In short
Whoopi Goldberg’s Desert Island Discs episode centers on her life choices, career path, and what music means to her. She reflects on being an “uncomfortable” role model, staying true to herself, and lessons learned from asking people directly (a Spielberg anecdote). She discusses growing up in Manhattan public housing, her mother’s guidance, dyslexia and self-directed learning, experimenting with drugs as a teen, and later choosing sobriety and family life.
Key claims
she only wants to please herself; she wasn’t an auditioning “traditional” performer—she wrote monologues/characters for herself; she believes role models should start with parents; drugs “wanted to stay with you,” so she cleaned up; she doesn’t believe love should be “executed as a duty.”
Notable examples
Spielberg requesting her Broadway show; The Colour Purple’s “And Introducing…” pressure; writing to Alice Walker; her mother’s “if you can’t live with your choice…” advice; LSD/heroin “learning time”; Vermont life; producing Sister Act.
Guests
Whoopi Goldberg (actor, comedian, producer). Interviewer: Kirsty Young (castaway in 2009). Host: Lauren Laverne.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOIntroduction to Whoopi Goldberg
0:10 to 1:00
A brief overview of Whoopi Goldberg's career and achievements.
“My cast away this week is Whoopi Goldberg, a successful actor, comic and producer.”
Whoopi's Early Career and Breakthrough
1:00 to 2:20
Whoopi discusses her early career and the pivotal moment with Steven Spielberg.
“It found its way onto Broadway and her career was launched.”
The Color Purple and Alice Walker
2:20 to 3:52
Whoopi shares her experience regarding her role in The Color Purple and her letter to Alice Walker.
“And I said, well, I have more, but I've been asked not to do this piece.”
Childhood and Family Background
3:52 to 6:06
Discussion about Whoopi's upbringing, family dynamics, and neighborhood.
“But the great thing about that is that you can only have that once in your life.”
Mother's Influence and Education
6:06 to 8:40
Whoopi reflects on her mother's education and values, shaping her perspective.
“It's really interesting that your life has sort of been lived in parallel with all of those incredibly significant moments in civil rights history.”
Music and Positive Influences
8:40 to 10:47
Discussion about music's significance in Whoopi's life, including songs that inspire her.
“My mother, you know, she's one of those, the old school parents that you exist only on a need-to-know basis.”
Struggles with Dyslexia and School
10:47 to 14:00
Whoopi talks about her dyslexia, school experiences, and how her mother supported her.
“I was very lucky to have a mother who got it.”
The Crossroads of Life Choices
14:00 to 15:36
Whoopi discusses her journey through addiction and life choices.
“I don't recommend it to anybody because the rough part about it is it wants to stay with you.”
Becoming a Young Grandmother
15:36 to 16:45
Whoopi shares her experience of becoming a grandmother at 30.
“You talked to her about getting married and having a child.”
The Essence of Performing
16:45 to 19:35
Whoopi reflects on what she gains from performing.
“You don't know when or how much, but it's finite.”
Show all 21 chapters
Influential Musical Figures
19:35 to 20:34
Discussion about Stevie Wonder and the impact of music.
“One of the great songs, greatest songs ever written, Superstition.”
Navigating Hollywood
20:34 to 23:34
Whoopi reflects on her rise in Hollywood and racial identity.
“Were you very at home when the doors opened to the club of A-listers?”
The Price of Fame
23:34 to 25:21
Whoopi discusses the personal costs of being a public figure.
“She was a teacher originally and also wanted to sing.”
Life in Vermont
25:21 to 27:19
Whoopi talks about her life away from the spotlight in Vermont.
“Oh, friendships and relationships and things that end in ships.”
Producing Sister Act
27:19 to 28:21
Whoopi shares insights on her role as a producer for Sister Act.
“Jones is so reminiscent of the music I grew up with listening to my mother listening to the music she has the phraseology she has the feel she's just terrific And I love it.”
Whoopi Goldberg on Producing Sister Act
28:21 to 28:42
Whoopi discusses her role as a producer and her transition in her career.
