Rosie O’Donnell: Which version for 'The View'?

By Stone Martindale Sep 3, 2006, 17:24 GMT

Rosie O\'Donnell - Born in Bayside, Queens, New York to an Irish Catholic immigrant from Belfast, and her mother, an American of Irish Catholic descent who later died of breast cancer at the age of 38. O\'Donnell was raised in Commack on Long Island. O\'Donnell began her career performing stand-up around the East Coast. She hosted the VH1 stand-up comedy series in the late 1980s. Chris Hatcher / Photorazzi

After a four-year hiatus from the public, O'Donnell returns as part of the beleaguered ensemble of “The View”- America’s bitchiest coffee klatch. Star Jones spot has been swept clean in an acrimonious break with über View chieftain, Barbara Walters. 

Insiders are holding their breathe as the new diva rolls up to the desk, observing the massive ego "give and take" that is starting to reveal itself.

According to Marc Peyser of Newsweek, O'Donnell's goal on “The View” is to refrain from “driving” so much as being a passenger on the chit chat train. 

Peyser reports that up until now, the attempt has been a failure. Referring to the show’s latest commercials: "They wrote a skit about a bus. I was, like, 'OK, can you let me write it? Give me a day'," said Rosie.

“She got her promo, which ends with Walters's telling the ladies, cleverly: "You're all stars to me!" But Rosie thought the whole thing looked too grainy, and she immediately complained on her blog. ‘I saw the new view promos/found myself/in the position/I loathe the most/powerless.’ “

The fur flew when this information hit gossip bloggers.  "I didn't like the blog," says Walters, who wants O'Donnell to stop sharing every nuance and conflict of The View with her “Rosie blogosphere.”

"I'm counting on Rosie's intelligence and sensitivity and humor. This is, after all, an entertainment show. It is based on people who like each other and are having a good time, not on people who are arguing and unhappy." Said Walters.

Later Walters received an enormous bouquet of flowers. The card read: "Barbara, I only want the promos and the show to be great. And I love you. Love, Ro." Reported Newsweek.

Newsweek reports that it's been four years since O'Donnell walked away from "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," certainly with its share of controversy.  O’Donnell launched Rosie the magazine and the $100 million lawsuit when she quit.

She produced a musical with Boy George that flopped, losing $10 million and reinforced her as a nemesis of the rigid, conservative anti-gay core that had once sung her squeaky clean maternal praises.

Rosie arrives to The View in the wake of the messy and contentious departures of Meredith Vieira and Star Jones.   Jones was fired and publicly warred with Walters prior to O'Donnell's hiring.

O'Donnell is philosophical in the latest Newsweek interview: "Fame is a drug, and it distorts your perspective, everyone's perspective, from Tom Cruise to Star to me—every one."

O’Donnell will not go as far to feel sorry that Jones won't be sitting next to her every day. Rosie had been a frequent guest on the show but after an altercation, she refused to be on with Star.

"We had a little sort of discussion when Martha Stewart was in prison, when I questioned why it is women don't stick up for each other the way other minorities do, such as O. J. Simpson being accused of murder still had the support of the majority of the black community. She was not happy with what I said or the way I said it. The next day, she told me she didn't appreciate what I said. I told the bookers, 'I'm glad to fill in if you need someone—if she's not there.' I don't want to fight with her."

But O'Donnell insists she had nothing to do with getting Jones fired. "I would love to think I had the kind of power to say 'Fire her'," says O'Donnell. "But what would my motive be for ruining her life?"

Newsweek is reporting that the idea to hire Rosie for "The View" came from executive producer Barbara Walters, allegedly a friend with her for years. Walters was attending a premiere of the documentary "All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise," about gay-family cruises.

"There was the warm, thoughtful, intelligent, charming, funny Rosie I've always known," says Walters.

But when she wanted to hire Rosie for "The View," she had to work to sell the idea to the network. "There were discussions with the ABC brass in which we talked about the new Rosie—not the woman who might have been aggressive or belligerent, but the woman I had seen that night," says Walters. "There were some concerns about which Rosie we were getting."

Newsweek reports that Walters says the show will hire a fifth co-host once Rosie has settled in. For the entire three page Peyser article on Rosie, visit the link below: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14638244/site/newsweek/from/ET/