Get your own Free Home PageABC Lori: In just a few minutes, we will be talking with Pat Richardson, star of the ABC hit
ABC Lori: series "Home Improvement" and the host of the ABC special, "The Story of Mothers
ABC Lori: and Daughters."
ABC Lori: To send you questions to Pat, click on the Interact button above, type in your
ABC Lori: question, and hit the "Ask a Question" button to send it to us.
OnlineHost: “PatRLive” has entered the room.
ABC Lori: Welcome one and all! The time has finally arrived for us to sit down with one of
ABC Lori: America's favorite TV moms Patricia Richardson. Pat stars as "Jill Taylor"
ABC Lori: on the hit series "Home Improvment" on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m., ET.
ABC Lori: She will also be hosting the ABC special, "The Story of Mothers and Daughters" which will
ABC Lori: air next Monday, April 21 from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET.
ABC Lori: Audiences nationwide know her as the loving mother and wife "Jill Taylor"
ABC Lori: on "Home Improvement." "Jill" must balance her personal and professional lives while
ABC Lori: oftentimes playing a drill sergeant and diplomat to her three sons and husband. For her
ABC Lori: portrayal of the lone woman in the zany Taylor household, Pat has received
ABC Lori: two Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. In addition to this show,
ABC Lori: Pat has been seen in such telefilms as "Sophie and the Moonhanger "
ABC Lori: and the miniseries "Undue Influence." Look for Pat this summer in the feature
ABC Lori: film "Ulee's Gold" opposite Peter Fonda..
ABC Lori: To send your questions to Pat, click on the Interact button, type in you question and hit
ABC Lori: the "Ask a Question" button.
ABC Lori: Please join me in welcoming Pat Richardson to the auditorium!
ABC Lori: Thanks so much for being here Pat.
ABC Lori: We are so happy that you could join us tonight!
PatRLive: Welcome everybody, hello! :)
ABC Lori: We'll start off with a question from DOT 2CUTE:
Question: Do you enjoy the boys?DOT 2CUTE
PatRLive: Yes. They're a lot of fun and they're real professional. They've grown up a lot during
PatRLive: the show.
ABC Lori: Rahul75 has a question for you...
Question: Welcome to America Online, Patricia. Do you have any plans for the summer?
PatRLive: My plans for the summer are to finish building my house and to be with my kids. I really
PatRLive: don't want to work, I haven't had more than two weeks off in two years.
PatRLive: And I need to spend a lot of time lying down.
ABC Lori: Rest is always good!
ABC Lori: Here's a nice question from SGPernicu:
Question: Patricia, while very much maintaining the family nature of your show, how have you managed to become even more attractive and sexy with each season?
PatRLive: The answer to that is "ha ha ha ha" :)
PatRLive: My costumers are determined to get me in more skinny clothes, which I find very
PatRLive: uncomfortable. :)
ABC Lori: A question about being a mother...
Question: It seems like your are much like you're TV mom character by neing family-oriented, down-to-earth, yet non-stereotypical. Do you see any similarities between yourself and your TV personality, or do you think you are totally different?
PatRLive: Yes, there are similarities. Because when you work in this particular medium (sitcom)
PatRLive: you almost have to work very close to yourself because you're producing so much material
PatRLive: so quickly.
PatRLive: But my life is a lot more complicated than Jill's.
PatRLive: And I'm not near as centered and stable as she is. :)
ABC Lori: Here'sa nice comment from NLS37:
Comment: Hey Patricia. We really enjoy your show. In fact, it's on at 7:00 and we're sitting here watching it while listening to you! Anyway, thanks for the entertainment. You're gifted, as is the rest of the crew.
PatRLive: Thank you, we have a great bunch of people, and a usually happy set.
PatRLive: I guess what I meant was, *unusually* happy set. :)
ABC Lori: Rom368 wants to know:
ABC Lori: Patricia -- Do you think your role in Home Improvement has changed the role of women
ABC Lori: in society?
PatRLive: I don't know, what do you think? :) That would surprise me.
ABC Lori: RerinF wants to know:
ABC Lori: Do they have an episode about Jill once in a while because I like all of the ones with you in it.
PatRLive: Thank you so much. There are probably about 5 shows out of the 25 every year that are
PatRLive: really strong Jill episodes.
PatRLive: The last three out of four I was in quite a bit.
PatRLive: There's one coming up May 13 I hope you all with watch.
ABC Lori: Another question from RerinF:
ABC Lori: Do you have any kids?
PatRLive: Yes, I have three children. Henry is 12 and then I have six year old twins, Joe and Roxie
ABC Lori: As a mother, could you relate to many of the stories that were told in "Mothers &
ABC Lori: Daughters?"