“We've come this far, Ruby Goldberg, and I've not got much more time to talk to you.”
Career Evolution and Movie Offers
28:43 to 29:54
Whoopi reflects on her career evolution and the movies she was offered.
“I know you're over in London because you're producing Sister Act, which is going to be on stage.”
The Story Behind Ghost
29:55 to 30:39
Whoopi shares the surprising story of how she got the lead role in Ghost.
“Yeah, Sister Act was put together for Bette Midler.”
Desert Island Thoughts
30:40 to 31:25
Whoopi imagines life on a desert island and what would make her comfortable.
“I'm imagining that because Vermont and where you go to be lonely and happiest is a choice for you that being on a desert island might be quite nice.”
Chosen Book and Luxury on the Island
31:26 to 33:18
Whoopi reveals the book and luxury item she'd take to a desert island.
“And when you have two voices that can dance this way, it's pretty spectacular.”
Final Thoughts and Sign-off
33:19 to 33:42
Whoopi chooses her favorite disc and wraps up the interview with gratitude.
“And if you had to choose just one of the eight discs, if the waves were to threaten to wash to the shore and take them away, which one would you save?”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Whoopi Goldberg:Lauren Laverne here. We're taking our Easter break, so until we're back on air, we're showcasing a few programmes from our archive. As usual, the music's been shortened for rights reasons. This week's guest is the actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg. Kirsty Young cast her away in 2009.
0:32Whoopi Goldberg:My cast away this week is Whoopi Goldberg, a successful actor, comic and producer. She made her name in The Colour Purple and won her Oscar for Ghost. It was bound to happen. Even as a child, she used to practice making acceptance speeches and today she's one of only a handful of people to have won an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony and Emmy Awards. Yet despite her success, she is perhaps an uncomfortable role model. The only person she wants to please, she says, is herself. An observant and quick child, she was also headstrong. She married young, had a child early. Then she wrote her own sketch show.
1:06Whoopi Goldberg:It found its way onto Broadway and her career was launched. I was in the right place at the right time, seen by the right person, she says, and spectacular things happened. Well, they surely did, Whoopi Goldberg. You were seen by the right person back in, what was it, the 1980s, and that right person was Steven Spielberg. Is it right? Did you do a sort of private performance for him? Yes. What was that? Tell me about that.
1:28Kirsty Young:I'm intrigued. He asked if I would mind bringing the Broadway show to him. And since it was just me, it felt like it would be all right. So I went and before I went in, they said to me, now we want you to do whatever you want to do, whatever piece you want to do, but we also know you do a piece called Blee Tea, which was about the black E.T. And they said, we don't think that would be a good idea. And I said, okay, whatever you, you know, that's fine with me. There's nothing in it that's bad. So I do the show. I walk out and I come out onto what I think is just a private stage. And everyone that for me at the time, you know, like Ashford and Simpson and Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, those are the people who are sitting in the audience, friends of Stevens.
2:19Kirsty Young:And so I do my show and they're very happy. But they say more, more, more. And I said, well, I have more, but I've been asked not to do this piece. And Stephen said, well, why? They said you would be annoyed because it's about E.T., the black E.T. What would happen if he landed, instead of in a very nice neighborhood, if he landed, say, like in Oakland? He said, oh, I want to see it. I said, are you absolutely sure? Because I don't want to upset you. He said, no. So I did it. And he laughed and laughed and laughed. And I thought, oh, first lesson of the world. Ask the person directly. Don't let someone else tell you that it's not going to work for somebody else.
3:04Kirsty Young:You should ask them.
3:05Whoopi Goldberg:Were you in any way aware that this was some sort of audition? No. No. And was it?
3:10Kirsty Young:Yeah.
