Robert Osborne on TCM

I know there was a thread on here a few months ago asking if he had health problems, and the verdict was that he was just losing weight.\ \ \ That said, he''s talking funny. He''s having trouble enunciating his words. Maybe it''s just a new set of false teeth, but whatever it is he''s been doing it for weeks and it isn''t going away.\ \ \ Are we sure there isn''t something wrong?

yeah, i noticed he sort of fading away, isn''t he
Is he gay?
R2, yes he is gay. Btw, not that long ago someone posted a clip of him in the pilot for The Beverly Hillbillies (he was an actor way back when). He was very cute when he was young.
The verdict was not that he was just losing weight. Someone claimed they were his friend and he was "just on a diet", but anyone who knows Bob Osborne knows his real friends wouldn''t come here to gossip. Besides, he canceled some events when he was sick, so it''s obvious he wasn''t "just on a diet." But he probably wasn''t seriously ill, either. I suspect bad flu or an equivalent. Those intros and outros are all done in 2-week chunks, so if he wasn''t feeling well during those 2 weeks, it would appear to us watching TCM that he was sick for months and months when he was really only ill for a few weeks.\ \ And if you''re talking about him stumbling over words, he''s been doing that for years. The slurring (which may indeed be from dentures) has been going on about 2 years. Some people I know who talk to him in real life say it rarely happens in normal conversation, for what that''s worth.
Love him....love TCM.
Thanks, R4. I first noticed it during the interviews at the film festival, and you can really see it when he has a guest host, especially the Alec Baldwin segments. He stumbles and then does a very slight wince so he clearly knows he''s doing it.\ \ Of course, you''re right, all the Baldwin segments would have been filmed together, so your explanation makes sense.
OP
Ir must have been hard on him not being at his best with Alec Baldwin. I imagine he probably gets to score with all the guest hosts on TCM and he probably realized that he blew his chance.
I have already forgotten the timeline (and of course the thread where I mentioned this before was deleted) but the 2 people I know who worked with him briefly in 2009 said he didn''t seem ill in the least. At some point in 2009, though, he was got thin and looked exhausted. I never could find out what was wrong, but I found this online:\ \ [italic]"The New York Post reported in April that Robert Osborne had been having kidney problems. As such, TCM built a set in New York City to film his intros, instead of requiring him to travel to Atlanta as he has always done before."[/italic]\ \ He looks fine now, especially since he''s 78.
Has anybody read his book? How is it?
How old are all of you? %0D\ %0D\ He''s simply ageing but he''s not unhealthy.%0D\ %0D\ You would all probably be shocked to see him without the camera makeup and flattering lighting.
Joan Crawford was still seducing her co-stars on the set of ''Trog''. Just because there''s fire on the roof...
"Someone claimed they were his friend and he was "just on a diet", but anyone who knows Bob Osborne knows his real friends wouldn''t come here to gossip."\ \ And here you are...
I''m not his friend nor have I met him, what I know about him is second hand, as I''ve clearly stated. He''s said in interviews himself that he is a very private person. Anyway, I think I''ll believe the NYT over what someone on DL who claims to be his good friend says.
R4/R8
Robert Osborne is the best. He makes it happen at TCM.
Where is TCM located. LA, NY, Atlanta?
He''s 78? Looks good for 78.
Knew him years ago.\ \ A nicer guy you will not find.
[quote]A nicer guy you will not find.\ \ Fuck YOU!
Ben Mankiewicz
I have always loved Robert Osborne. He has such a graciousness in his demeanor, which is probably why he''s been an insider for so many years.
[quote]Where is TCM located. LA, NY, Atlanta?%0D\ %0D\ R15- Robert lives in New York City. However the tapings for his introductions are done in Atlanta. He flies down there one week each month and does an entire month''s of pre show and post show intro tapings.
Did anyone make a booking for the TCM prisspot cruise?
I love Osborne but I lust after Ben Mankiewicz. Don''t ask me why but I think he''s so hot.\ \ I noticed that he''s no longer wearing a wedding band. Did he get a divorce? Does he need a blow job?
