Original subtitles

- She's one of the world's

- She's one of the world's greatest dancers,

and when she's interviewing you on "The View"

she takes no BS answers.

It's "Watch What Happens Live" at home with Whoopi Goldberg

and Rita Moreno, now.

♪ Andy Cohen's got the 4-1-1 ♪

♪ King king of midnight fun ♪

♪ Midnight MC AC

♪ Late night on Bravo TV ♪

- Hey everybody, welcome to

"Watch What Happens Live @Home" from the Hamptons.

I am Andy Cohen, honored to be joined

by two legendary guests who are technically

more honored than most of us because they're both

EGOTs, everybody!

When it comes to having my first guest on the show,

I'm always glad to be back in the habit.

From "The View," weekdays on ABC,

it is Whoopi Goldberg, hey, Whoopi.

- Hello, honey, hi. - Great to see you,

and my next guest is gracing our show

for the first time, albeit virtually,

but you've seen her grace film, TV, and theater

with iconic performances

for over 70 years, say hi to Rita Moreno!

Hi, Rita! - Hi, honey.

Nice to see you! - Oh my gosh,

and you can check Rita out in the "One Day At A Time"

animated special, premiering Tuesday on Pop TV.

I'm so excited to have you both here.

And I should mention, you both have spoken out

about injustice in this country for a very long time.

Right now, we are experiencing a reckoning.

I wanna talk about what-- what's going on in this moment

in time, I mean, Rita, I have to start with you

because you were actually at

the "I have a dream" speech

at the Lincoln Memorial back in 1963.

What do you remember about that? - Isn't that amazing?

Isn't that amazing? Is that amazing?

- Yes! - It was a great--

what happened was that, uh, Harry Belafonte wanted, uh-uh--

Dr., uh, Dr. King to ha-- know that there was a--

people in Hollywood who really meant what they said,

and, uh, and-and loved other people,

so he- he asked him if he could bring some

Hollywood people with him, and, uh, I was one of them,

Sammy Davis, uh, I sat next to, uh,

Diane Carroll, I mean, it was just the most amazing condi--

oh, James Garner.

Now, this is a fascinating story which you are not asking,

but I gotta tell you.

Jim Garner, who as you know, is a white guy,

very successful actor, came on this with

a lump in his stomach, he was so frightened

because he was actually afraid that he would never work again.

But he came. That's the thing. - Wow.

- Jimmy Garner was-- I mean, he was drinking

Pepto Bismol all over the place. - Wow.

- And his ulcer was working up. But he came, and I--

I've never forgotten him for that.

- Whoopi, what do you think

needs to be the first thing dismantled, uh,

within our country that's been enforcing

systemic racism? - Well, racism is-is--

in the heart of the country. It just-- you can't

get away from it. It's-- children are taught it

without realizing that that's what they're learning.

So the first thing that has to happen is people have to

first look at people and see them for who they are.

Not for who they fear they are. But for who they actually are.

And then, you know, the good cops have to

call out bad behavior

so we can get rid of the bad cops.

And re-- uh, re-teach...

police departments around the country

how to police again, because now they're soldiers.

And we're not in a war. We're not in wars

in our towns and neighborhoods. So, they must

re-learn how to police. And that

is going to take the action of the federal government.

But we have a guy who doesn't believe

there is institutio-- eh, eh, institutionalized, uh,

racism. - Racism.

- You know, he says, "Well, I don't believe it's there."

But, in fact, it is, and so until we start

admitting what we're seeing, 'cause this is--

you don't have to look far, you know, you can s--

in this last two months, this is like five or six people.

There's a problem. - Yeah.

- All-- Everybody has to say "Yes, there is a problem,

"and we see it, and we want to fix it."

So that's what has to happen.

For-- - And what seems

to be happening-- I'm sorry, go ahead, go ahead.

- You- you- you right, you-- it is seeming to be

happening, and I'm excited about it, you know,

I- I think it's, you know, we've-- whenever we've

watched stuff happen on television

or on our computers, things change.

When you think about voting rights,

people watched every night black people getting hosed

and children getting bitten by dogs every night,

they saw the protests, peaceful protests,

and people saw it every night.

And things started to change.

So now that white people are also seeing that

they are as-- as susceptible to getting knocked down...

as black people now,

'cause y'all-- - And dis-- and disrespected.

- Disrespected in the ways that we've not seen before.

Uh, we know that they, you know, they can

be rough on kids, but never adults.

And white adults in particular have never seen themselves

as a race, just as a-- as a group.

But, you know, if they're knockin' us down,

they're gonna knock you down.