3:11Whoopi Goldberg:Right. It seemed striking to me when I saw The Color Purple that the role, the list of names went up of the cast at the beginning. And of course, one has the impression that this is an epic movie. You're about to see something big. Key, though, to the titles coming up, it said, And Introducing Whoopi Goldberg. Now, this was your first ever movie role. That was, for the times, anachronistic. I mean, that was something that people might have done in the movies in the 40s and 50s. Really, you're saying to the audience, here is a fully formed star. You are going to love her. That's quite a pressure for a performer.
3:48Kirsty Young:Well, fortunately, I didn't see it till much later. But the great thing about that is that you can only have that once in your life. Sure. Because it does mean something. It really does mean something. So finally when I saw the film and saw it come up, I just started quietly just kind of laughing under my breath going, wow.
4:09Whoopi Goldberg:Alice Walker wrote the book. Is it true that you wrote to Alice Walker when you read the book?
4:13Kirsty Young:Yes. What did you say in your letter? I said, you know, my name is Whoopi Goldberg and I'm a performer in San Francisco, California. And this is a great book. And if they ever make a movie, I'd like to be, you know, in it. I'd like to play the dirt. That's how much I like this. And so I sent her my resume and stuff. And a couple of months later, I had been invited to New York. And I stayed with my mom. And she said, oh, so some mail came for you. She handed me a purple envelope that said Alice Walker on it. And I opened it up. and it basically said, dear Whoopi, I live in San Francisco. I know your work.
4:53Kirsty Young:I already sent your stuff to them. Wow, wow. Now, no matter what, it doesn't matter if anything happens. She sent my stuff out. That's pretty good.
5:03Whoopi Goldberg:Tell me about your first piece of music then today. What have you chosen?
5:05Kirsty Young:The first piece is Bill Withers. I love Bill Withers and Lovely Day. And I love Lovely Day because it's just a positive song. When someone else instead of me Always seems to know the way Then I look at you And the world's all right with me Just one look at you And I know it's gonna be A lovely day
5:44Whoopi Goldberg:Bill Withers and Lovely D, you were just blessed out. I was, I loved it.
5:48Kirsty Young:It was washing over you with its loveliness. You know, I remember when my kids were small, you know, that's a song that I would whisper to them when they were babies. Now they're grown people and I whisper other things to them. But this is a song that they loved as well.
6:04Whoopi Goldberg:What about when you were small then? You were born in 1955, just a couple of weeks before Rosa Parks sat on the bus. Yes. It's really interesting that your life has sort of been lived in parallel with all of those incredibly significant moments in civil rights history.
6:20Kirsty Young:Yeah. And also my other favorite moment of 1955, the opening of Disneyland. You know, Disneyland and Mickey Mouse and I were hanging out in our 53rd year.
6:31Whoopi Goldberg:You're looking better than he is. I accept her. So the early days then, you were brought up in Manhattan, right in the center of where it was all happening. Yeah. And you have a brother, Clyde.
6:44Kirsty Young:My big brother, Clyde, who, when he walks down the street, has his own theme music.
6:50Whoopi Goldberg:He's cool, isn't he?
6:50Kirsty Young:He's the coolest person I know.
6:52Whoopi Goldberg:And your mother, and not your father. Your father left the home.
6:55Kirsty Young:No, not my dad, but my mom.
6:57Whoopi Goldberg:And was your dad, was he a minister or a preacher?
6:59Kirsty Young:Yeah, he went through many, many incarnations. He was many, many things. He was many things. And your mother a strong woman? Pretty strong, you know, very sensitive and really brilliant, but no place for her at the time. You know, no place for her to be. So she went from being a practical nurse to being a head start teacher to getting her master's in early childhood education. Was it a tough upbringing? I mean, was the neighborhood tough? No. Every time I talk about it, I always laugh because people say, you came up to a degradation of it. I actually didn't. I came up in a really good neighborhood that was not wealthy.
7:42Kirsty Young:It was a poor neighborhood. You know, we lived in what you call the council houses.
7:47Whoopi Goldberg:Yeah, council houses.