Ben will be on that cruise, feets in flip flops.
Yeah -- I noticed him slurring his words last night after Elmer Gantry. I thought maybe it was because I was really sleepy, but I guess not.
Did you know Mr. Osborne actually lives at the Osborne in NYC? True.
I thought the TCM cruise sounded cool but I don''t have the money for a cruise right now
Who was he before TCM?
Here''s the younger version of Robert Osborne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-xQ0xNRMSg
Has anyone here been to the TCM Film Festival? On paper it should be a hotbed of faggotry, but I don''t recall a thread about it.
^ Thanks for the clip. Did any of you older guys tap that back in the day?
What a doll
Osborne was one of Lucille Ball''s "kids" in her Desilu Talent School.....he knows where lots of bodies are buried and will take the information with him when he goes.\ \ As for the slurring - I think it''s a combination of age, trying to say TOO MUCH in too short amount of time - and some really BAD writing....my guess is the idiots who write for him (even if he provides some of the information) never sit down and try to say what they''ve written out loud....looks good on paper, but some of those tongue twisters are impossible.
Mary Margaret McMertz
I hope that''s all it is, but I started this thread because I remembered my father having the same sort of difficulty talking when he was on chemo or radiation (whatever it was that week), and I was afraid that was it.\ \ Enough time has passed that I suspect it''s just false teeth or something. He''s put a little weight back on, and he looks Aces compared to 120 days ago.
OP
Has anyone worshipped Ben''s feet? Were they fragrant and big toed?
My partner''s 80-year-old mom sports the affection for Robert Osborne. I think she has to know he''s gay, but everytime we all watch TCM, she swoons like a bobby-soxer when he comes on.
Is that Max Baer as Jethro in the Beverly Hillbillies clip? Looks like him but I''m not so sure. Is that the pilot episode?%0D\ %0D\ Bob Osborne was very handsome if not much of an actor.
I lust for Ben too.
[quote]I lust for Ben too.\ \ Join the club.
Robert O
Has Robert had Ben on that leather lounger? Imagine the cries of ecstacy echoing off of those mock brick walls ...
[quote]Joan Crawford was still seducing her co-stars on the set of ''Trog''. Just because there''s fire on the roof...%0D\ %0D\ Oh, dear.
R35, that''s adorable. My mom swoons over the guy in the Celexis ad.
Ernest Borgnine, Eva Marie Saint, exciting screen personality ''Tippi''Hedren and director Norman Jewison are joining the TCM cruise
Hope Borgnine forgets his flip flops!
Who''s feet will I worship on the cruise first? I would drink gimlets from between Ben''s toes!
I think Ben is sexier than hell, too!
Agree Ben is hot too R37 and R44- I love his shoes. I have a great shoe fetish. But he is so non-gay. He more sexy because he knows about film and is straight. That makes him even hotter.
Anonymous
He does look like he is fading away. Sad really
[quote]Ernest Borgnine, Eva Marie Saint, exciting screen personality ''Tippi''Hedren and director Norman Jewison are joining the TCM cruise\ \ If the boat capsizes, it will be one hell of a "Poseidon Adventure" remake.
But what did Bob do between that Beverly Hillbillies pilot and TCM? Alll those years in between?
Ben is not as appealing as Osbourne as a host on TCM.%0D\ %0D\ I guess he''s sexy enough, but not what I want when I''m waiting to see a grand old film.
Ben''s uncle Joe was a famous Hollywood womanizer bedding Liz, Gene, Linda and so many others. He also wrote and directed All About Eve.
I lust for Ben - and I love his politics.%0D\ And Robert is so darn likeable. Love them both.
No mention of Robert Osborne and Alec Baldwin doing the Essentials? They have a nice chemistry with Alec often asking intelligent questions and Robert giving his encyclopedic knowledge of film.
R48 wrote for Hollywood Reporter, contributed to that Oscars book.
