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Whoopi started to deliver a tribute to her friend director Mike Nichols but could not get the words out. Courtesy The View ABC
- news.com.au
- 22 Nov 2014
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Whoopi Goldberg broke down on The View today. Picture: AP Source: AP
THERE were emotional scenes on today’s episode of US daytime talk show The View, as co-host Whoopi Goldberg broke down in tears live on air.
Goldberg started to deliver a tribute to her friend, acclaimed director Mike Nichols, who died of a heart attack on Wednesday at the age of 83.
However, Goldberg was only able to get a few words out before emotions overtook her and she sat weeping with her head in her hands.
Whoopi breaks down
Co-host Posie Perez was quick to come to her aid as Rosie O’Donnell explained Goldberg’s sudden reaction.
“Mike Nichols is the one who first saw Whoopi performing and said, ‘You got something, kid’,” O’Donnell told the audience, as Whoopi sobbed audibly.
“She was a downtown street artist and he said ‘Let’s do a show’. They put it together and he gave her the entire beginning of her career and recognised her brilliance before anyone else.”
Nichols and Goldberg collaborated on her self-titled 1985 Broadway show, which led to her breakthrough performance in the Hollywood hit The Colour Purple.
Director of classics including The Graduate, Working Girl and Silkwood, Nichols is survived by his wife, news anchor Diane Sawyer.
Nichols and Goldberg were close friends. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