7:48Kirsty Young:You know, we call them the projects. And in New York, no one ever said, oh, you poor, poor children. You know, Christmas and Hanukkah and all those holidays came and we got gifts. I don't know how she did it, but she did it, you know. My mother was very practical, is very practical. And her response to me on the big questions of the teenage years and the adult years, can you live with your choice? If you can't live with your choice, if you're concerned other people aren't going to like you because of your choice, then it's not the choice that you want to make. If you don't care if other people like you and your choice, then you'll be all right.
8:30Whoopi Goldberg:And when your mother got her master's then, when was that? Was that decades later? Yeah, yeah.
8:36Kirsty Young:Probably early 90s.
8:37Whoopi Goldberg:That must have been an incredibly proud moment for you, and I kind of reversed it. Well, she didn't tell me.
8:43Kirsty Young:My mother, you know, she's one of those, the old school parents that you exist only on a need-to-know basis. Like, you'd say, how old are you? And she'd say, why do you need to know?
8:52Whoopi Goldberg:So how did you find out she got her master's? I heard a rumour and called her and said,
9:00Kirsty Young:I heard that you just graduated from NYU with a master's degree. She said, yeah. Were you going to tell me? She said, yeah. When you needed to know, I would have let you know. I mean, she's like that.
9:13Whoopi Goldberg:Let's take a break for some music. What about disc number two? What have we got?
9:16Kirsty Young:Well, Van Morrison, you know, I just, I love him. And this is another song that is about positiveness.
9:36Kirsty Young:Oh, let it all hang out Yeah, you know, I was so wild up Don't need no coffee in my cup Let it all hang out Let it all hang out Watch this
9:55Whoopi Goldberg:Van Morrison and Jackie Wilson said, Whoopi Goldberg, you were dyslexic, you are dyslexic. I suppose you never stopped being dyslexic. No, you're always dyslexic. But at school, I imagine that made things incredibly difficult.
Read the full transcript
10:06Kirsty Young:Well, they assumed I was being lazy because I was so smart in other ways. There were things I could do and I could remember things. So they knew I wasn't dumb. They just thought I was being lazy.
10:21Whoopi Goldberg:And you didn't go to senior school at all, did you?
10:23Kirsty Young:No, no. I hated school.
10:25Whoopi Goldberg:And your mum was fine with that?
10:26Kirsty Young:Well, she said you better find something else to do. So what did you do when you were 12, 13, 14? In those days, you could go to the Museum of Modern History, and they gave lectures, daily lectures. And as long as I got a daily lecture there or I went to the New York Public Library, as long as I was going places where learning was occurring, she was fine. I was very lucky to have a mother who got it. She understood something was different about me.
10:57Whoopi Goldberg:So you had this kind of bespoke homeschooling in essence. You were sort of fashioning it yourself.
11:02Kirsty Young:City schooling, let's call it.
11:03Whoopi Goldberg:Okay, yeah. And you were shy.
11:05Kirsty Young:Yes. Really? Still. I know it's shocking.
11:08Whoopi Goldberg:Well, it just seems unlikely, that's all. I know, yeah. I just, I'm never comfortable in big crowds
11:18Kirsty Young:because I don't know, I don't have a big spectrum of conversation, you know.
11:26Whoopi Goldberg:But you talk very easily, you talk very fluidly. You don't seem to trip on your words or your thoughts.
11:30Kirsty Young:No, but if I'm in a group of people, I don't have much to say.
11:36Whoopi Goldberg:I'm wondering then about the woman I saw presenting the Oscars a few years ago.
11:40Kirsty Young:That's Whoopi Goldberg, yeah. She can do anything. She can talk to anybody. But there is an aspect which is sort of the me that nobody knows. The aspect of myself which isn't as comfortable with all of that. So I just let Whoopi do the work.
12:01Whoopi Goldberg:Let's hear your next track then.
12:03Kirsty Young:Nusrat Ali Khan. I first heard him on a Peter Gabriel World album, and there was this voice on it that just... I don't want to sound too, like, you know, silly, but it just filled me with light, you know, and I knew that somehow this man or this voice was channeling the spirit and the spirit of whatever God you believe in. When this man sings, I just know that, you know, there's something greater than me in the world. So that's why I love it. And the piece is called Shemhum Doha, I think it's pronounced. And I love it.