So if we all say

"Quit knockin' us down..."

they'll stop. But everybody has to say it.

- That's it, everybody has to say it.

That's what-- what makes this, I think, in a way,

different from last time, and I've been through

both of these, just like Whoopi,

um...

what is incredible is that everybody

is beginning to understand something they never

understood before. Number one.

Number two, I think this president

has given permission to a big sem-- segment

of the population to air their views,

shall we say?

Or attitudes? And I think

that has brought out an enormous amount

of racism that we were not privy to before.

Now everybody's saying "Well, the hell with it!

"I can say anything I want, I can feel anything I want,

"because he says it and because he says it's okay."

It's implicit in whatever he does and says.

So I think, uh, um--

The thing that scares me the most is

when Joe Biden becomes president,

[speaking Puerto Rican] as they say in Puerto Rico,

um, uh...

he's gonna have to do so much repairing

of the damage that has been done.

That I- I- I have this dreadful feeling

he's gonna spend the- the first four years

doing only that. That's what scares

the hell out of me. - Mmm.

Well, the two of you have both inspired

so many people throughout the years,

I thought you could inspire us tonight

with advice on navigating the current moment

"One Day at a Time. Literally."

Um, Rita, with the state of the world today,

what gets you out of bed every morning?

- Ya know what gets me out of bed?

I'm eighty ----ing eight,

and I'm still here,

and I can actually still speak.

I can think. Not as quickly as I used to,

but I have this astonishing life.

What's to hate?!

My god, there is so much to love and appreciate!

This is-- I wake up humming, man.

- Yeah. [chuckling]

- Well, Whoopi, what location do you retreat to

when you require a moment of peace and quiet?

- This is it.

This, I can take it anywhere, so I go right in here.

I need a moment of peace. [laughing]

Rita, what is-- what's the best advice

you've ever received from a mentor?

- Shut up.

[laughing]

- Whoopi, what's your number one comfort food?

- Wise potato chips.

[laughing]

- Rita, which one of your own movies

would you recommend people watch for a moment of levity?

- Oh, absolutely, um-- Gene Kelly--

sh--, I can't remember the name of it.

Oh yeah, you know! - "Singin' in the Rain?"

- "Singin' in the Rain!" "Singin' in the Rain!"

- Rita, we are honored to have a Broadway legend

on "Watch What Happens Live," so I'm sure you'll understand

that the show and tell must go on.

It's time to "Open! Your! Vault!"

What did you bring to show us? I'm so curious.

- What did I bring? I brought a bunch of stuff.

What do you wanna-- - Show me.

- Okay. How's this? This is from 1954,

and I was not well-known then.

- Wow!

- Look at that! - You were well-known enough

to go on the cover of Life Magazine--

- I wasn't well-known. I wasn't well-known.

This is where I got my first, uh,

I got my 20th Century Fox contract.

- Wow. - D-Dar-Daryl Zanuck

looked at this, and said, "Can she speak English?"

[scoffing] - Yeah, of course.

- Wow. - Right? Perfect!

And they said, "Oh yes, she speaks it very well."

And that's how I got my contract with 20th Century Fox.

- What else do you have? - Well, I got--

Ah, god, that's heavy. - Yes!

[applauding] - Got that.

I got... - And you won that

for what, Rita? - I've got--

- "West Side Story," you won that.

And what is that Tony for? - Right, "West Side Story"

was the Oscar, and I got-- - The Tony's for "The Ritz,"

right? - Yeah.

- It's heavy. - And there's your Emmy.

Wow, we got the whole EGOT, sweet!

- I got two Emmys! Two Emmys.

I'm just gonna hold one up, it's killing me.

- Okay. [laughing]

Wow, that's awesome. - It is nice.

Especially for a Puerto Rican person.

- I mean, is your Grammy there? Because, now, I mean,

we almost have-- we have the EOT.

- Oh yeah, you know,

it's the one I didn't bring down today.

- Oh, okay. It's upstairs.

- Yeah. - That's all right.

Well, Whoopi, what goes on behind the scenes of "The View"

can sometimes make as many headlines as the show's

hot topics, so I wanna get into

"The View From Where You're Sitting"

with a speed round of questions.

What's been your most challenging interview

during this time?

- Uh, they're all challenging, actually.

- 'Cause they're on remote. - Yeah.

- Who's someone that you wish you could get on the show

right now?

- Actually, the, uh-- Green Beret that, uh--

suggested to Colin Kaepernick that the best way to protest

would be to take a knee. Really interesting young man,

and I can't think of his name right now.

- I love that. - But he-- fabulous.

- Have you ever pretended to have a bad connection, uh,

to avoid someone annoying you?