[quote] They have a nice chemistry with Alec often asking intelligent questions and Robert giving his encyclopedic knowledge of film.\ \ Did you catch it the other week when Robert sort of bitch-slapped Baldwin? Baldwin was talking about some movie and he said something to the effect that "maybe you''ll appreciate it more now, and show it more often," and Robert just looked at him and said, "No, that won''t happen."
re R45. Ooooh, that BITCH!
I also like the respect that Alec has for Robert. You can tell that while Alec is secure in his opinions and really knows quite a bit about old movies, he defers to Robert and asks him great questions. I also like the look of delight Alec gets on his face when Robert starts talking about when he met/knew/ran into so-and-so in the old days. I have that same look of delight on my own face at home. \ \ I record quite a few movies from TCM; I am always disappointed when my movie doesn''t have an RO intro/outro.
Anyone else ever fantasize about Robert and Alec having sex?
ROTFLMAO@r47!!!
"But he is so non-gay. He more sexy because he knows about film and is straight. That makes him even hotter."%0D\ %0D\ %0D\ %0D\ Ugh, the straight guy troll is back%0D
I like the combo, too, R56. And I think Osborne looks better now than he did in the Beverly Hillbillies. Very distinguished.
wonder how well he knows Tim Gunn
Has anyone seen Ben''s feets? Are they clean and hairless, with long, thick toes? I hope they''re hairless. But looking at Ben I think they might be hairy. I hate hairy feet. Couldn''t even watch Lord of the Rings.
Stream o''Consciouness
i have adored tcm and robert osborned since its inception. i couldnt imagine one without the other
I kinda miss Bob Dorian and George Clooney''s dad from when they used to do the intros on AMC, back when AMC actually showed American Movie Classics. \ \ Whatever happened to Bob Dorian? He wasn''t in the same league as Robert Osborne, but he was pleasant enough.
I love Robert Osborne. He''s so classy and good-natured, and he inspires such utter confidence. He''s one of the best television hosts working today.
I''m jus a lowly TCM fan and whatever is the problem with Bob Osborne Iwish him a speedy recovery. I would also strongly encourage him to go public with his "alleged time off "a la vacation". I have absolutely NO knowledge but it just makes no sense he would take a sudden unplanned vacation unless something unfortunate happened. Just a guess and i hope a bad one but i think a stroke is a possibility which would explain his sudden absence. Another possibilty is a cancer requiring chemo which is weakening and wld explain why he needs time to get back. Whatever the reason, i along with millions of others miss this great "TCM Chairman" who in simple words a real calss act. Get well soon and get back to work Bob - everyone misses you !!!!!!!!!
royearl
I''m hoping the fact that he still intends on attending the TCM Cruise means it truly is just a vacation...
Crossing my fingers
What did we think of Janie Powell and The Tipster? Poor Jane''s lookin'' older, but she did a great job. Tip looked SMASHING, but was so dour and serious, trying a bit to hard to add portent to the subject matter of injustice at the hands of vigilantes.
The old gals are doing a good job, but I hope that 40 second "Robert is taking some time off . . . " intro before ever single movie isn''t part of the plan for the next several months.\ \ I love Robert Osborne, but I''m already telling the TV, "I know, I know, can we talk about the fucking movie already."
I find it so hard to reconcile Tippi Hedren and Melanie Griffith as mother and daughter. Tippi radiates such class; then again, how truly classy can a mother be if she lets her 15-year-old move in with a guy like Don Johnson?
We love Robert in Dallas. I believe he had an extra part in Scruples miniseries. He was a guest at a cocktail party. (great miniseries by the way). We have prayers coming your way Robert and best wishes for a speedy recover. Your replacements are adequate, but there will never be another you. You have introduced us to so many movie treasures that would have gone unnoticed. Thank you, and hurry back.%0D\ You million fans in Dallas, TX
ottobear
I didn''t realize how much I missed Robert Osbourne until Tippy took over. She needs to get a rhythm going or something. I have noticed that RO slurs words and was losing weight, and I would imagine he is having health issues, which no, he shouldn''t share with the public, if he doesn''t want to! I wish him well, and like many here, I hope he has a speedy recovery. As for all the others on here obsessed with sex and with saying mean things, you are never anonymous. Eventually we all have to answer to someone or something somewhere, so try to be kind. Doing so is much easier than you think, and it really will make you happier. It also has the added benefit of making the world a better place.