13:17Whoopi Goldberg:Kudakhanu Nusrat Fatah Ali Khan and Shamis Addoa. Tell me, Whoopi Goldberg, about the drugs. When did the drugs happen? Because they were in your teenage years. Yeah.
13:29Kirsty Young:Well, they happened a lot and often through a lot of years. You know, I know it's really not PC to say, but, you know, at the time when I was growing up, it was perfectly great. Experimenting with things like LSD and, you know, talking about mind expansion and heroin was a drug that took you to places that you'd never been before. it was, for me, a really good learning time. I don't recommend it to anybody because the rough part about it is it wants to stay with you. And you want it to because you find that it's easier to live outside of life. And for me, I actually like living. So it really came down to, okay, if you go down this path and stay here, pretty much you're going to die.
14:26Kirsty Young:It's a given fact. And, you know, your teeth are going to fall out. You're going to be on the street, probably living the life of a prostitute. Or if you go this way and you find other things that give you the same feeling, a good piece of music, nice person on occasion, you might live a little longer. And so I experimented. And I enjoyed my time in the experimental stage. And then I, you know, cleaned up, got married, had a baby, and that sort of put the kibosh on getting high anymore. And I don't drink. You know, I've now become incredibly boring. There's only one drug that scares me, and that's an opium.
15:16Kirsty Young:You know, opium is one of those drugs that if I ever fell into it again, I'd never come out. But, you know, it's hard to be high in the streets now because I've been with Goldberg for so long that I think drooling when somebody wants an autograph probably isn't the most attractive thing. It's not a good look. Probably not. Not for me at this late stage.
15:38Whoopi Goldberg:You talked to her about getting married and having a child. You did that very young. Yeah, 18. Not very young. Not very young. I'd read it was younger than that.
15:46Kirsty Young:No, my daughter had her child young. How young was she? She was 14 when she got pregnant and 15 when she had the baby. Was that tricky? No, not if you believe in choice. And that was the choice she made. And my mom and I said, you know, then we'll help you do this. And now the kid's 19, just like her mom, funny, did not get pregnant, thank you. And she got Alex, my daughter, got married and had been married for like 10 or 12 years and had two more kids and, you know.
16:21Whoopi Goldberg:So you were a grandmother in your 30s, yeah?
16:23Kirsty Young:Yeah, yeah.
16:24Whoopi Goldberg:How did that sit? I mean, with your sense of self. Well, I was good looking.
16:27Kirsty Young:I have to say I was a good looking grandma. I was a hottie. Let's take a break for another piece of music. What have you chosen? Actually, it's kind of funny, apropos of what we're talking about. Judy Collins, it's who knows where the time goes. It's just, it's a reminder. You only get a specific amount of time. You don't know when or how much, but it's finite. And, you know, you've got to pay attention. And that's what this song is about, paying attention.
16:56Whoopi Goldberg:Across the morning sky All the birds are leaving
17:13Whoopi Goldberg:Ah, how can they know It's time for them to go
17:24Whoopi Goldberg:Judy Collins and Who Knows Where the Time Goes. Whoopi Goldberg, I know what we get from you performing. You know, we love to watch you. We love to have you make us laugh and to entertain us and engage us. What do you get from performing?
17:38Kirsty Young:I get life. I get life from performing. It's like a battery. I feel like when I'm working, I'm plugged in and I'm charged and I'm attuned to everything that's around me.
17:55Whoopi Goldberg:There's huge expectation, of course, on a star when they walk into a room, any room, whether it's a restaurant where you've got to be nice to the waiter because the waiter's meeting Whoopi Goldberg that day. That's what he's going to go home and tell his wife.
18:05Kirsty Young:Yeah. As soon as you come out of your house, you have to be Whoopi Goldberg. Hard work? Sometimes, from time to time, it can be very difficult because I can be cranky, you know. And then you become that Whoopi Goldberg who gave me a bad tip.
