Three Forgettable Daytime Talk-Show Hosts

As we all know by now, Oprah Winfrey (or as I like to call her, Mrs. Gayle Steadman) will be cryptically saying goodbye to her syndicated daytime talk slot two days before the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

And with that resides a gaping hole in network programming that no doubt has both housewives and second-rate comedians salivating with the possibility of filling her Harpo-sized red pumps.

If one thing's for sure though, none of the below five entertainers will be called upon for the responsibility. They had their shot at the daytime interview couch or Q & A chair and either wildly lived down expectations or induced more prolonged viewer comas than sizable ratings shares. (And it should be noted that the likes of Richard Bey and Wendy Williams only missed the cut because of inexplicable longevity and still-undetermined future success, respectively.)


QUEEN LATIFAH

In case you thought otherwise, the Jersey-bred hip-hop Queen and Oscar nominee didn't seamlessly transition from preaching "U.N.I.T.Y." on the radio to singing and dancing her way through "Chicago." In between there was a little remembered FOX affair dubbed, shockingly, "The Queen Latifah Show." Personally, I'd prefer an uncut cable re-run of "Set It Off" any day.



TEMPESTT BLEDSOE

In hindsight, it's hard to see how producers felt giving the woe-begotten, second-to-middle Huxtable daughter her own syndicated gab fest was an inspired notion. It would be like Mike and Carol Brady allowing Jan to do a solo during "It's a Sunshine Day." And since I had trouble even locating remaining multimedia evidence of this disastrously ill-conceived project, I figured I may as well engage you more convincingly than Tempestt did during her year on the air with this classic, Vanessa-centric "Cosby Show" clip.


PAT BULLARD

Writing stints on "Roseanne" and "Grace Under Fire" helped this future "Reba" producer land his own short-lived morning gig, in which he committed what all TV Buzz readers know I consider the cardinal small-screen sin: allowing for any presence of ventriloquy. But hey, at least the above 10-year-old girl displayed more actual talent for her craft than Jeff Dunham.