- No, I just say, "I'm hanging up.

"I don't wanna talk anymore." [laughing]

- What's-- who-- who amongst the women on "The View"

has the worst, uh, wi-fi connection?

- You know, everybody has sh-- wi-fi, for some reason.

You just never know.

- Who's had the hardest time forgoing their glam squad

to shoot at home?

- I-- I-- I think maybe it's been tough for everybody.

- Yeah. - Not so much me,

because the-- I kinda show up in this, what I look like,

whether-- whether the glam squad hits me or not!

- You don't-- you don't give a sh--!

- No! [laughing]

Not at this point. It's-- it's--

- I am my own makeup girl. - That's it.

- I love it. - [indistinct]

- You gotta know how to do it. All right, on that note,

we are gonna take a break. We will be right back.

♪♪♪

♪ Compare my voice to

♪ Compare my voice to that of the angels ♪

♪ There's no one like me that's what they say ♪

- Oof!

♪ I am the one who has all the talent ♪

♪ My beauty's epic so hide your fellows ♪

♪ Because this contest I'm gonna slay ♪

♪ I understand why you get so jealous ♪

[yelping]

♪ Why would that be I get all the fellas ♪

- Ah!

♪ I am gonna kick your ass ♪

- That was a clip of my guest Rita Moreno,

in the "One Day At A Time" animated special,

premiering this Tuesday on Pop TV.

Welcome back to "Watch What Happens Live @Home"

from the Hamptons.

I'm your host, Andy Cohen, also joined by Whoopi Goldberg.

You can catch her on "The View," weekdays on ABC.

During Rita's iconic Hollywood career,

she's accumulated tons of credits

and just as much tea on her fellow movie stars, too.

So Rita, please indulge me in a round of questions

about your colleagues, with "Holly-Would You Tell Me?"

You know, Rock Hudson presented you with your

iconic, uh, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress--

- Right. - For the "West Side Story" role

that you showed us. Was there any part of you

back then that paid attention to the rumors pertaining

to his sexuality? - Of course!

- Yeah. - I was one of the purveyors.

"I heard... did you hear? 'Cause I heard..."

- Right. - Absolutely.

- Who do you assume was the bigger lush,

Joan Crawford or Bette Davis? - Lush?

Lush?! - Yeah.

- What are you talking about? Joan drank?

[laughing] I don't know what you mean.

- You revealed in your memoir that Marlon Brando

was better in bed than Elvis Presley,

but who would you say was the better kisser?

- Marlon Brando. - Really?

- Yeah, now look at her laughing.

You know what? I mean, that's a very subtle question.

I mean-- - I know.

- He had ins and outs, and nooks and crannies

that were just incred-- oh, what a kisser.

What a kisser! [whistling]

- When you're kissing Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando,

do you kiss with your eyes open or closed?

- Both. I had to look-- I had to look at both of them,

they're gorgeous, and, uh, you know, Elvis was really--

Elvis was actually pretty. He was a pretty guy.

He was very sweet, and he was very boring.

[laughing]

- Which Rat Pack member, uh, had the best style?

Sinatra, Sammy, or Dean?

- Oh, without a question, Sinatra.

- Really?

- But I think Dean was the funniest of all.

- Yeah.

- It's hard to pick which career highlights to discuss

with you both, since there are tons to choose from.

So I'm gonna make you do it with "One Slay at a Time."

I'm gonna present you both with boxes,

each featuring a different year, okay?

So you're gonna take turns selecting a box.

Each one corresponds to a question that I have

about your career highs from that time.

So Whoopi, you pick first.

Pick from a year down there with your face next-- on it.

- Uh, okay.

Uh, 1984.

- 1984 marked the beginning of your sold-out Broadway

one-woman show run of "Whoopi Goldberg."

Aside from Spielberg seeing your show,

who would you be-- who would we be surprised to know

attended one of your performances?

- It's probably easier to say who didn't attend.

- Really? - Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, it was-- it was...

one of those...

moments that you see in Hollywood movies,

where everyone that you ever hoped would,

came through the door.

So it's-- you know. It's easier probably.

Jackie Kennedy did not come. - Okay, all right.

We can cross that off the list.

Okay, Rita--

- I remember reading the reviews on that and it--

I'm so sorry I didn't get to see it, damn it.

- Rita, pick a year. - Pick a year.

Uh, oh my god. I'm really that old, huh?

Okay. Uh, 1952.

- 1952 you starred in "Singin' in the Rain."

Uh, on a scale from one to ten,

how would you truly rate Gene Kelly's dance skills

and what do you remember about watching him

perform the title song?