Julia
I also love how Robert Osborne and Alec Baldwin spar with each other a bit. It''s all very respectful, but I like that they don''t pretend to agree with each other just to keep things nicey-nice.\ \ Melanie Griffith seems very trashy and low-rent, but her mother was glorious. Still is.\ \ I remember Bob Dorian on AMC and liked him a lot. There was also a younger, gray-haired guy who used to host AMC for a while, he was cute, but now he does commercials.
I told you people years ago not to trust that Tess McGill. She stole Jack Trainor right out from under me. Trailer Trash.
Katherine Parker
r72, do you mean Nick Clooney, George''s dad and Rosemary''s brother?
No R74, it was a much younger guy.
R72, I remember that guy and I thought he was not only bright, charsimatic and appropriate for the channel (then), but also dead sexy!!
Here''s a pic of Ben and his wife Contessa from 2008. I believe they are divorced now.
http://www.life.com/image/81913190
I lust for Ben too.
R77,\ \ Look at those feet. he can keep the freakum loafers on, too!
benbenbenbenbenben
It is clear Robert drags his leg, he slurrs his words and his face is expressionless. I pray his minor surgery is a fact. I would hate to learn he is experiencing symptoms of ALS. Actor David Niven was just like that. ALS i also known as Lou Gehrig''s Disease.
ANNONIMOUS
I do enjoy seeing Ben wearing a suit in the evenings, although he has poor taste in neckties--they tend to strobe and not photograph well.
LOVE Ben. And he looks like he has a big dick. I don''t know why he doesn''t return my calls...
%0D\ On tonights TCM Orsen Wells night - somebody else subsituted in for Robert Osborne.
That ''somebody else'' is Ben Mankiewicz, R82.
Osborne does a good job. I''ve never looked him up on Wiki. Wasn''t he a film critic? I know he hung around the movie sets all the time. Picking up ''inside scoops''. Those stories are what was going on at the time.He does his job all right and has "who was doing who" .
me
whatever the problem is I think his audience should know the the real issue instead of wondering and hearing everyone's stories as he has been in our living rooms for years, we know of many other actors and host and their problems ,why not him,I've always enjoyed the wway he did the intros,A class act.Whatever it is I hope the best for him tcm lover "D" P.S Still waiting for the movie "The Key " to play again.
TCM ran a promo this morning w/Robert in a sweater, looking fabulous. He announced he'll be back in December. YAY!
17, Oct, 2011 GOOD NEWS!!! JUST saw Mr. Robert Osborne do a brief 'hello,' on TCM - wearing a sweater, and khakis, looking TERRIFIC. He says he'll be back to regular hosting duties - and his suit - 1 November.
U.N.%20Owen
Is Robert Osborne gay? I do not want to bash him, just want to know. Love his knowledge of movies, seems like a very nice man. Just that I find it so strange that all the bios have no mention of marriage, or that he never married, no children etc. It`s not easy to find a bio of a guy from his generation that does not have any mention of his private life, not even just the simple line stating...that he never married. I think he is gay, but just wondered what the secret was about. If he is gay it`s very clear he is still in the closet
Deanna%20Durbin%20fan
R88 is the epitome of obtuse.
Lorraine Bracco is subbing for him tonight. What is wrong with her? She can barely get a whole sentence out, even though it's obvious that she's trying to read a teleprompter. I don't know whether Osborne had a stroke, but she sure acts as if she did.
Lorraine looked and acted quite heavily drugged, R90. I wanted to cheer her for getting all those words on the teleprompter out. But the poor thing had no clue where she was or what she was doing. Perhaps she thinks she's still in 2002, doing press junkets for The Sopranos.
R91, my first thought was that she must be drunk or high, because that's exactly what she seemed like. But she's a professional actress, surely she wouldn't show up for a job stoned? So I wonder if she is or has been sick?
