Oprah era comes to an end - After 25 years, more than 5,000 episodes and bucketloads of tears, the Oprah era of American television will be brought to an end on Wednesday.
The final edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show is to be broadcast from Chicago, leaving television executives panicked and the 464 people who produce the programme looking for work.
Miss Winfrey, 57, widely regarded as one of the world's most influential women, is retreating to focus on running OWN, her new cable TV network, which has suffered disappointing early ratings.
"I'm not going away," she said earlier this week. "I'm just changing".
With an estimated fortune of £1.7 billion, Miss Winfrey is the world's richest self-made woman and was the first black female billionaire.
Since 1986, her talk-show has become a confession box for countless celebrities and for Miss Winfrey herself, whose yo-yoing weight and personal difficulties have captivated her fans.
"People trust her opinion even more than they trust their own," said Susan Harrow, author of a book on the show. David Hiltbrand, a TV critic, calls her "perhaps the most influential personality in TV history".
Her 'Oprah's Book Club' segment, which began in 1996 and spawned Richard and Judy's equivalent in Britain, is estimated to have propped up the publishing industry with 55 million extra book sales.
And Miss Winfrey can also claim to have anointed the US president. Her 2008 endorsement of Barack Obama is thought to have earned him an extra million votes in the Democratic primary contest.
Her final episode is to feature the most keenly-sought interview of the moment: Maria Shriver, the recently estranged wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and former California governor.
Advertisers have paid $1 million (£600,000) per half-minute to have their brands appear in its advertising breaks – a rate usually associated with major sporting events.
After a two-night "farewell spectacular" in a 13,000-capacity stadium, with appearances from Madonna, Beyoncé, Tom Cruise and dozens more, Wednesday's episode is due to return to its intimate format.
Its closure has struck fear into the neighbourhood of Chicago's West Loop where Miss Winfrey's Harpo studios takes up an entire street and provides a great boost to the local economy. The street was given the honorary name 'Oprah Winfrey Way' earlier this month.
Nate Berkus, one of several in-house experts on Oprah's programme to have been given their own chat show, it was sad the show was ending but "right for her to focus on new things".
"The secret of her endurance has been allowing viewers to make up their own minds," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Too many hosts are bossy and dictatorial. Ultimately people are wise, and Oprah knew that".
Oprah's top 10 moments
The Farewell Show (ABC), US television review
For the world’s first black billionairess, it was all about her fans in a finale that marked 4,561 days of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Projecting passion and woman power in a demure, pink, scooped-neck dress, Oprah immediately let her audience know that her goodbye show would include no guests, gimmicks, makeovers, or surprises of any kind.
Instead, the wannabe teacher delivered a one-hour tribute to her audience in a self-described “love letter” that recapped the highlights of her self-help philosophy in “the world’s largest classroom”.
It was a lovefest in which Oprah hit all the empowerment themes. “Everyone has a calling.” “Each one of you has your own platform.”
“What is life?” Oprah asked her audience. “Life is energy” and “what we learned on this show is that you are responsible for your life.” The Queen of Talk reminded her pupils that they were responsible for their own energy as well as the energy they imposed on others.
“You and this show have been the great love of my life”, Oprah told her audience---perhaps to the surprise of longtime companion Steadman Graham, present in the studio audience, and whom Oprah quickly kissed and hugged at the show’s end.
In addition to a staunch reminder that “no one completes you”, Oprah also covered the themes of validation, self-worth, identity, the perils of being too judgemental, grace, and God.
Indeed, while she began like a teacher, Oprah ended like a preacher. Belying a publicly espoused liberal political bias, she talked favourably about the days when students were allowed to pray in schools. She counseled her fans to let go and let God, and video clips of the recovered addicts and victims among her show guests were aired throughout the hour-long farewell.
In the end, Oprah looked strikingly like an evangelist as she stretched out her arms to the audience and declared “To God be the glory”.
Refusing to use the word “goodbye”, she released a new e-mail address, oprah@oprah.com to her fans so that they will stay in touch.
But more than e-mailing, the beloved billionairess may be hoping that they will tune in to her beleaguered OWN, which five months after its debut has yet to capture impressive viewer ratings. ( telegraph.co.uk )
The final edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show is to be broadcast from Chicago, leaving television executives panicked and the 464 people who produce the programme looking for work.
Miss Winfrey, 57, widely regarded as one of the world's most influential women, is retreating to focus on running OWN, her new cable TV network, which has suffered disappointing early ratings.
"I'm not going away," she said earlier this week. "I'm just changing".
With an estimated fortune of £1.7 billion, Miss Winfrey is the world's richest self-made woman and was the first black female billionaire.