18:20Whoopi Goldberg:Right. Or who was rude to me.
18:21Kirsty Young:So I have to really map my brain to find polite ways to do things.
18:27Whoopi Goldberg:When did you start performing?
18:28Kirsty Young:I think moments after I left the womb. That's the story my mother tells.
18:36Whoopi Goldberg:Really? So you were one of those kids dancing on the kitchen table saying, Oh, yeah. Look at me. Yeah.
18:40Kirsty Young:I love the idea that you could be any number of things. And to me, that's what acting was. It meant being able to get into some sort of virtual pod and time travel.
18:57Whoopi Goldberg:And you didn't, as far as I understand it, you didn't start auditioning, doing the traditional things. You wrote for yourself and you performed for yourself. Why did you make that choice? That's quite a difficult thing to choose.
19:06Kirsty Young:Well, because I thought no one will ever, there's nothing that exists that I know of that will show what I think I can do. So I might as well write myself stuff to say so people can see me doing it. And it evolved into writing these characters. And basically when you go into audition, you're just supposed to do a monologue. So I wrote myself monologues to do that I knew I could do well.
19:34Whoopi Goldberg:Let's take a break for some music then. Track number five.
19:36Kirsty Young:Yes, Stevie Wonder. One of the great songs, greatest songs ever written, Superstition.
19:42Whoopi Goldberg:Do you know Stevie Wonder? Yeah, I love Stevie. What's he like?
19:47Kirsty Young:He's a big old guy. He's a big old guy who is just, genius is not even the word, it's just, he's like a walking musical note. And he's very funny. You know, he's the greatest. He's delicious. Very superstitious Writings on the wall Very superstitious Letters boxed at four Thirteen-month-old babies Broke the looking last Seven years of bad
20:32Whoopi Goldberg:Stevie Wonder and Superstition. Were you very at home when the doors opened to the club of A-listers? You know, the colour purple and your Oscar nomination and you won a Golden Globe for it. There you were. You were now in the club and the doors shut behind you. And you were one of those people who can look across a room at those other people and think, well, I'm one of you now. Did it feel right?
20:50Kirsty Young:Well, it felt OK because I was in New York with Mike Nichols and Garson Kanan. and I would be able to sit and talk to Garson about the movies that they wrote for Spencer Tracy and Catherine Hepburn. And then they would call, you know, Jack Lemmon and say, you know, now Whoopi's coming and so would you have her to lunch? So I got to spend time with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. You know, I would be at dinner with Gregory Peck and Sidney Poitier and my brain would be going, you know.
21:30Whoopi Goldberg:What about being defined by your color in Hollywood? Did you feel that that was too important or not important enough or shouldn't have been important but was?
21:37Kirsty Young:Well, I would say to people, you know, it's like, well, how do you feel about being white? What goes through your mind? And they'd say, well, I never think. Well, you know, it just is. Of course it just is.
21:48Whoopi Goldberg:But I think if you're a minority, I mean, I know, you know, as a Scottish person, when I first came to live in London, I felt different because I was a Scottish person That's because you were Scottish.
22:00Kirsty Young:Now, other people would tell me that it was. I've got you. And what I was trying to say was, I would say, well, I never, I don't think about, you don't think about being Scottish, you just are.
22:10Whoopi Goldberg:Yeah.
22:10Kirsty Young:But it's not until somebody goes, my God, you're Scottish, do you go, oh, yeah, my God, I'm Scottish.
22:17Whoopi Goldberg:It doesn't. Well, somebody did once ask me, are you going to read the news in that voice? And I said, well, it's the only one. Yeah.
22:23Kirsty Young:I mean, it's like, what did you think of, you know? I would say to people, you look surprised that I'm black. I mean, you knew, didn't you? All the move, I wasn't Chinese yesterday.
22:38Whoopi Goldberg:What then about being, because of course, I can't imagine that people didn't then expect you because you were in this exalted role and you were not typical of all of the stars we normally see, to be the role model. That you know you have to be the role model.
