Crystal Bernard quotes - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

losthighway · 05-04-2003, 07:08 PM

This is part of an interview with Crystal back in 1997, but I still thought it had some interesting comments by Crystal:

After eight seasons behind the counter on Wings, the multitalented preacher's daughter catches her breath--but not for long

With her day job finally out of the way, Crystal Bernard has shifted into low gear. The actress-singer-songwriter has sixty concert dates booked, a new album to record, songs to write, cars and speedboats to race, and movies she wants to make. But because she is no longer playing Helen Chappel Hackett on Wings, which concludes an eight-year flight on NBC Wednesday night, Bernard now feels as if she's on vacation. Who can blame her? She's been working steadily on television for the past fifteen years.

The tireless performer couldn't be more different from Helen, a laconic figure who has been stuck at Wings' airport lunch counter for almost a decade. A thirty-two-year-old preacher's daughter from Texas, Bernard has been onstage from the time she began singing as a child at gospel jubilees across the country. At fourteen, she was discovered by country star Bobbie Gentry ("Ode to Billy Joe"), who asked her to join her Las Vegas revue. Driven by her faith in God and an innate ambition, Bernard enrolled as a theater and international-relations major at Baylor University when she was sixteen, and began her professional career in a national Pepsi commercial soon after. A year later, she left Texas and joined the cast of Happy Days as Richie and Joanie Cunningham's cousin, K.C. That stint was followed by a role as a roller-skating hooker in Garry Marshall's 1982 film, Young Doctors in Love, and a five-year run as a naive waitress on the series It's a Living. Just a few months after that show shut down, Bernard was on the set of Wings.

Can you tell me what you felt when that final episode of Wings was completed and the series was behind you?

I was crying. Tim [Daly] had come up to me right before the second-to-the-last scene and put his arms around me and said, "Sweetheart, this is the last time we're going to act together." And I cried. Luckily, I was supposed to cry in the scene. You know, I had regrets that I didn't enjoy it more every single day. We had a party the next night and I can't tell you how much I wanted to talk to every person in the room and tell them what they meant to me, knowing I probably wouldn't see them again.

In the Wings series finale, Helen has a chance to escape from behind the lunch counter. Was there ever a time when you hoped the producers and writers might give Helen a different way to go?

There were a lot of things we could have done with Helen that I thought might have been more interesting. But succeeding was never one of my suggestions. I like the fact that she was a loser. And I say that in the kindest way. She tried so hard in everything she did, and it failed on her, and it was funny. I liked her not being the homecoming queen, because I think everyone could identify with that.

The fundamental premise of Wings seems to be that in each of us there is some of the uptight, overpolite Joe Hackett (Daly) and some of the wild, irresponsible Brian Hackett (Steven Weber). Tell me about the Joe part of you and the Brian part of you.

The organization of Joe and wanting to be a good student and do everything right is extremely prevalent in my life. I can't say no. I think that's why I work so much. And I'm like Brian in that I race cars and I love games. I could go play video games forever. And I'm such a kid when I don't have to be responsible.

I read in Music City News that you've only had three boyfriends in your life. Did they get that right?

Yeah, I think so. It's not a sad thing. I think my expectations are high. I'm real happy. I've got a great life, I'm extremely fulfilled. I have a family that loves me so much they'd die for me. And I for them. I have guy friends who would do anything for me. I'm a happy girl. So, to get in a relationship where someone wants to change you so that it would be better for them--become less independent or take the very thing that makes me happy--to me that's not love. To get in a relationship just because I wanted a man? I'd just rather wait.

You played someone with an eating disorder in the TV movie Dying To Be Perfect, and weight was an issue in Helen's past. How have you dealt with Hollywood equating being thin with being sexy?

I've never had a weight problem. I go up five pounds and down five pounds without really any different behavior. I've never had a psychological problem about needing to be skinny or having that "look." I've always liked a healthy look. I've always been attracted to matters of the heart rather than matters of looks. I've never been attracted to guys who are beautiful. Never have.

I understand the weight issue so well, because I understand personal addiction and abuse. My mother was obese all our lives. I can say that now. I never used to say it, because she was obese. But four or five years ago, she dropped about 100 pounds. And she is beautiful. And happy. But I understand what it does to people when they think of what other people think of them. You can get lost in your own nightmare. I have a tenderness in my heart about any kind of addiction. Growing up, we lived in a drug rehab center for a year almost. I saw people who were drug addicts who gave it everything they had to stop, but couldn't.

pilotguy · 05-04-2003, 07:24 PM

Thank you for that Crystal Bernard interview....VERY interesting, and she sounds like a nice person in real life.

