It's Never Too Late by Kathie Lee Gifford

It's Never Too Late by Kathie Lee Gifford

Published by Thomas Nelson ISBN 9780785236641

Hardcover, $26.99, 208 pages

Kathie Lee Gifford has been a part of popular culture for many decades. Most of us know her from her fifteen years cohosting with Regis Philbin on Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee, a daily talk show that revolutionalized daytime television, and then her eleven years cohosting the fourth hour of the Today Show with Hoda Kotb.

But she has done so much more in her life. In her new book, It's Never Too Late- Make the Next Act of Your Life The Best Act of Your Life, Kathie Lee Gifford takes us through each stage of her life and the lessons she learned that brought her to a happy place, and can do the same for you.

After a Foreword written by Dolly Parton, who wrote of the importance of having dreams for your life and working hard to achieve your dreams and goals, Kathie Lee writes 35 short chapters each titled with It's Never Too Late to... and then things like Never Give Up, where she decribed leaving college before graduation and moving to Los Angeles to become an actress. She struggled, going on many auditions (and usually losing out to Nancy Morgan, John Ritter's future wife), but finally she got her first big break on Name That Tune, where she got to use her beautiful singing voice.

She recounted a tough year in 1995, which began with her thrilling appearance singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, moved on to her being accused of using sweatshop labor for her women's fashion line at WalMart, and then her husband was caught cheating on her in a highly publicized tabloid scandal. 

In Change the Ending, Then Change It Again, she shares her tale of landing in Scotland ready to film the movie she wrote for Craig Ferguson and herself, Then Came You. Ferguson tells Kathie Lee that she has to change the ending of the movie- just as they were to begin filming. When director Adriana Trigiani shares  Ferguson's opinion, Kathie Lee reluctantly agrees to change it. Then in the middle of the shoot, Gifford writes a song with her writing partner that convinces her to change the ending yet again. (Oh, poor Adriana Trigiani!) If you have seen the wonderful movie, you know the ending works perfectly. 

Kathie Lee shares funny stories- like the time Al Pacino came to her home for lunch and they tried to top each other with crazy celebrity true encounters (Kathie Lee won), frightening stories (her sister Michie nearly dying), and disappointments (the Broadway show she wrote closing after three weeks), and through it all her faith in God sustains her. 

Kathie Lee Gifford reminds of Joan Rivers- they both worked hard, followed their dreams through good times and bad, picked themselves up, and never let anyone stop them from achieving their goals. People have strong opinions about both of these women, and I respect each of them for being true to themselves and never giving up.

It's Never Too Late is a must-read for Kathie Lee Gifford fans, and people who have strong faith in God will get an extra level of appreciation from this book. It's inspirational and enjoyable, and it's good to be reminded especially during these troubled times that you can change your life for the better, no matter where you are in life.

My review of Kathie Lee's movie, Then Came You, is here.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Kathie Lee Gifford's tour. The rest of her stops are here:

Review tour:

Monday, March 1st: Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Tuesday, March 2nd: Bookchickdi

Thursday, March 4th: From the TBR Pile – excerpt

Friday, March 5th: A Bookish Way of Life

Saturday, March 6th: Leighellen Landskov and @mommaleighellensbooknook

Tuesday, March 9th: The Sketchy Reader

Wednesday, March 10th: @queeninbetween and The Queen in Between

Thursday, March 11th: Seaside Book Nook

Friday, March 12th: Well Read Traveler and @wellreadtraveler

Monday, March 15th: Christian Chick’s Thoughts

Tuesday, March 16th: Living My Best Book Life and @livingmybestbooklife

Thursday, March 18th: What is That Book About

Friday, March 19th: Tabi Thoughts

Saturday, March 20th: @fashionablyfifty

Monday, March 22nd: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom – review and excerpt

Wednesday, March 24th: Running Through the Storms

Friday, March 26th: View from the Birdhouse

Movie Review- Then Came You

If you've ever thought of visiting Scotland, but can't because of the pandemic, watch the movie Then Came You, now available on demand. Kathie Lee Gifford (who wrote the screenplay) is Annabelle, widowed a year ago, who heads out on a world-wide trip to visit all of places she and her husband never got to see, places from their favorite movies. 