22:52Kirsty Young:I never thought I should be. I never thought I could be. And so I always just kind of laughed and said, come on, you don't really want your kids emulating me, do you? But, you know, I always think people say to me, you know, for black youth in particular. And I'd say, well, basically, I'm just going to stay black. How's that? That'll be my example of what to do. But I'm not a big believer that your kids should have role models outside of their parents. I think the first role models you should have are the people who are raising you. And if they're not good role models, then you look outside.
23:32Whoopi Goldberg:So many questions come to my mind, but I'm going to wait to ask them until after the next piece of music. What have you chosen?
23:37Kirsty Young:I've chosen my queen, Celia Cruz. She was Cuban. She was amazed. She was a teacher originally and also wanted to sing. And her parents, who were very strict, said, no, no, no, no, no. If you go into performing, if you become a singer, you can never come home again. And unfortunately, the revolution happened almost simultaneously as her going out as a singer and she never got to go home. So I revere her because she stood for who she was. She knew that she had to do her art. and this is the truth, the price for doing you can sometimes be very, very, very high and also I love Latin music, I love to dance and so whenever Celia comes on, you know, I just dance my little behind on.
24:46Whoopi Goldberg:Cumbara, Cumbara, Cumbara, Cumbara. Celia Cruz and Kimbara.
25:05Kirsty Young:I love that you're talking with this very calm voice. Nobody knew you were in here just dancing. You're behind off too.
25:10Whoopi Goldberg:It's radio. That's the beauty of radio. You said as we were going into that piece of music that the price for being you, for being an artist, can be very high. What's the price been for you?
25:22Kirsty Young:Oh, friendships and relationships and things that end in ships. You've been married three times. Yeah. But, you know, I'm just the truth is I'm just not very good at it. I love the wedding part because I love, you know, everybody's always happy. But it's the day after that I have trouble with.
25:45Whoopi Goldberg:Is it true that at one of your weddings, you said when the vows were read out and you were meant to say, I do, you said maybe?
25:52Kirsty Young:Yeah, possibly, perhaps. I know.
25:55Whoopi Goldberg:And what is it, the little things? Is it having to compromise?
25:58Kirsty Young:it's having to think about someone else constantly who isn't a child. I don't think love should be executed as a duty. You shouldn't have to feel like if you don't respond a certain way, it goes against the grain of relationship. because the couple isn't always coupling. You must have time alone.
26:31Whoopi Goldberg:So do you think, I mean, will there be, would there be a fourth Mr. Goldberg? Or is that, have you given up on that?
26:36Kirsty Young:Oh, no, there'd be no, there's never been a Mr. Goldberg. And part of that is what people do. You know, people are cruel when the woman is the more famous. Yeah, I mean, I was sort of obtusely making that point. But, you know, outside of this room, people are mean. People do get lost in your celebrity. And it's a terrible place for a guy to be, you know. Often, though, if he's a fully formed person, it rolls off his back. But those fully formed people are generally married to other people.
27:09Whoopi Goldberg:Damn. Is it true you live in the middle of nowhere, I mean, when you're not working? I mean, without being too specific, clearly. I live in Vermont. Oh, right. In the rural wilderness.
27:20Kirsty Young:In cold, desolate Vermont. it's not desolate it's actually quite wonderful I live out in the middle of nowhere because I like it tell me about your next piece of music then well it's Amy Winehouse I love this little girl I've never met her I don't know her but this song Me and Mr. Jones is so reminiscent of the music I grew up with listening to my mother listening to the music she has the phraseology she has the feel she's just terrific And I love it. And it contains a brilliant question.
28:20Kirsty Young:I love you when I dance. Can't believe you play. I love this girl. I just, that talent is so great. Amy, come on, baby. You got, come on. You can do this.
28:39Whoopi Goldberg:We've come this far, Ruby Goldberg, and I've not got much more time to talk to you. I know you're over in London because you're producing Sister Act, which is going to be on stage. Yes. The role of producer, is that one that sits easily with you?
