Oprah gives fan-focused show finale
Last episode, which airs today, ends 25-year run
CHICAGO – In the end, it was just Oprah.
For the final episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” taped Tuesday, the talk show queen appeared alone on her Chicago stage, talking to viewers about what they’ve meant to her during the show’s 25-year run. The finale will air today.
Fans leaving Tuesday’s taping said Winfrey had tears in her eyes as the television icon said a final thank you.
“She said, ‘This isn’t goodbye. This is until we meet again,’ “ said Amy Korin, 32, of Chicago, who was in the audience.
Winfrey then kissed and hugged her longtime partner, Stedman Graham, and made her way through the halls of Harpo Studios, saying goodbye to her staff, audience members said. She kept saying, “We did it! We did it!” Korin said, and giving employees high-fives.
There was a single chair on the stage, but Winfrey stood most of the time, audience members said.
“A lot of crying and hugs, crying and hugs,” Korin said.
Audience members described a simply produced series finale filled with a sense of gratitude.
“It was just her the whole time, a recap of what she believed in, what we’ve given her as viewers and what she hopes she has given us,” said Nancy Evankoe, 60, of Hoffman Estates, Ill., who went to the taping with her daughter.
Winfrey announced in November 2009 that she would end her popular talk show after 25 years.
Tuesday’s taping comes a week after Hollywood’s A-list and 13,000 fans bid Winfrey farewell during a double-episode extravaganza at Chicago’s United Center. The shows that aired Monday and Tuesday included Aretha Franklin, Tom Cruise, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jordan and Madonna, among other stars of television, music and movies.
The bare-bones final taping had its share of celebrities in the audience, including Tyler Perry, Maria Shriver, Suze Orman and Cicely Tyson, but none of them joined Winfrey on stage.
Although her talk show is ending, Winfrey is not leaving television. In January, the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN, made its debut. The cable channel is a joint venture between Harpo Inc., Winfrey’s company, and Discovery Communication.