WTF? Bracco is actually pausing at the end of the line on the teleprompter. You can see her eyes shift to the next line and she starts talking again. I thought you guys were exaggerating, but it's even worse than you described.
Is he gay? This would ruin my last 10+ years of watching TCM. If it's true where is my Beretta 9 Millimeter, I will not go on.
He's old.
Oh, Jesus, who cares about this nobody who did nothing? Get a grip, girls.
Who was that black man (the one with the dirty ring of hair around his mouth) who subbed for Robert recently? He was so pretentious. It's like the fill-ins are only capable of two things - dear in the headlights discomfort and zombiedom or overly dramatic, hyper-sincere ham. What Robert brought (brings!) is a wealth of knowledge and insight, but all presented in a casual, conversational way, with very little pretense. He made this job look so easy and it obviously is anything but!
I wish they had filmed three or four spots instead of just that one with him in the blue sweater. They're beating it to death.
I adore Robert Osborne. When asked who I would liked to be seated with at a dinner party I always answer Robert Osborne. I hope he is in good health and in the event he has any problem, I hope he trusts his fans to stand by him and love him through any issue.
Jennifer Fritz
Bracco needs glasses to read..was she wearing her glasses when she had trouble with the TelePrompTer? (The iPad provider the above spelling.)
She was wearing her glasses. She can't read, but she's very sexy, IMO. She just has this vibe about her that appeals to me. I noticed it on The Sopranos.
No, she was NOT wearing her glasses. I watched The Razor's Edge last night, recorded from days ago when she was hosting, and she looked and acted like a Lorraine Bracco pod that had been taken over by the brain of Melanie Griffith. Childlike, halting speech with inexplicable pauses and presposterous delivery. It was really SAD.
The night I saw her, she was wearing glasses and she looked great in them.
Ran into Robert twice this week. Looks well, if a bit thinner and a bit more frail. He said he did almost nothing during his absence--no traveling, etc.--and loved it.
Was anyone else on the cruise? I couldn't find any event for gay people to meet and that was surprising. Robert Osborne was amazing and it was mesmerizing watching his talks. I just wish he had talked more about being gay and his relationships since that is such an important part of life. The only real shock was on the first night when Wink Martindale was hosting a trivia event and then introduced that Republican/FoxNews pollster and propagandist Frank Luntz. That guy is a professional hate spin doctor for the right-wing and it really made me almost puke to think he was on the ship.
Arthur
Robert Osborne is awesome. Nice to know he was doing well enough to participate in the cruise. Too bad they invited a hatemonger!
R105- Did Ben wear flip flops? Did you see him in a swim suit?
Robert gave a big detailed story about his time off. He wasn't sick at all but said it was his first vacation in years. He needed time to get dental work, some minor surgery, and do personal stuff. Usually he travels a lot but said he wanted to say in NYC the whole time. He also said he was actually back taping shows last month - with Drew Barrymore who is taking over for Alec Baldwin. Robert also said super complimentary things about Baldwin and says he loves working with him. Robert had two sessions on the cruise where he answered questions from the audience for over an hour. It was totally fascinating and his stories were endless. He made the whole cruise worth it.
I imagine Ben has a big floppy dingus with huge low-hangers.
I was thinking that his absence, the slurred speech, etc. are indictive of having had a minor stroke somewhere along the line...but apparently no one is talking or revealing that information, so who knows if my assessment is true. At any rate,I hope he is in good health now, as I love TCM and Mr. Osborne as the host.
Chuck Johnson
ROBERT, IS NOT GAY, HE IS CHRISTIAN AND HIS WIFES NAME IS SARA. YOU WHOM DOESNT WANT TO SHOW YOUR NAME!
MR. K. HULLETTE
If Robert Osborne is sick, or not my Prayers go to him and his family. It shouldn't matter if he is gay or not. He is a very special man. And I am looking forward to when he does come back to TCM he seems to be a very kind and caring person.He makes the channel going back to no matter what is playing.
Kim%20Parks
Is Robert Osborne gay? That's like asking if the Pope's a cocksucker. OF COURSE HE IS!!!