28:51Kirsty Young:Yeah, I like it. I like it. I don't mind it at all. It's a lot more relaxing. Is it?
28:56Whoopi Goldberg:Than performing?
28:57Kirsty Young:Yeah, yeah. Because you go, yeah, I like that. And then you go on with your life.
29:02Whoopi Goldberg:As easy as that. For me, yeah. Do you like leading a team? Are you quite a sort of somebody who likes to control what's happening?
29:09Kirsty Young:No, I like to be part of a team. I like to be part of a team. I don't like being the figurehead because then it's all on you. One of the things that I've come to realize is that careers evolve. And who I was 22, 23 years ago is not who I am now. And so you have to ride the wave of your career and as you do with your life. So if there's a movie that I want to do, you know, I'm sure it'll find me.
29:41Whoopi Goldberg:And is it that you get offered movies that you think that's just not for me or you just don't get offered movies?
29:45Kirsty Young:No, I never used to get offered. I never got offered movies. All the movies I've made were other people's movies, except for Color Purple, which is written specifically with me in mind. So Sister Act was for somebody else? Yeah, Sister Act was put together for Bette Midler. Jumpin' Jack Flash was put together for Shelley Long. Ghost? What about Ghost? Ghost was written for, I think, a woman called Teresa Wright. But they wouldn't let me audition for Ghost. It wasn't until Patrick Swayze said, I am not doing this movie unless you audition her. So that's how I got Ghost. But it wasn't for me. And so when you won the Oscar for it, did you go up and shake it in their faces?
30:30Kirsty Young:No, but I thanked Patrick and said, you know, if not, I owe this Oscar to Patrick Swayze. And he knew what I meant.
30:38Whoopi Goldberg:Before we go into the next piece of music then, as you know, this is Desert Island Discs and I'm going to cast you away onto a desert island. I'm imagining that because Vermont and where you go to be lonely and happiest is a choice for you that being on a desert island might be quite nice.
30:54Kirsty Young:Would be very nice.
30:55Whoopi Goldberg:Wouldn't get lonely? Would you get lonely?
30:57Kirsty Young:If I had some sort of animal, I'd be all right. Like if there was like a mountain lion or something that was around or a cat or a dog or something.
31:06Whoopi Goldberg:So tell me why you've chosen track eight and then we'll come to that other song. Well, John Sutherland and Jane Burby singing the flower duet from Lakme is just, I want to weep at their ability to do this, to be able to sing like this.
31:22Kirsty Young:Because there's something pure in it. There's something pure in these particular voices for me that doesn't exist anywhere else. And when you have two voices that can dance this way, it's pretty spectacular.
32:29ORGAN PLAYS
32:34Whoopi Goldberg:Joan Sutherland and Jean Berbet singing The Flower Duet from Lack Me by Delib. So, Whoopi Goldberg, we come to the moment then where I give you the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare, and you can take another book onto the island with you. What's your book going to be?
32:49Kirsty Young:The book I would take with me actually is Letters to a Young Poet, because that's what I carried with me over here. It's just great.
32:59Whoopi Goldberg:It's yours. And also, I'm going to give you a luxury to make life a little more bearable on this island on your own. What luxury would you like?
33:08Kirsty Young:I believe I would like to have some wise potato chips.
33:13Whoopi Goldberg:As many cases as you want. They're yours. Fab.
33:18Kirsty Young:I'm coming back here.
33:20Whoopi Goldberg:And if you had to choose just one of the eight discs, if the waves were to threaten to wash to the shore and take them away, which one would you save?
33:31Kirsty Young:I think I would probably save Lovely Day.
33:37Whoopi Goldberg:Whoopi Goldberg, thank you very much for letting us hear your Desert Island Discs.
33:40Kirsty Young:Thank you. My pleasure.
34:03Thank you.
34:28Thank you.
From the publisher
Kirsty Young talks to the actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg in a programme first broadcast in 2009.