She begins her journey in Scotland, where she will be staying at a castle, Awd's Inn, owned by Howard Awd, wonderfully played by Craig Ferguson. Howard is valiently trying to keep his family's home afloat by turning it into an inn, but things aren't looking good.

Howard picks up Annabelle at the train station, and they don't exactly hit it off. His Scottish sense of humor is not appreciated by Annabelle, but she is charmed by the beautiful castle/inn. As they get to know each other, it is clear that there is more than a friendship there. Howard's fiancee, played by Elizabeth Hurley, may not appreciate their blossoming relationship however.

If you are a romantic comedy fan, Then Came You will tick off all the boxes for you. If you watched Craig Ferguson when he cohosted a week of Today's fourth hour with Kathie Lee, you know they have an  amazing chemistry. Their quick-witted repartee shines through in this delightful movie, and watching them open up to each other is heartwarming.

Adriana Trigiani expertly directed this lovely movie, and she perfectly captures the beauty of Scotland. I wanted to walk through my television to wander the highlands and through the rooms of the beautiful Awd's Inn. The set design and decoration is just stunning, the costumes are gorgeous, every detail about this movie works so well.

Craig Ferguson has always been known as a very funny man, but he attains leading man status here. He balances the humor with emotion so well. (He's very handsome too!) Ford Kiernan plays his best friend Calvin, and he is a delight. And Wally the dog, who becomes Annabelle's constant companion, will bring a smile to your face.

Then Came You is the perfect movie to get us away from the craziness of these times, to take us out of ourselves.  It will make us laugh, open up our hearts, and give us hope. I highly recommend it, it had me smiling from ear to ear the entire time. 

Broadway Visits Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble on East 86^th St. hosted two Broadway-themed events in the past two weeks that were fun and informative.

The cast of Pippin were there on July 9^th to sign copies of their cast recording. They opened with a video of the first song on the CD, Magic To Do. It was a unique way to begin and got everyone in the mood.

Then Rachel Bay Jones (Catherine) took the stage and sang Kind of Woman. I swear, she reminds  me so much of Jane Krakowski, with her killer voice, blonde hair and big smile. She’s got a great future ahead of her.

Matthew James Thomas (Pippin) joined Jones for a duet of Love Song, which was so sweet; their voices melded together beautifully.

Patina Miller 

The last performance was from Tony winner for Pippin, the amazing Patina Miller (Leading Player), singing Simple Joys. I’ve seen her in Sister Act and at Lincoln Center for a one-night concert performance of Ragtime, and she is one of the most talented people on Broadway today. 

Terrence Mann

The cast, including Tony winner Andrea Martin (Berthe), whom I have loved since her days as Edith Prickly on SCTV, and who has the most incredible scene singing a song while on a trapeze- upside down, Terrence Mann (King Charles), Charlotte d’ Ambroise (Fastrada) and composer/creator Stephen Schwartz all signed CDs following the performance.

Pippin cast

If you haven’t seen Pippin yet, make sure to put it on your to-do list. It is spectacular!

The second CD performance and signing was Carolee Carmello singing songs from Scandalous, which closed on Broadway after a brief run last winter.  Book and lyric writer Kathie Lee Gifford and music writer David Friedman were also there, and they talked about the inspiration for the show, and how it came to be.

Normally you just get a few songs and a signing, but this was so much more interesting. Gifford has been trying for thirteen years to bring the remarkable story of Amy Semple McPherson, a superstar evangelist from the 1920s, who was as famous as Madonna in her day.

We heard about the various iterations of the show in DC and Seattle, and the tough decisions they had to make on what to cut (Gifford said that there were 15 more songs that didn’t make it in the show, including a gospel song that was her favorite).

It was an eye-opening look at how difficult it is to get a show to Broadway, and the heartbreak at seeing it close. I saw the show and liked it, though I could see how difficult it was to tell such a rich story in such a short time.

The Tony-nominated Carmello brought down the house (and brought Gifford to tears) as she belted out three songs from the show, Stand Up, Why Can’t I? and How Could You? (Gifford likes songs that ask a question. See also- Lost or Found? and What Does It Profit?)

Carolee Carmello, Kathie Lee Gifford, David Friedman

I literally had goosebumps listening to her sing and recorded two of the songs, which you can see below. Carmello is such a talent, I hope to see her back on Broadway soon.