Since 1986, her talk-show has become a confession box for countless celebrities and for Miss Winfrey herself, whose yo-yoing weight and personal difficulties have captivated her fans.
"People trust her opinion even more than they trust their own," said Susan Harrow, author of a book on the show. David Hiltbrand, a TV critic, calls her "perhaps the most influential personality in TV history".
Her 'Oprah's Book Club' segment, which began in 1996 and spawned Richard and Judy's equivalent in Britain, is estimated to have propped up the publishing industry with 55 million extra book sales.
And Miss Winfrey can also claim to have anointed the US president. Her 2008 endorsement of Barack Obama is thought to have earned him an extra million votes in the Democratic primary contest.
Her final episode is to feature the most keenly-sought interview of the moment: Maria Shriver, the recently estranged wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and former California governor.
Advertisers have paid $1 million (£600,000) per half-minute to have their brands appear in its advertising breaks – a rate usually associated with major sporting events.
After a two-night "farewell spectacular" in a 13,000-capacity stadium, with appearances from Madonna, Beyoncé, Tom Cruise and dozens more, Wednesday's episode is due to return to its intimate format.
Its closure has struck fear into the neighbourhood of Chicago's West Loop where Miss Winfrey's Harpo studios takes up an entire street and provides a great boost to the local economy. The street was given the honorary name 'Oprah Winfrey Way' earlier this month.
Nate Berkus, one of several in-house experts on Oprah's programme to have been given their own chat show, it was sad the show was ending but "right for her to focus on new things".
"The secret of her endurance has been allowing viewers to make up their own minds," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Too many hosts are bossy and dictatorial. Ultimately people are wise, and Oprah knew that".
Oprah's top 10 moments
From Michael Jackson inviting Oprah to Neverland to Tom Cruise jumping up and down on her sofa telling everyone he loves Katie Holmes.
- 1986 – The first show airs with the title "How to Marry the Man/Woman of Your Choice." 1988 – After losing 67 pounds Oprah shows the audience a wagon loaded with exactly that amount of fat.
- 1990 – Oprah cries interviewing Truddi Chase, a woman with 92 personalities.
- 1993 – Michael Jackson invites Oprah to Neverland and reveals he has vitiligo. The most watched episode ever with 90 million viewers.
- 1997 – Oprah dances with Tina Turner, fulfilling one of her own dreams.
- 2000 – Oprah interviews Nelson Mandela.
- 2004 – The chat show queen gives each of the 276 people in the audience a Pontiac G6.
- 2005 – Tom Cruise jumps up and down on Oprah's sofa and tells everyone he loves Katie Holmes.
- 2006 – Oprah gives author James Frey a talking to after he admits fabrications in his book "A Million Little Pieces."
- 2011 – Oprah reveals she has a secret half-sister who her mother had given up for adoption.
The Farewell Show (ABC), US television review
Oprah sends a “love letter” of empowerment to her fans in a final self-help extravaganza.
For the world’s first black billionairess, it was all about her fans in a finale that marked 4,561 days of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Projecting passion and woman power in a demure, pink, scooped-neck dress, Oprah immediately let her audience know that her goodbye show would include no guests, gimmicks, makeovers, or surprises of any kind.
Instead, the wannabe teacher delivered a one-hour tribute to her audience in a self-described “love letter” that recapped the highlights of her self-help philosophy in “the world’s largest classroom”.
It was a lovefest in which Oprah hit all the empowerment themes. “Everyone has a calling.” “Each one of you has your own platform.”
“What is life?” Oprah asked her audience. “Life is energy” and “what we learned on this show is that you are responsible for your life.” The Queen of Talk reminded her pupils that they were responsible for their own energy as well as the energy they imposed on others.
“You and this show have been the great love of my life”, Oprah told her audience---perhaps to the surprise of longtime companion Steadman Graham, present in the studio audience, and whom Oprah quickly kissed and hugged at the show’s end.
In addition to a staunch reminder that “no one completes you”, Oprah also covered the themes of validation, self-worth, identity, the perils of being too judgemental, grace, and God.
Indeed, while she began like a teacher, Oprah ended like a preacher. Belying a publicly espoused liberal political bias, she talked favourably about the days when students were allowed to pray in schools. She counseled her fans to let go and let God, and video clips of the recovered addicts and victims among her show guests were aired throughout the hour-long farewell.
In the end, Oprah looked strikingly like an evangelist as she stretched out her arms to the audience and declared “To God be the glory”.
Refusing to use the word “goodbye”, she released a new e-mail address, oprah@oprah.com to her fans so that they will stay in touch.
But more than e-mailing, the beloved billionairess may be hoping that they will tune in to her beleaguered OWN, which five months after its debut has yet to capture impressive viewer ratings. ( telegraph.co.uk )
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