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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

She has a certain joie de vivre

Joy Behar (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Julie Hinds Detroit Free Press

Saying exactly what she thinks has taken Joy Behar far.

The co-host of “The View” is known for being funny and fearlessly opinionated on the air, whether she’s questioning a politician or sparring with a pundit.

In live concerts, Behar is as candid and relaxed as she is on daytime TV.

Q: When you and Ann Coulter spar on “Larry King Live,” it’s like watching a verbal boxing match. What’s your verbal boxing style?

A: With Ann or anybody else, I’m basically not a long-winded type of talker. I’m more like a jabber. I get in, I get out, I get in, I get out, like that. So that’s what I do. She is like most extreme right-wing talkers. They filibuster … and dance around the question. They’re dancers. I’m a jabber. She’s a dancer.

Q: What do you think of Fred Armisen’s impression of you on “Saturday Night Live”? What does he get right and wrong?

A: I think he’s right on. I think he’s got me down. He gets the fidgeting. I’m a constant fidgeter. It’s probably why I don’t weigh 200 pounds, because I keep working it off by moving constantly and fidgeting and fixing my hair.

And this phrase, “So what? Who cares?” – I realize that I say that a lot and that it’s basically a philosophy of life.

Q: You’ve talked recently about considering getting married to your longtime boyfriend. Who on “The View” makes the bridesmaid cut?

A: Well, I’m not going to have any bridesmaids, because I’m not Bridezilla. And there’s nothing worse than women … over 50 wearing bridesmaids gowns. It’s not attractive, especially the way they usually are. Although my bridesmaids would probably all be wearing black so they’d look good.

I’m not going to have bridesmaids and a big wedding like that. I might have a party afterward, but I’m not going to make a big deal of the ceremony. I don’t really want to take vows in public. It’s none of their business what I say. I think that’s a really private moment.

Q: When you think of some of the classic female groups on TV, who does the current group of women on “The View” have more in common with, “The Golden Girls” or the “Sex and the City” women?

A: The current group has the golden girls and it also has girls who love to wear crazy shoes and walk out with crazy hairdos, so I think it’s a combination of both. It’s “The Sex with the Golden Girls,” I guess.

The birthday bunch

Actor Bill Macy (“Maude”) is 87. Actor Pernell Roberts (“Bonanza,” “Trapper John, MD”) is 81. Actor Robert Morse (“Mad Men”) is 78. Actor Dwayne Hickman (“The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”) is 75. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman (Yes) is 60. Country singer George Strait is 57. Actor Chow Yun-Fat (“Anna and the King,” “The Replacement Killers”) is 54. Singer-actress Martika is 40. Actress/comedian Tina Fey (“30 Rock”) is 39. Rapper Special Ed is 35. Musician Jack Johnson is 34.