E-mail a friendKellita Smith
airdate April 29, 2005
Talented actress Kellita Smith discovered her penchant for acting in a chance casting in the play Tell It Like It Tiz and won an NAACP Image Award for her work in Feelings. Currently starring in the hit series The Bernie Mac Show, Smith's TV credits include The Jamie Fox Show and Malcolm and Eddie. She's also graced the big screen in Kingdom Come, The Crossing Guard and King's Ransom. In '01, Smith formed her own production company, Strange Fruit, to develop various projects.
Kellita Smith
Tavis: Kellita Smith is a beautiful and talented actress who we all know as Bernie Mac's wife on 'The Bernie Mac Show.' Her movie resume includes 'The Crossing Guard' with Jack Nicholson and 'Kingdom Come' with Whoopi Goldberg. Her latest film, though, is 'King's Ransom,' starring funny man Anthony Anderson. You can check that out in theaters as we speak. But back to Bernie Mac. The show has won just about every award possible, including--I'd almost forgotten about this--a Peabody Award. That's serious business right there. Here now a scene from 'The Bernie Mac Show.'
Bernie Mac: Wanda, wake up! That big-ass boy wanna walk around here and do more of the homework. We don't need no more kids running around here. Now wake up!
Wanda: OK, well, all right, then. Wha--we need to talk to--
Bernie: This is real! Yeah, we need to talk to her. This is real!
Wanda: All right, well, honey, you're making it sound so serious.
Bernie: It is serious.
Wanda: OK, well, then, let's talk to her about birth control.
Bernie: No, no! That mean we givin' in, we condonin' it!
Wanda: No! That's not what it means. It means that we are teaching her to be responsible and safe.
Bernie: Well, then, you umpire. Get up and talk about what's safe. Come on.
Wanda: I'm not gettin' up right now.
Bernie: Come on, Wanda!
Wanda: I'm-a talk to her tomorrow.
Bernie: No, it'll be too late! She be pregnant!
Tavis: Hey, Kellita, how are you?
Kellita Smith: I'm good.
Tavis: Nice to see you. I know that didn't embarrass you. You shot the scene. You lookin' all embarrassed.
Smith: No. Bernie's just funny.
Tavis: Yeah. He is funny. How did you--where did you meet funny man Bernie Mac?
Smith: I recollect meeting Bernie--right, right--I recollect, in '92, I saw him at The Cotton Club.
Tavis: This is long before the show, then.
Smith: Yeah. Oh, my God.
Tavis: Was he performing that night? 'Cause Chicago's his hometown.
Smith: He was hosting that club.
Tavis: Was he funny?
Smith: He was hilarious. I remember leaving, saying, "God, he's--that guy's a star." No, totally. "He's a star, but too bad nobody knows." Yeah.
Tavis: You know, it's funny you say that, because Bernie--I've known Bernie for years, as you have, and for those of us who've known Bernie for a while and knew the guy was funny, for some reason, the group of comedians, the pack of comedians, one by one, that were starting to get their due? Bernie was, like, the last one. And I was trying to figure out, "When is Bernie's moment going to come?"
Smith: God saves the best for last.
Tavis: You think that's what it is? Yeah. 'Cause, I mean, everybody else was breaking out of that pack, and it just took Bernie a while to get there. But when he got there...
Smith: But his show's different. The style, you know? It was meant for this time.
Tavis: When you say the show is different, it is different. What are you referring to when you say the show is different? What makes it different for you than the other stuff that's on the air?
Smith: The fact that it's high-definition, the story, you know?
Tavis: You gotta be real cute for high-definition, don't you?
Smith: No, you don't. High-def make you cute.
Tavis: I'm afraid for high-definition. I don't want them to zoom in any closer.
Smith: You better embrace it. High-def make you fine.
Tavis: Yeah, yeah. I've heard the exact opposite. I've heard high-def, like, really gets all up in your nose hair.
Smith: No, you should date high-def. Yeah. I'm gonna get some contact lenses with some high-def. Date gonna change.
Tavis, laughing: Yeah, I heard that! So, the show is different, so different, in fact, that even though it's a comedy it wins a Peabody Award. How did that happen?
Smith: Right, and I'd never heard of Peabody. And everybody was excited, and I was like, "Is that an animation thing?" But, no, it's a very prest--I'm public school--it's a very prestigious award, you know? And it's from the Critics' Association. Yeah.
Tavis: The--when you went to audition for the role, were you at the time clear, from the first script--whatever your sides were that day that you were auditioning with--were you clear how different this show was going to be?
Smith: What--yeah. 'Cause it was written different. Yeah.