I liked Crystal's view of Helen as a "loser"...a person who tried and tried her hardest, but just kept failing at everything that she attempted. Crystal didn't call Helen a "loser" in a BAD way...in fact, she said that Helen's failures were things that the viewers could identify with.
Jackie Gleason used to say basically the same thing about his "Ralph Kramden" character, another "lovable loser".

Thanks again, "losthighway"!

Krista2882 · 05-05-2003, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by losthighway
.
.
.
I read in Music City News that you've only had three boyfriends in your life. Did they get that right?

Yeah, I think so. It's not a sad thing. I think my expectations are high. I'm real happy. I've got a great life, I'm extremely fulfilled. I have a family that loves me so much they'd die for me. And I for them. I have guy friends who would do anything for me. I'm a happy girl. So, to get in a relationship where someone wants to change you so that it would be better for them--become less independent or take the very thing that makes me happy--to me that's not love. To get in a relationship just because I wanted a man? I'd just rather wait.
.
.
.
[/B]

AMEN, SISTER!
lol

and thanks for posting up that interview, losthighway! That whole thing was really interesting to read!

AgtSkye · 05-05-2003, 04:54 AM

Hey losthighway, you aren't a David Lynch fan are you? Or does your name refer to something else?

pilotguy · 05-05-2003, 07:10 AM

Regarding Tim Daly's comment to Crystal on the final day of filming of "Wings" ("Sweetheart, this is the last time we're going to act together"):

It's too bad that Tim had such a "final, closed chapter" outlook on their acting relationship.
Although the "Wings" series was ending, Tim and Crystal could have still worked together on other acting assignments in different roles at some point in time.

I'm thinking of Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore....Recently they reunited for a PBS telecast of the play "The Gin Game". Although Dick and Mary were a lot older than their original "Rob and Laura Petrie" TV characters, and they were playing entirely different people (with Dick's curmudgeon character "cussing" no less!), the on-screen chemistry between them was STILL there, and they were still a delight to see work together.

I think that Tim and Crystal had this same sort of on-screen chemistry...and hopefully a project will come along where the two of them can act together again.

losthighway · 05-05-2003, 02:35 PM

AgtSkye, Yep! You got it. I'm a huge David Lynch fan. I consider Twin Peaks to be one of the greatest groundbreaking TV shows ever, and of course I like all of his film work.

Pilotguy I think Crystal and Tim had good chemistry too, which has alot to do with why the series worked so well. The entire cast had very good chemistry of course, but I thought Crystal and Tim together really worked well.

AgtSkye · 05-05-2003, 05:26 PM

Losthighway, I love David Lynch too! Twin Peaks is one of the best shows ever made, I think. I haven't seen Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive yet...I don't know why. I've always wanted to, just have to get my ass down to the video store to rent them.
And I also agree about the chemistry of the cast. And it's cool because the characters are all so different, yet thrown in there altogether, and basically friends (most of them anyway). When I watched Wings originally I didn't appreciate some of the characters as much...now I like Brian and Lowell a lot more. I mean I liked them before, but now I think they are my favorites...Antonio too.

losthighway · 05-05-2003, 07:20 PM

AgtSkye, I agree on your assessment of Twin Peaks! Brilliant work by Lynch, and some of the best cinematography ever for a TV program.

You should rent Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway when you get a chance. Just be prepared and understand you are entering the world of the "Lynch mind" where nothing is as it seems nor follows a predictable logic. One of the things I love about his work is the way he leaves the interpretation open to the viewer and really makes you think. Some people either don't get that or don't like it. They want logical conclusions in the usual formulaic way. That doesn't happen with David.

I always wondered if one of the writers of Wings was a David Lynch fan since the guy that Helen dated for a while was named Davis Lynch. Naaaaa, probably not, but I always thought iit was funny, maybe he's David's brother, Davis??

OCMD · 05-08-2003, 06:57 PM

Thank you for posting the Helen interview. It made me realize what makes WINGS so special. The characters care for each other. They don't try to one up each other, but seem to have fun together and play their character.

with each cast member instead of against each other like some sitcoms. It's great reading your comments. I've learned a lot!

Chocoholic · 05-08-2003, 07:27 PM

The cast members did all seem like they got along great and had a great time on and off the set. It seems like they all worked with at least one or two other cast members on other projects too.

