to Me was a turning point (starring opposite Linda Cardellini and Christina Applegate)

Women of the House was a Suzanne Sugarbaker/Designing Women spin-off for Delta Burke

Valerie replaced Julie Hagerty in Women of the House (opposite Teri Garr, Patricia Heaton, Delta)

Marta Kauffman and David Crane The Powers That Be (with David Hyde Pierce and Holland Taylor)

Norman Lear was part of The Powers That Be

Archie Bunker was clearly the racist, misogynist, homophobe in All in the Family

Worked on Desperate Housewives (Marc Cherry) and Devious Maids

Damian posits thats Alma on DH was a predecessor to Lorna on Dead to Me

Valerie came back as a ghost on the last episode of DH (that’s where she met Justine Bateman)

Bateman’s books: Fame: The Hijacking of Reality and Face

Opposite Raul Julia in Dracula, won an Obie for Talking Heads and Top Girls, starred opposite Glenn Close in her Broadway debut of Rex (Sheldon Harnick and Richard Rodgers)

Jo Spiros (sp?) fellow dancer auditioning for Rex 

Fresno was a spoof she started in opposite Carol Burnett, Dabney Coleman, and Charles Grodin

1983 NYT profile said her boyfriend’s latest credit was Off-Broadway production (Frank Luz as the dentist)

Was a Stanford administrator on Hannah Montana

Plays Martín Short’s wife and Leelee Sobieski’s mom in Jungle 2 Jungle and had to act in reverse for the blow dart sequence

Julie Klausner’s How Was Your Week inspired us to create show notes

Real World: Los Angeles (#2) was as important as Real World: San Francisco (#3)

Charles Grodin is a good guy! Anne is now a forever fan

Valerie was in Dead to Me with Christina Applegate, who was in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead with next week’s guest