- Oh, you know, that's like five questions in one,

because he-he really was a great dancer.

He was a great-- he was different from Astaire

because they kept, you know, pitting them against each other.

Different styles.

He was very athletic and he was gorgeous.

He was beautifully athletic.

And-and, uh-- Astaire was all style.

- Yeah.

- I don't think Astaire could kick this high?

Who cared?

It was about that, it was about style.

Right, Whoopi?

- Absolutely. Absolutely.

- And it was thrilling for him to put me in this part,

because I was playing for the very first time

an American person, Zelda Zanders.

- Wow.

- He was the movie star of that era, ostensibly.

And I wore a red wig and pale makeup and I thought--

[gasping]

"Okay, from now on I can play anybody."

- Yeah. - And it didn't happen.

[laughing]

Okay, Whoopi, pick a year. - Can I-- can I interrupt?

'Cause I have-- I have a question for Rita.

- Yeah!

- I have to ask her what was it like

working with Yul Brynner?

Because he was, for me,

one of those actors that

he could-- he-- like, you could do anything.

He could do anything and everything.

But to be-- to-to do "The King and I"

as Tuptim,

and working with him, what was that like?

- It was thrilling.

And you were right-- you're right to feel that way.

He was a very sexy guy. - Yes, yes.

- He had-- he had the dirtiest mouth I've ever

heard in my life. Ever, ever, ever.

And-- but you know the one who was really very saucy.

Deborah Kerr used to have panties that had

weird sayings on them.

And she'd call me into her dressing room and say--

I don't know why me-- she'd say, "Rita,

"I want to show you something, dear."

And we'd go into her dressing room

and she's like, "What do you think of this, dear?"

And she'd pull up her skirt.

Isn't that divine? - That's fabulous.

And in one of my favorite films ever.

- It's a good one, yeah. - Wow.

- The two of them and you and the young man

who plays your lover.

- Lun Tha, he played Lun Tha.

- He was wonderful. - Carlos Rivas.

Carlos Rivas, I'll tell you in a nutshell,

always smelled of Gauloises cigarettes.

And I hated Gauloises cigarettes.

I would say to him, "If you're gonna kiss me

"in this scene, you've gotta not smoke for a day.

Please, I cannot stand that smell."

- Right. - Those are French cigarettes.

And they smell really, really strong.

- Wow.

- Who plays-- who played, uh, the king's first wife?

- Oh, Terry-- Terry-- - Who did that great song.

"He may not always say--"

- Yeah, I know. Uh, "Something Wonderful."

- Yes. - That's the song.

♪ He may not always say ♪

♪ What you would have him say ♪

♪ But now and then he'll say ♪

♪ Something wonderful ♪

That's a good song. - Thank you!

- Oh, my god. This is awesome.

We only got through two years,

but it doesn't matter. We got 18 great stories.

Okay, after the break, more with these two and tonight's

"Moment of Mazel," a call to action from Garcelle Beauvais.

We'll be right back.

♪♪♪

♪♪♪

- Welcome back to "Watch What Happens Live @Home."

I'm Andy here with Whoopi and Rita.

By the way, the "One Day at a Time" animated show,

it looks great, Rita. - It is hilarious.

And you-- oh, can I tell you what I did

with the, uh, animators?

'Cause I figure they were doing my character

as well as the others and I said to them,

"Would you mind if I emailed you some expressions

on my face that I think Lydia would have?"

Because they are Rita playing Lydia.

- Yeah. - And they were delighted.

So I did that. - Oh, I love it.

- And I did a lot of my movements.

I have the video with the accent like this, you know?

And-- but with the expressions too.

They loved it. - I love it.

- No one's ever done it before.

- All right, so for tonight's "Moment of Mazel,"

I am throwing it to Real Housewife of Beverly Hills

Garcelle Beauvais.

- Hi, Andy. Thank you for giving me this moment.

You know, I've had a lot of friends reach out to me and say,

"What do we do? How do we start?"

Um, what I wanna say is, if you see any injustice,

speak up. Say something.

The way you wouldn't wanna be treated,

if you see someone else being treated that way,

speak up, say something.

I think that's a really great place to start.

And then let's sit down and have a conversation.

Thanks for the time. - Thank you, Garcelle.

Important words.

And I wanna thank Rita Moreno and Whoopi Goldberg

for being here.

Awesome to hang out with both of you.

We actually didn't get to really many viewer questions,

but we will do it on the after-show right now,

which is going on Twitter live right now.

- Can I just say that, Whoopi,

it's so great to see you again after all these years.

It's terrific. - You too, baby.

It's fab. - Goodnight, everybody.

♪♪♪