PatRLive: I actually related more to the stories a daughter than I did as a mother, although
PatRLive: obviously there were things that struck me... my daughter is still only six, so her
PatRLive: personality is just really developing. We have yet to get into what, I think, will be the
PatRLive: more complicated parts of our relationship.
ABC Lori: Could you tell us a little more about the special?
PatRLive: These are interviews with a wide variety of women -- wide variety or race and age, class -
PatRLive: that are really emotionally involving. Particularly so because their revelatory without
PatRLive: always meaning to be. They surprise you and they surprise themselves.
ABC Lori: By the way everyone, this special airs next MONDAY, APRIL 21 at 8:00 p.m., ET.
ABC Lori: Back to "Home Improvement"...Here's one from Lisa N924:
Question: I was wondering, whats it like working with Tim Allen? I've seen the mistakes after the
Question: show is over, and it looks kinda fun..Is it??
PatRLive: The mistakes are only fun the first two times they happen. But when the mistakes happen
PatRLive: six or seven times, you want to get the gun. :)
ABC Lori:"How is it being a single mom after so\
many years of married life?"
PatRLive: Very difficult, but I'm starting to get used to it. I'm lucky in that I have a really
PatRLive: great co-parent in my ex-husband.
ABC Lori: WVAMEDIC is curious:
Question: Patricaia, I love you as Jill. I myself look like Al Borland, scary huh? Is it hard for you to get into character, or is Jill based on Patricia?
PatRLive: Jill is based on a lot of Patricia's suggestions -- but that doesn't mean that she's based
PatRLive: on Patricia.
PatRLive: After doing the show for six years, it's very easy to get in character.
ABC Lori: Jam Sam95 would like to know:
Question: Who is your favorite Actor/Actress?
PatRLive: Ooooh, hard question. I have *millions.* I think there are so many wonderful people
PatRLive: out there.
PatRLive: Makes it harder to get work! :)
ABC Lori: KatKriste has a regional type question:
Question: did the environment in texas, which still has a bit of the "wild west" feeling to it, help to support your acting goals? (i'm a 4th generation texan, so i'm curious)
PatRLive: Texas has an incredibly great theatre program throughout its high schools. It has great
PatRLive: college programs. I went to SMU and got my degree in acting there. And Texas really has
PatRLive: some great college programs for theatre training.
PatRLive: Unfortunately most of the really good people have to leave, in order to work
PatRLive: professionally.
ABC Lori: Here's a question from ENMZSAHN:
Question: Patricia what do you do in your free time? Elise Meger Minneapolis MN age 14
PatRLive: I'm not sure I have any free time! I wish I had more free time. :) I'm with my kids,
PatRLive: I work, I'm with my kids, I work, I'm with my kids. :)
ABC Lori: LL TYME is asking:
Question: do your kids watch home improvement like fanatics?
PatRLive: Not my six year olds so much, but my 12 year old really likes to watch it. He's been on
PatRLive: the show three times.
ABC Lori: ARb321 wants to know:
Question: what was your favorite epsiod
PatRLive: Oh, gee, I don't have one favorite. I probably have about ten favorites, but it would
PatRLive: probably be hard to list them off the top of my head because we've done 151 episodes.
ABC Lori: We know that "Home Improvement" is many people's favorite TV show...
Question: what is your favorite television show?
PatRLive: My favorite television show used to be "Roseanne" and now that's debatable. Possibly
PatRLive: "ER" - I have a huge crush on George Clooney, like most of America.
PatRLive: I'm a recent devotee of "X-Files" -- I used to not be able to watch it because it was on
PatRLive: Friday when we taped.
ABC Lori: HANSHION wants to know about when you were young...
Question: Hi! When you were little was you dream to become a movies star? If not what was you dream?
PatRLive: Yes, at first I wanted to be about a thousand different professions. Because I used to
PatRLive: read a lot
PatRLive: and I liked to live in the land of the book.
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PatRLive: Then I realized that if I became an actress I could live all these different lives, in all
PatRLive: these different times.
ABC Lori: Since you chose acting as your profession, KAMXL1 would like to know:
Question: How do you like being on TV
PatRLive: I like it a lot more than I thought I would. I did 13 years of theater in New York before
PatRLive: I started doing television, and doing sitcoms is very much like the experience of acting
PatRLive: in the theater.
PatRLive: You have a live audience but you reach a lot more people and you get paid a lot more. :)
PatRLive: Plus, as a mother, doing television is the closest you get to a 9 to 5 job, and I don't
PatRLive: have to drag my kids around the country or leave them for long periods of time.
ABC Lori: Were you able to shoot your new movie "Ulee's Gold" locally?
PatRLive: No... we went to Carabelle, Florida to film because that is the only place in the world
PatRLive: where they make tupelo honey.
PatRLive: Which is what Peter Fonda does in the film.
PatRLive: The gold referred to in the title is tupelo honey.
PatRLive: It's a metaphor as well for his feelings.
