Girl Talk: Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless

Sharon: My color is yellow. But it has to be a particular shade of yellow.

Tyne: (Laughing) "Buoyant Spring!" Sharon is a "Buoyant Spring." Now ask me why I know that. (I ask how she knows that) I know she's a "Buoyant Spring" because her grandmother took her to have her color chart done when she was going to become a lady of society, before she learned her true calling. (Sharon laughs) I had never heard of a color chart …

Sharon: Well, I treated Tyne to hers, and Tyne is a "Metallic Autumn."

Tyne: See?

Sharon: Very dramatic.

Tyne: I can do gold and silver and brass all together.

Sharon: Mixed metals.

Tyne: Anyway … Bill?

(AARP: Oh, yeah. I'm supposed to ask questions here, aren't I? You get along so wonderfully. Aren't two leading ladies supposed to hate each other?)

Sharon: That's what the press tried to do. They just could not conceive of two people — especially actresses …

Tyne: (defiantly) Yeah.

Sharon: … sharing the limelight together and getting along. And we really loved each other.

Tyne: (tenderly) Yeah. After awhile there was a determination that they wouldn't be able to divide and conquer. Some producers and some directors feel that's necessary to keep some kind of weird dramatic tension going.

Sharon: Name names, Tyne! We swore allegiance from the beginning. I would like you to know that I was the third "Cagney" (Loretta Swit played the role in the pilot movie; Meg Foster played Cagney during the show's first season). And Tyne Daly is the most generous, generous actor.

Tyne: I'm not …

Sharon: She welcomed me as if she had not had anybody before me. And I know her heart was hurting because she loved her last Cagney.

Tyne: Yeah, Meg and I got to be pals, and there's always pain involved in situations where you're getting to be buddies …

Sharon: The first scene we filmed for the show, we were out at some bar someplace. I was running across the street and fell. That was my entrance as Cagney. I was not supposed to fall.

Tyne: (Chirpily) Well, I think falling on your face, or your butt, is always a very good way to start! Anyway, I don't know how generous I am. I was just …

Sharon: You are!

Tyne: … interested in, you know, the product we were making.

(AARP: So how long did it take for you to get to this point, where I put the two of you together on the phone and then I just disappear?)

(Laughter)

Sharon: You don't exist, Bill! Thanks for hooking up this call for Tyne and me!

(AARP: But really, how long did it take to become friends?)

Tyne: Between 17 minutes and 21, probably.

Sharon: My first day on the set was actually Tyne Daly's birthday.

Tyne: Really? How do you remember these things?

Sharon: I remember because I dressed up as a clown! I was so nervous. I didn't know her very well, but I wanted to participate. They were gonna have a cake for her, and I said, "Do you have a clown outfit?" Well, they came up with a clown outfit! I went out like Bozo …

Tyne: I mean, the full clown!

Sharon: Full clown!

Tyne: Really elaborate.

Sharon: I did a whole clown act for her, and I had her fooled for quite awhile, but then I couldn't breathe under that mask so I took it off.

(They take turns laughing)

(AARP: How did you react when the show was finally canceled?)

Tyne: I think I was the feisty one. I didn't want it to be over.

Sharon: Me, I was in Hazelden (an addiction treatment center).

Tyne: Oh!

(Both laughing uproariously)

Sharon: And they wouldn't let me have the news! I guess they were afraid I was gonna go off the end. (More laughing) And someone sent me a newspaper and I went into my counselor's office. I knocked on the door and I said, (meekly) "Excuse me, I just got this newspaper that says my show's been canceled." She said, "Would everyone leave the room? Please come in, Miss Gless."

Tyne: (Laughing uncontrollably) Where are you, Gless?

Sharon: I'm in Miami. Sitting in the kitchen with my feet up.

Tyne: Miami! That's a good AARP place!

Sharon: I want you to know that I'm almost 70, and I'm a loyal AARP member.

Tyne: I'm not a member. Oh, dear!

Sharon: You don't have to be a member, Tyne. She's also younger.

Tyne: Ha! Only minutes.

(AARP: Well, thank you both for your time …)

Sharon: Did you get enough, Bill?

Tyne: The trouble with me is I've never learned to function in sound bites, which makes the 21st century a complete mystery to me.

Sharon: Hey, honey …

Tyne: Call me back!

(Click)