Tavis: What attracted you to it?
Smith: Bernie. Mm-hmm.
Tavis: Just went for Bernie.
Smith: Oh, my God. Yeah. 'Cause it felt--it had an energy like it was his turn.
Tavis: Right. If you ask comedians--and I've talked to any number of them over the years on radio and television--and almost every comedian, to a person, if you ask them who inspired them, they say Richard Pryor. I mean, especially the brothers. They all--I mean, Pryor is on every--black or white, Pryor's on every--
Smith: I say Redd Foxx.
Tavis: You say Redd Foxx. Pryor's on everybody's list. Foxx is usually on the list, but Pryor's on everybody's list. Bernie's humor is different, just as the show is different. What do you think about Bernie--what about Bernie's difference do you think makes the difference? What's it about his--what about his style makes him connect?
Smith: That he's curt.
Tavis: Yeah. That he's curt.
Smith: He's blue. The people you named are blue comedy--Richard, Redd. That's considered blue. So he's, like, not P.C. We like not P.C.
Tavis: You know, there were a lot of people, though--
Smith: 'Cause now you speakin' for me.
Tavis: I hear you. The--I mean, obviously, hindsight is 20-20 vision. Bernie's show, your show, has become a hit because Bernie's style is different, but there are a lot of folk when this show came on that thought it wasn't gonna make it because Bernie was so blue. But it's connected.
Smith: And it was so different. You know? People fear difference. You know?
Tavis: How do you respond--how have you responded over the seasons--I mean, you know, it don't matter now, 'cause you're a success. You don't have to respond to it--
Smith: Huh. Where you at?
Tavis: When there were those handful of critics who were saying that the show was just a little too much, that Bernie was a little too blue, that Bernie was a little too--how did you respond to that? What were you saying to critics in your response to that kind of--
Smith: Nothin'. Because I knew that the proof was in the pudding, and all they needed to do was put it on the air, because just like I'm a fan of Bernie Mac, his--please. His fan base is so huge, which is why the numbers do what they do, and you still can't find us. You know? Because he was already a success before he came.
Tavis: What were you doing, since Bernie was a success before he came, what were you doing before 'The Bernie Mac Show'? How did you--
Smith: I was doing unemployment very well.
Tavis: You were doing something else. When did you get into this acting game? How did you find your way into this business?
Smith: I was fired from all my 9 to 5s, and something said, "You need to just go on and do something else."
Tavis: Are you serious? You got fired from a number of jobs?
Smith: 4.
Tavis: 4 of them? Can I walk through them right--do you remember what they were?
Smith: Don't walk through.
Tavis: Come on. I wanna hear this. You got fired from what?
Smith: I put all of that behind me.
Tavis: I know. I'm bringing it back up. Bring it--this may be therapeutic for you. Work with me, Kellita. Work with me, Kellita. I'm just trying to learn something here. What did you get fired from? I'm just curious what you did.
Smith: I was--"fired" is so harsh. I was released--
Tavis: Downsized.
Smith, laughing: Yeah! I was released from Macy's for socializing too much.
Tavis: That's--hold the phone, hold the phone.
Smith: Please hold it.
Tavis: How do you get fired from Macy--how do you get fired from Macy's, Kellita?
Smith: I laughed at them. Because, first of all, I'm in the men's department. And they told me to dress up. I'm in Richmond. I'm pushing button-down Charter Club shirts. That can't get pushed without a conversation. Come on. OK? So, you know--but I did 94% of the sales. That's why I laughed at 'em and took my check when they said, "You gotta go." I said, "Now, this a joke."
Tavis: You got fired from Macy's. What else you get fired from, Kellita?
Smith: An insurance company.
Tavis: What were you doing at the insurance company? And why'd you get fired from there?
Smith: You know what? It wasn't my fault this time.
Tavis: This was not your fault.
Smith: No. This was not my fault this time.
Tavis: Every sister I know says, "It wasn't my fault."
Smith: No, if it was my fault, I'd tell you. This time it wasn't my fault.
Tavis: What happened was what?
Smith: Let me tell you what had happened.
Tavis: Go ahead.
Smith: Well, you know, at certain jobs, there are certain group of people that work these jobs, and this happened to be all women. We were not treated very well. So, therefore, I decided to write a letter, grammatical errors and everything...
Tavis: You just put it all out there.
Smith: All out there, 'cause I meant it. It was more passion, right? So, commas over here and semicolons over here. But I meant it.
Tavis: Yeah.