05-04-2003, 07:08 PM	#1
losthighway Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 14, 2003 Posts: 370	Crystal Bernard quotes This is part of an interview with Crystal back in 1997, but I still thought it had some interesting comments by Crystal: After eight seasons behind the counter on Wings, the multitalented preacher's daughter catches her breath--but not for long With her day job finally out of the way, Crystal Bernard has shifted into low gear. The actress-singer-songwriter has sixty concert dates booked, a new album to record, songs to write, cars and speedboats to race, and movies she wants to make. But because she is no longer playing Helen Chappel Hackett on Wings, which concludes an eight-year flight on NBC Wednesday night, Bernard now feels as if she's on vacation. Who can blame her? She's been working steadily on television for the past fifteen years. The tireless performer couldn't be more different from Helen, a laconic figure who has been stuck at Wings' airport lunch counter for almost a decade. A thirty-two-year-old preacher's daughter from Texas, Bernard has been onstage from the time she began singing as a child at gospel jubilees across the country. At fourteen, she was discovered by country star Bobbie Gentry ("Ode to Billy Joe"), who asked her to join her Las Vegas revue. Driven by her faith in God and an innate ambition, Bernard enrolled as a theater and international-relations major at Baylor University when she was sixteen, and began her professional career in a national Pepsi commercial soon after. A year later, she left Texas and joined the cast of Happy Days as Richie and Joanie Cunningham's cousin, K.C. That stint was followed by a role as a roller-skating hooker in Garry Marshall's 1982 film, Young Doctors in Love, and a five-year run as a naive waitress on the series It's a Living. Just a few months after that show shut down, Bernard was on the set of Wings. Can you tell me what you felt when that final episode of Wings was completed and the series was behind you? I was crying. Tim [Daly] had come up to me right before the second-to-the-last scene and put his arms around me and said, "Sweetheart, this is the last time we're going to act together." And I cried. Luckily, I was supposed to cry in the scene. You know, I had regrets that I didn't enjoy it more every single day. We had a party the next night and I can't tell you how much I wanted to talk to every person in the room and tell them what they meant to me, knowing I probably wouldn't see them again. In the Wings series finale, Helen has a chance to escape from behind the lunch counter. Was there ever a time when you hoped the producers and writers might give Helen a different way to go? There were a lot of things we could have done with Helen that I thought might have been more interesting. But succeeding was never one of my suggestions. I like the fact that she was a loser. And I say that in the kindest way. She tried so hard in everything she did, and it failed on her, and it was funny. I liked her not being the homecoming queen, because I think everyone could identify with that. The fundamental premise of Wings seems to be that in each of us there is some of the uptight, overpolite Joe Hackett (Daly) and some of the wild, irresponsible Brian Hackett (Steven Weber). Tell me about the Joe part of you and the Brian part of you. The organization of Joe and wanting to be a good student and do everything right is extremely prevalent in my life. I can't say no. I think that's why I work so much. And I'm like Brian in that I race cars and I love games. I could go play video games forever. And I'm such a kid when I don't have to be responsible. I read in Music City News that you've only had three boyfriends in your life. Did they get that right? Yeah, I think so. It's not a sad thing. I think my expectations are high. I'm real happy. I've got a great life, I'm extremely fulfilled. I have a family that loves me so much they'd die for me. And I for them. I have guy friends who would do anything for me. I'm a happy girl. So, to get in a relationship where someone wants to change you so that it would be better for them--become less independent or take the very thing that makes me happy--to me that's not love. To get in a relationship just because I wanted a man? I'd just rather wait. You played someone with an eating disorder in the TV movie Dying To Be Perfect, and weight was an issue in Helen's past. How have you dealt with Hollywood equating being thin with being sexy? I've never had a weight problem. I go up five pounds and down five pounds without really any different behavior. I've never had a psychological problem about needing to be skinny or having that "look." I've always liked a healthy look. I've always been attracted to matters of the heart rather than matters of looks. I've never been attracted to guys who are beautiful. Never have. I understand the weight issue so well, because I understand personal addiction and abuse. My mother was obese all our lives. I can say that now. I never used to say it, because she was obese. But four or five years ago, she dropped about 100 pounds. And she is beautiful. And happy. But I understand what it does to people when they think of what other people think of them. You can get lost in your own nightmare. I have a tenderness in my heart about any kind of addiction. Growing up, we lived in a drug rehab center for a year almost. I saw people who were drug addicts who gave it everything they had to stop, but couldn't.

