1976 interview with Valerie Bertinelli

[catlover79]

This interview came from a book called TV Talk 2 by Peggy Herz, and was published in the fall of 1976. I also put this on the One Day at a Time page, and the Mackenzie Phillips interview is there as well. Enjoy!

Valerie Bertinelli


Valerie Bertinelli plays Barbara Cooper, Julie's younger sister, on One Day at a Time. In real life, Valerie was born April 23, 1960 - making her only five months younger than Mackenzie Phillips.

"When the show started, I was supposed to be 14," Valerie said. "but after we'd been on the air 13 weeks they made me 15 1/2! My sister (played by Mackenzie Phillips) is supposed to be 17."

Valerie and I met for lunch in a flower-filled French restaurant in the San Fernando Valley. Valerie took the surroundings in stride. She listened intently as the waiter rattled off a long list of French specialties. She asked about one of the chicken dishes, and then ordered that.

Valerie lives in Northridge, CA, but she was born in Wilmington, DE. "We left Delaware when I was 8," she told me. "My father is an executive for General Motors. I'm not really sure what he does, but he does something - and it's a good way for me to get my cars!" Valerie smiled.

"It's kind of scary to move when you're 8. All my friends were in Delaware. You have to make a new beginning somewhere else. We moved to Michigan. Once we got there I liked it. We lived a half-mile from a ski resort. My dad taught me to ski when I was 8."

Valerie has an older brother and two younger brothers. "We moved as my dad got higher jobs," she explained. "We moved to Los Angeles, then to Oklahoma, and finally back here to California."

Valerie never considered becoming an actress until the family moved to LA. Even then it came about because she was terribly shy.

"We saw an ad in the newspaper for an acting school," Valerie said. "My father wanted me to try it to get over my shyness. So I started taking once-a-week classes when I was 11. I was scared to death. Whenever I did a report in class I was scared! We had just moved to California and I didn't know anybody. The lady who was my teacher then is my manager now. She thought I had talent and wanted to sign me up."

Valerie agreed to give it a try. "My first audition was for a deodorant commercial," she recalled with a laugh. "My mother took me to the audition. I was so scared! All the girls who were there looked about 3 years older than me. I wondered why they'd want me. I was 12 then. I was crushed after the first interview. I cried all the way home. Several days they called me back. I didn't get the commercial, but being called back helped me from feeling like a complete failure."

She kept going out on auditions, though, and finally landed several commercials. "I got them 3 years ago," Valerie said. "Then I didn't get them anymore. But then we moved to Oklahoma for 3 months - and that did a lot for me. I was getting tired of going out on calls and not getting anything. Going to Oklahoma gave me a rest. We came back early in 1975 - and everything's happened since then. I've gotten five commercials, I did an Apple's Way segment, and so on.

"You have to keep trying. You may go on 100 interviews and not get anything. I always tell myself, 'Well, better luck next time.' I always figure next time I'll do better and get lucky. A lot of it is luck. There are so many talented people around."

Valerie is very close to her family. "My mom kept me going," she admitted. "So did my father. They were not pushing me. It was just, if I wanted to do it, I should do it. My mom drove me to interviews and gave me confidence. I think I'm very lucky to have the family I do. They are really perfect. We get along well. We fight sometimes - we're typical in that way! But my parents are perfect. I really love them."

Her TV family is much different, Valerie acknowledged. "I can't really relate to them because I've not been through a divorce. It's hard for me to imagine, but I do the best I can. The show must be doing a good job, though. The letters we receive all say how real the show is, and how real the family is. I know Norman Lear likes that."

Valerie is a junior at Granada Hills High School. "I like math and English very much," she said. "And I love to play football! I play touch, tackle, flag - everything. I play it in PE, and sometimes people from the studio and I go out on Saturdays and play. My brothers always played, so I joined them! They taught me everything I know. I'm pretty good! I also like to play backgammon. I have a portable set in the car. My best friend taught me. She beats me, but I play it constantly. I like to swim, and I used to play tennis, but I haven't played recently."

Valerie's face lit up. "I'm also an Elton John freak," she confided. "I'm in love with Elton John! I like everything about him! I have albums, T-shirts...the last time I counted I had about 40 posters, 50 T-shirts...I've seen him perform a number of times but I've never met him." Valerie paused. She wanted to make sure I understood. "He's not my idol," she explained. "He's something good to me. He's good," she emphasized.

Valerie wasn't allowed to date until she was 16. "I have a boyfriend," she said. "We haven't been on many dates, but he comes over every night. He feels proud when fans recognize me. And I LOVE being recognized!" She laughed. "It's such an ego trip. It's hard to explain. I love it. I need a lot of attention. I'm such a ham!"

Valerie and her co-star Mackenzie Phillips are good friends. "I just spent the weekend at her house," Valerie said. "We went to the movies. She's fun to be around. I like her very much. While the show was out of production, I also went to New York to see Bonnie Franklin, who plays our mother on the show. She has an act in which she sings and dances. She is so good! Wow, is she talented! I went to see her act 4 times," Valerie raved.

"At one time I thought I wanted to be Miss America or Miss California," Valerie added, "so that I could say to my children, 'See, I was something!'" Valerie smiled. Now I hope I'll stay in acting. But if no one wanted me as an actress, I'd like to be a stewardess."

At the moment, it doesn't look like she'll be offering "coffee, tea or milk?" to airborne travelers. She's settled in a TV comedy hit - and she has the support and encouragement of many people.

"My father handles my business affairs," Valerie noted. "Money is taken out of what I make to pay my taxes, my agent, and my manager. The rest comes to me or is put in a trust fund. I pay for my car and my car insurance, my telephone bill, my clothes, and so on. The rest I splurge with." Valerie laughed. "When I go in a record store I have trouble not coming out with about five albums!"

Valerie has found a good system for answering her fan mail, she said. "The mail comes in to CBS or to Tandem, the production company," she explained. "I pick it up and bring it home. I picked up 200 letters recently. Then I sign my pictures, my father writes out the envelopes, my girlfriend puts in an information card about me, and my mother stamps and seals the envelopes. We get 50-70 done at a time!"

It's a big job to keep up with all the responsibilities of going to school and being in a TV series. Would either Valerie or Mackenzie Phillips like to change anything about their lives at this point? "Absolutely not!" both teenagers assured me.