Smith: So I faxed it to the top bosses, and I put it on the people desk. And we were in the green room putting it all together, and the women was like, "Yeah! Make sure you put this down there!" I was like, "Yeah! And another thing...and, you know, we ain't got no more room." "Oh, but you better put that on there." so then I did it and then the next day, the people greeted me at the door with a little box and they said, "Everything that you can't fit in here, we will send to you. We will march you to your cubicle, and you will get all of your things." As I walked through, it was dead silence. The women were like, "Yeah, thank you for calling. Blah, blah, blah." and I was like, "Mmm..." They was like, "Thank you for--Girl, you better go--Thank you for calling." I was like, "But can you--"they was like, "Mmm. I don't--mm-hmm." I said, "Now, it--let me get my stuff!" and I left, and I had to walk home.
Tavis: So they were all in the meeting with you, helping you write the letter, but when you got ushered out, they didn't--
Smith: Oh, my God! The people.
Tavis: So, what did you learn from this experience? Did you learn anything from that?
Smith: Don't be Norma Rae.
Tavis: Don't be Norma Rae.
Smith: Mm-mmm. Be yourself.
Tavis: You--I mean, you stuck by your principles. You did what you believed in.
Smith: I ain't doin' that no more.
Tavis: You're not doin' that no more? Yeah, I know you--
Smith: No, you know what? I will always stand for what I believe in. I have to. If you stand for nothing, then who are you?
Tavis: Mm-hmm. Wow.
Smith: Be Smiley.
Tavis: No, I'm--I'm--now, you went too philosophical on me.
Smith: Did I? I went deep?
Tavis: You submerged. That reminds me. Last time I talked to Bernie, we were on--I don't know if it was radio or television. I think it must've been on radio. And I had promoted, "Bernie Mac coming on, Bernie Mac coming on." and Bernie was in one of those moods one day, and he just wanted to be deep.
Smith, chuckling: Oh, yeah.
Tavis: I said, "Bernie, what was that?" I mean, we had, like, a 20-minute conversation, and Bernie didn't say nothin' funny. And he just--it didn't--
Smith: 'Cause he gettin' older.
Tavis: Yeah. Is that what it is?
Smith: Mm-hmm. He's turning into a grandfather. Well, you know, everything means something.
Tavis: Yeah.
Smith: He be here. I be like, "And the joke is...? Hi."
Tavis, laughing: Yeah. So what's it like on the set with these kids? What's it like on the set, actually?
Smith: I take my birth control faithfully. No, the kids are great. They great. You know what, they--they always step up to the plate. They come knowing their lines. They hit their marks. You know, we're not a traditional sitcom, so we don't really rehearse, and you gotta hit it. Normally if we have to shoot it again, it's 'cause of Bernie.
Tavis: 'Cause of Bernie. But we won't tell Bernie you said that, since his name is in the title.
Smith: Yeah. He know the truth.
Tavis: How much longer can this thing go? I mean, Gail Berman, who was the head of Fox, has left to go to--where'd she go, Paramount somewhere?
Smith: Yeah, I think it was Paramount.
Tavis: So, how much longer can this show do well on television?
Smith: I think as long as they promote it, it can go as long as Bernie decides. Mm-hmm.
Tavis: Now, you said--you mentioned that twice. I was trying to be nice. I didn't wanna get you in trouble, but twice you have referenced promoting the show, being found, "Do people know where we are?"
Smith: Tavis, don't get me in trouble.
Tavis: Is there something you trying to tell me or trying to tell your bosses at Fox? You said that twice now. Come on, stand by your principles, Norma Rae. Stand by your principles.
Smith: I'm Norma Jean.
Tavis: Norma Jean. Stand by your principles.
Smith: No, actually, you know what? In all honesty, we have not been promoted fairly. And because we're still on the air doing the numbers that we do is a testament to Bernie and the quality of the show.
Tavis: OK, so, look in that camera--where's she at, Jonathan? Give Kellita a camera. OK, that's your camera right there. Go ahead and promote your show. When is it on? Tell us--tell us. Come on.
Smith: The show's on Friday nights, Fox, at 8:00.
Tavis: OK.
Smith: This time. We'll call you when it's different.
Tavis: The show is Friday nights at 8:00 on Fox, 'The Bernie Mac Show,' starring one Kellita Smith. 'King's Ransom' in theaters now. Kellita, nice to have you on.
Smith: Same.
Tavis: Pleasure's mine. That's our show for tonight. A reminder: starting this weekend, you can catch me back on public radio through PRI, International--Public Radio International, that is. Check your local listings. I'll talk to you then. See you back here next time on PBS. Until then, good night from L.A., thanks for watching, and keep the faith.
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