To say she’s seen it all during her career as a character actor would be an understatement.
Every time I watch the show, I have to pinch myself because this show is so recognizablyNight Court.
I never would have thought it possible.
Annie O’Donnell: I know, it’s exciting!
So, you remember the old Night Court?
I didn’t watch it until syndication when I was in high school because I was born in ‘91.
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
But the original show shaped so much of my personality, it’s almost embarrassing.
It was crazy, crazy, crazy.
And it’s held up very well!
It seems to be running all the time, somewhere.
Annie O’Donnell: Oh, God, no.
I never forgot June.
She’s my favorite TV character.
It was pretty amazing when I got the call to do it.
There had been whisperings.
It was my agent telling me that they wanted me to do the new Night Court.
I was so excited!
What was it like when you showed up on the set?
But it was the same set.
And there was my same husband!
(Laughs) And John.
I just immediately relaxed because everyone was so wonderful.
They treated Brent and me very well.
Everyone was so excited that we were there.
They treated you like Yugoslavian royalty!
Annie O’Donnell: Oh, exactly.
Oh, my God.
(Laughs) Yes.
That was one of my favorite episodes.
“Isn’t the accent obvious?
We’re from Sarajevo.
It wasn’t like that in Sarajevo.”
So, when we came back for another episode, they wrote in that we were actually from Yugoslavia.
Annie O’Donnell: Exactly.
It was so much fun.
And the same with John.
Back in the old Night Court, he was always trying to get me to laugh.
But as I recall, I did not break!
Brent and John are just such fantastic actors, it was such a pleasure.
We had a great time, as we did with this new episode.
Annie O’Donnell: No, no.
And the writing was all there.
The writers for both episodes really caught the flavor of the Wheelers.
When you have a good script, it’s easy to do.
Melissa and her husband, Winston, they’re just the most loving people, and funny.
It’s like a dream job to work on that show.
She is just so talented, so funny, and just the kindest person you could ever imagine.
And then the rest of the cast, Nyambi, fantastic, lovely.
Oh, my God.
They’re just amazing people, amazing people.
And our new daughter, Kate.
Oh, my God.
Kate Micucci is just fantastic.
And now we have a son, played by Andy Ridings.
That was fantastic, too.
The family is growing.
Annie O’Donnell: No, not at all!
I think they both checked out the old episodes.
They were able to crack the code.
When I met Kate, I read that she was almost Sheldon’s girlfriend on the Big Bang Theory.
She ended up being another character.
I didn’t know that.
Yeah, it was evidently between her and Mayim, and I played Mayim’s mother.
(Laughs) We missed our opportunity on the Big Bang Theory, but here we are.
Life and show business are so interesting.
I feel like that’s a testament to what you were saying about Melissa.
I interviewed her for season 1, and she was so kind.
I was like, “Is she for real?”
Annie O’Donnell: She is for real!
Look, she is really amazing.
But it’s a great group of people.
The loveliest, kindest set I’ve ever been on.
After I did the show, my friends asked, “Well, how was it?”
I said, “Oh my God, they treated me like I was Carol Burnett!”
Who’s one of my idols, of course.
Annie O’Donnell: Well, it’s interesting.
It’s been an interesting life.
I won’t say it was an easy thing, but it was just what I wanted to do.
You do so many different things.
But I got my SAG card doing Husbands with John Cassavetes.
And Carol Burnett lived there, but before me.
She’s a little bit older than me.
That’s how I got my SAG card.
That’s a huge step.
And then I did Taking Off with Milos Forman, that was my next thing.
And then I just went on from there.
I’d say that the original Night Court was my best role on TV or film at that time.
I had sort of semi-retired for a couple of years after my husband passed away.
And then I did a film I’m very proud of, called Two Lives in Pittsburgh.
Ooh, can we watch that on streaming?
I’m one of the leads in that.
So take a look at that if you have a chance!
It’s an independent film, with fabulous people involved in it.
And I replaced someone at the last minute, so it was quite the ride.
But it’s, it’s my favorite film role I’ve ever done.
And it’s got everything in it.
You know, you get it all.
What made you stay in the game?
Annie O’Donnell: I know, it’s very interesting.
I’m very stubborn, I guess.
(Laughs) I had a career as a school teacher before I went into acting.
I was a high school English teacher.
And then I was a kindergarten teacher, believe it or not.
And things, things were very bleak.
There were times when I didn’t work at all, for a year.
But I thought, “I just love doing this.”
And I just kept in there.
You know, there were highlights, there were lowlights.
Night Court certainly was a highlight!
And now I seem to be working again.
I always grab at the chance to do something different, you know?
Did you prefer teaching the kindergartners or the high schoolers?
Annie O’Donnell: Oh, kindergarten.
I had no training whatsoever in teaching kindergarten, but it was a better fit.
I hated teaching high school English!
(Laughs) But I was quite a good kindergarten teacher, actually.
I just had a feel for it.
And I did probably ten plays at different theaters all over Philadelphia.
When I decided to be a full-time actor, I still had my side jobs.
I was the hat check girl at the Russian Tea Room for several years.
I was working there when the people who were producing it came in.
I worked as a bookkeeper, you know, I did all kinds of stuff like that.
But being an actor, it was always interesting to me.
And being a teacher is very hard!
But I never felt that way, as an actor.
And, you know, there were certainly a lot of rough times.
I had good luck and some really bad luck, you know, in the business.
But I kept on keeping on.
I’ve had some bad things happen, career wise.
You guys bought the newsstand!
Annie O’Donnell: We bought the newsstand!
Another one was, I played Miyam Bialik’s mother on the Big Bang Theory.
I couldn’t compete with an Oscar winner!
I’ve won a lot of awards, but none of them were the Oscar!
(Laughs) It’s been an interesting life.
And I have no regrets.
I don’t know how many people can say that.
Because the dark place is always there, if you want to visit it.
I don’t want to visit.
Check out our otherNight Courtseason 3 interviews here:
Night Courtseason 3 airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ## Your Rating
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