Remember that scene in Mr. Deeds, where Adam Sandler’s character asks a roomful of stuffy stockholders what they wanted to be when they were kids?
One guy who wanted to be a magician said he ran a porn website; another guy who wanted to be a veterinarian said he ran a chain of slaughter houses. Me? Well, I’ve confessed it before, but I wanted to be a typewriter. Hey, as a writer, at least I ended up closer than that slaughter house guy.
A recent viewing of the Sandler classic (which ranks among my well-worn Waterboy and Wedding Singer DVDs) got me thinking: What did TV personalities want to be when they were kids? More intriguing, and more revealing, who were their TV heroes?
For example, was foul-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay a fan of Oscar the Grouch as a tot? Was Donald Trump all about Scrooge McDuck? Four Canadian TV personalities were happy to dish about their childhood heroes. And I gotta say, once they got going, they were giddier than schoolgirls.
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Ben Mulroney, host of eTalk (weekdays, 7 p.m. ET, CTV) and Canadian Idol
“Knight Rider. I loved it because it was every kid’s dream to be David Hasselhoff. Kidding! It was every kid’s dream to be a spy and have those cool toys, and KITT was the coolest toy. Anybody could have done Michael Knight’s job. If KITT decided he didn’t like Michael, he would have been out of a job.”
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Arisa Cox, co-host of E! News Weekend (Saturdays, 7 p.m. ET, E!) Check out their Cool Canada special this week!
Jada Pinkett Smith from A Different World because she was self-possessed and confident. That show did have other laughable characters like Whitley … whatever! She had that accent and major identity issues because of who she was. But Jada was really strong and she still gives that off today.
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Jason Ruta, co-host of E! News Weekend (Saturdays, 7 p.m. ET, E!) Check out their Cool Canada special this week!
“I really liked the Thundercats and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were action figures and superheroes. I always wanted to be a superhero. I didn’t look up to real people as much.”
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Trish Stratus, wrestler and host of Stratusphere
“My favourite was Wonder Woman – imagine that! [Laughs.] I remember watching the show and I would wear a similar outfit to what she wore – I was a 10-year-old kid wearing business suits. That was my thing. But love Wonder Woman. Still love her!” |
So, you know what question’s coming … who was your TV hero when you were a kid? Let me know at melissa@tvguide.ca and check back Wednesday to see if your answer’s been posted.