05-05-2003, 04:54 AM	#4
AgtSkye Jedi knightess Frequent Poster Join Date: May 04, 2003 Location: a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away Posts: 185	Hey losthighway, you aren't a David Lynch fan are you? Or does your name refer to something else?
	__________________ En það besta sem Guð hefur skapað er nýr dagur But the best thing God has created is a new day ~ Sigur Rós

05-04-2003, 07:24 PM	#2
pilotguy Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 09, 2003 Posts: 1,305	Thank you for that Crystal Bernard interview....VERY interesting, and she sounds like a nice person in real life. I liked Crystal's view of Helen as a "loser"...a person who tried and tried her hardest, but just kept failing at everything that she attempted. Crystal didn't call Helen a "loser" in a BAD way...in fact, she said that Helen's failures were things that the viewers could identify with. Jackie Gleason used to say basically the same thing about his "Ralph Kramden" character, another "lovable loser". Thanks again, "losthighway"!

05-05-2003, 07:10 AM	#5
pilotguy Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 09, 2003 Posts: 1,305	Regarding Tim Daly's comment to Crystal on the final day of filming of "Wings" ("Sweetheart, this is the last time we're going to act together"): It's too bad that Tim had such a "final, closed chapter" outlook on their acting relationship. Although the "Wings" series was ending, Tim and Crystal could have still worked together on other acting assignments in different roles at some point in time. I'm thinking of Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore....Recently they reunited for a PBS telecast of the play "The Gin Game". Although Dick and Mary were a lot older than their original "Rob and Laura Petrie" TV characters, and they were playing entirely different people (with Dick's curmudgeon character "cussing" no less!), the on-screen chemistry between them was STILL there, and they were still a delight to see work together. I think that Tim and Crystal had this same sort of on-screen chemistry...and hopefully a project will come along where the two of them can act together again.

05-05-2003, 02:35 PM	#6
losthighway Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 14, 2003 Posts: 370	AgtSkye, Yep! You got it. I'm a huge David Lynch fan. I consider Twin Peaks to be one of the greatest groundbreaking TV shows ever, and of course I like all of his film work. Pilotguy I think Crystal and Tim had good chemistry too, which has alot to do with why the series worked so well. The entire cast had very good chemistry of course, but I thought Crystal and Tim together really worked well.

05-05-2003, 05:26 PM	#7
AgtSkye Jedi knightess Frequent Poster Join Date: May 04, 2003 Location: a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away Posts: 185	Losthighway, I love David Lynch too! Twin Peaks is one of the best shows ever made, I think. I haven't seen Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive yet...I don't know why. I've always wanted to, just have to get my ass down to the video store to rent them. And I also agree about the chemistry of the cast. And it's cool because the characters are all so different, yet thrown in there altogether, and basically friends (most of them anyway). When I watched Wings originally I didn't appreciate some of the characters as much...now I like Brian and Lowell a lot more. I mean I liked them before, but now I think they are my favorites...Antonio too.

05-05-2003, 07:20 PM	#8
losthighway Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 14, 2003 Posts: 370	AgtSkye, I agree on your assessment of Twin Peaks! Brilliant work by Lynch, and some of the best cinematography ever for a TV program. You should rent Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway when you get a chance. Just be prepared and understand you are entering the world of the "Lynch mind" where nothing is as it seems nor follows a predictable logic. One of the things I love about his work is the way he leaves the interpretation open to the viewer and really makes you think. Some people either don't get that or don't like it. They want logical conclusions in the usual formulaic way. That doesn't happen with David. I always wondered if one of the writers of Wings was a David Lynch fan since the guy that Helen dated for a while was named Davis Lynch. Naaaaa, probably not, but I always thought iit was funny, maybe he's David's brother, Davis??

05-08-2003, 06:57 PM	#9
OCMD Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Apr 17, 2003 Posts: 6	Thank you for posting the Helen interview. It made me realize what makes WINGS so special. The characters care for each other. They don't try to one up each other, but seem to have fun together and play their character. with each cast member instead of against each other like some sitcoms. It's great reading your comments. I've learned a lot!

05-08-2003, 07:27 PM	#10
Chocoholic Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 01, 2000 Location: Between a rock and a hard place. Posts: 11,235	The cast members did all seem like they got along great and had a great time on and off the set. It seems like they all worked with at least one or two other cast members on other projects too.