ABC Lori: Be sure to look for "Ulee's Gold" this summer in your local theaters!
ABC Lori: Lisa N924 has a question that we all would like answered...
Question: How come with the character Wilson, you can never see his face?
PatRLive: That was an idea of Tim's, which we all love, partly because it's fun to hide it, and
PatRLive: partly because we think it adds to his mystery and power.
ABC Lori: HeatARV, an obviously true "Home Improvement" fan, would like to know...
Question: hello patricia, i watch your show every night, i am even watching it now and i love it.
Question: i was just wondering how long do you think it ill go on and have you been working on other projects??
PatRLive: The show will go on at least one more year, possibly two. But that depends on whether Tim
PatRLive: still wants to do it. Everyone else is signed for two more.
PatRLive: I'm not working on any other projects at the moment, other than my children's mental
PatRLive: health. ;) And my own :)
ABC Lori: Cubbybare wonders how you balance everything in your life...
Question: So Patricia, What's Tim Allen really like? Is he always funny? And, How do you manage to
Question: have a great career and take care of a family including TWINS too?? :)
PatRLive: Tim is intelligent, not as silly as he seems on the show, serious about his work,
PatRLive: committed and also fun.
PatRLive: He's like a brother to me, and we're pretty close.
PatRLive: As for the last question -- I don't know! That's why I have to take a break this summer!
PatRLive: :)
ABC Lori: ReganAZ is asking:
Question: Patricia you are a "great mom" on Home Improvement! It seems that sometimes the "looks" you give are a sincere response to the scene. Do you adlib at all?
PatRLive: No, there's almost no ad-libbing on tape night. If you think my responses seem sincere,
PatRLive: then that's just a compliment to good acting -- thank you. :)
ABC Lori: NikeGrl99 has a question for TV Guide's "Best TV Mom" ~
Question: Do the kids on the show (ie Johnathan Taylor Thomas) see you as another mom to them?
PatRLive: No, I don't think so. I've never attempted to play that role in their lives... they all
PatRLive: have their own wonderful moms. And my own children keep me busy enough. :)
ABC Lori: Cynosure1 has a fitness question for you...
Question: I think you look great, I want to know how did you get in such great shape?
PatRLive: I started out the show three months after I had given birth to 15 pounds worth of twins.
PatRLive: This is also after six months in bed during the pregnancy, because it was high risk.
PatRLive: And three months of the babies both having colic.
PatRLive: So I was quite heavy in the beginning, and then really too busy working and taking care
PatRLive: of them to really work out or take care of the weight
.
PatRLive: After about a year I started working out with the woman who is sort of the PE teacher for
PatRLive: the boys on the show, Vicki, and then I just gradually going back to what is my normal
PatRLive: weight. I had never been really heavy before that, it was just mainly pregnancy weight
PatRLive: that I had to drop. I haven't really worked out now in two years. It's just life that
PatRLive: keeps it off! :)
ABC Lori: Charsta wants to know how you feel about working with the all male cast?
PatRLive: Now Debbe Dunning is there, and she's a great girl.
i
PatRLive: And we have lots of women working around on the set, that are terrific.
PatRLive: And we hold our own :)
ABC Lori: KSubl4861 is curious:
Question: I think Jill is setting a good example by going back to school. She shows that a woman can have a family and get an education. How old is Jill?
PatRLive: Jill probably turns 40 this year, although we didn't manage to get that birthday episode
PatRLive: in. We were going to do a big 40th birthday episode, but it never happened.
ABC Lori: We have to start wrapping it up.
PatRLive: My daughter will kill me if I miss her T-ball game! :)
ABC Lori: The joys of being a mom!
ABC Lori: Do you think that men and boys alike will be able to relate to the special "Mothers & Daughters?"
PatRLive: I hope so! I know one man who saw it and wept -- despite himself. :)
ABC Lori: Thank you so much for joining us tonight Pat!
ABC Lori: Sorry, jumped the gun there...
PatRLive: And there's always something that men can learn about women by watching these things.
PatRLive: It's ok. :)
ABC Lori: Thank you so much for joining us tonight!
PatRLive: Bye everybody -- thank you for watching, and I hope you all watch the special on Monday
PatRLive: night. And I hope you all come to see "Ulee's Gold" in June when it opens, this is Peter
PatRLive: Fonda's big comeback.
ABC Lori: We sure will!
ABC Lori: Bye Pat!
OnlineHost: “PatRLive” has left the room.
ABC Lori: Be sure to tune in to "The Story of Mothers and Daughters which airs this coming
ABC Lori: MONDAY, APRIL 21 at 8:00 p.m., ET.
ABC Lori: And as you all know, "Home Improvement" airs on TUESDAYS from 9:00-9:30 p.m., ET
ABC Lori: on ABC.
ABC Lori: Take care and goodnight!
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