Ricki Lake

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Ricki Lake
Birth name Ricki Pamela Lake
Born September 21, 1968 (age 38)
Flag of United States Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, United States
Notable roles Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray

Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American actress and tabloid talk show host, best known for her long-running Ricki Lake talk show.

Contents

[edit] Career

Lake first appeared to audiences when she played the hefty Tracy Turnblad, the main character of the John Waters film Hairspray. Her role as the overweight Red Cross recreation worker "Holly the Donut Dolly" in the television series China Beach gave her additional visibility, and she was eventually chosen to host her eponymous talk show. At the same time, she publicly went on a weight loss regime, ultimately losing around 125 pounds (57 kg).

[edit] Talk show

Ricki Lake debuted on 13 September 1993. While it avoided the worst excesses of The Jerry Springer Show, it was not especially serious in tone either. A typical show might present several lower middle class women, each claiming to be "all that" (the show's catchphrase for someone with high fashion and personal appeal) with others debating the assertion. Other shows would present someone in an obviously bad relationship and have Lake recommend, "Dump that zero and get yourself a hero!" Once Lake became a mother, feel-good mother-and-child shows became common.

Lake's talk show has often been the butt of satire. It was repeatedly parodied during the 1990s on Saturday Night Live, with male cast member Jay Mohr impersonating Lake in drag. The show was also parodied fleetingly on Family Guy (the guest on the show was quoted to have said, "Yo, Ricki, that's my girlfriend. She ain't supposed to be havin' no penis!"). In addition, it was mentioned in the chorus of the hit 1998 song "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" by The Offspring: "So if you don't rate, just overcompensate, at least you know you can always go on Ricki Lake." Lake also was mentioned in the May 2004 hit, "Hole In The Head" by the Sugababes, in the verse ..."Ricki Lake on play", in reference to the Sugababes watching the television show. Insane Clown Posse references Lake in their song "Neden" off "The Great Milenko" album, in a line that says "..and if you lost a little weight you'd look like Ricki Lake."

In 2000, Lake told Rosie O'Donnell in an interview that she had signed a contract for four years. Although Sony Pictures Television had many stations contracted through the 2004-2005 season, Lake decided to end the show in August 2004, citing (among other things) a desire to spend time with her family. She moved from Los Angeles to New York to tape the 11th season of the show, then returned to California when taping was complete.

[edit] Other roles

Lake was in talks to star in an untitled CBS comedy, but no further episodes were commissioned after the filming of the pilot. Most recently, she has appeared in a recurring role on CBS's long-running sitcom The King of Queens, playing Doug Heffernan's sister, Stephanie.

She has also appeared in the films Cabin Boy, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Serial Mom, Cookie, Mrs. Winterbourne, and Inside Monkey Zetterland, and she often appears in small roles in John Waters films, such as Cecil B. Demented and Cry-Baby. She also starred in the TV movie Baby Cakes.

[edit] Personal life

Lake was born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. She married Rob Sussman on 26 March 1994; she said in a television interview that their attraction had been immediate: "Within an hour and a half of first meeting, we were tearing each other's clothes off." Nonetheless, she filed for separation from Sussman in August 2003. Lake won the first legal round when the judge ruled that the prenuptial agreement signed by the two was valid. Lake and Sussman together have two sons, Milo Sebastian Sussman, born in 1997, and Owen Tyler Sussman, born in 2001. She gave birth to Owen in the bathtub of her New York home, assisted by a midwife. Lake is currently dating personal trainer Apollo Yiamouyiannis.

When her divorce hit the press in the summer of 2003, it appeared to have quite an effect on the talk-show star. Fans also contend they hadn't spotted her in any interviews, either. While promoting Gameshow Marathon show, Lake was a guest on the CBS' Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on May 24, 2006. When asked, Lake said she could safely say she enjoyed every minute, but that she didn't miss her talk show.

[edit] Currently

According to Broadcasting & Cable magazine Lake was crafting a talk-show comeback, which would have been somewhat similar to The Ricki Lake Show, but more mature. Rumors suggested the new show might have launched as early as September 2006. However, there have been no more developments released publicly on any sort of deal, and Lake wasn't at NATPE 2006, where most new shows are pitched. An associate producer from The Ricki Lake Show stated that Sony Pictures Television/Columbia TriStar, the company that syndicated her previous show, was not involved. Sources say other companies, including TelePictures, which syndicated Jenny Jones' show, were at play.

Ricki Lake was the host of CBS' Gameshow Marathon, which re-created classic game shows with celebrity contestants. The series premiered on May 31, 2006 and ran through the end of June. She also inked a development deal with Gameshow Marathon production company FremantleMedia for other ventures, including creating and producing future programs and projects. Because of her work on Gameshow Marathon, Lake holds the record for hosting the most game shows, with seven.

On March 16, 2007, several sources reported that Lake will be a star in an upcoming comedy produced by Warner Bros. Television for ABC entitled "The Middle", which is set to begin in 2007. The show centers on an extended lower-middle-class family in the Midwest; Lake will play the central character and the narrator of the show, a harried but game mom. Also cast in the pilot is Brenna O'Brien as the family's middle child. If ABC greenlights the pilot, it will debut on the fall 2007-2008 TV season. MovieWeb

There is a speculation that Lake alongside with actor David Arquette will replace Tom Bergeron as the two brand new hosts of the ABC Network's "America's Funniest Home Videos" probably on the 2007-2008 season since Bergeron will focus more on his hosting duties for "Dancing With The Stars" that became a ratings phenomenon for the network so Lake and Arquette could utilze their hosting stints with Lake ad-libbing the video clips while Arquette would provide voiceover to the clips.

Ricki is set to make a cameo in the remake of Hairspray. In March, 2007, at the World Poker Tournament when asked what's happening currently, Lake said "now I have a documentary i have been working on for 3 [years] that's coming out in a couple months." "It's about the politics of birth, it's called "The Business of Being Born", and it's my first exceutive producing gig." "It's been my passion for a long time since I had my children. In some ways I feel like it's the best thing I've ever done." YouTube

Ricki planned to have a natural child birth with her first son, Milo Sebastian Sussman, but her 36 hour labour wouldn't progress. Successfully, Lake had her 2nd son, Owen Tyler Sussman, delivered with the help of a midwife in her bathtub.

Lake is repped by ICM and Hyler Management.

[edit] Parody

Ricki's show was parodied by a British, spoof talk show host performing under the moniker of Sticki Lake in the early nineties. The show was short lived. In the song "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" by The Offspring where Dexter sings "so if you don't rate, just overcompensate. At least you'll know you can always go on Ricki Lake"

[edit] External links

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