White House Correspondents Insider
Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.
For the third time in the history of the televised image, Vice President Joe Biden appeared on screen in a semi-fictional universe. While Leslie Knope may have the traditional reaction when it comes to being in the presence of VP Biden, we know it’s all in fun for the councilwoman from Pawnee, Indiana.
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Now that the election is over, we can get Vice President Joe Biden to where he really needs to be–meeting Leslie Knope.
Or, to be more precise, Amy Poehler on the set of Parks and Recreation for their upcoming episode. The fifth season premiere featured Poehler (who plays the recently elected city councilwoman Knope) in D.C. with cameos from Senator John McCain, Barbara Boxer and Olympia Snowe. But for the November 15th episode, Vice President Biden shows up in the cold open according to Entertainment Weekly.
It’s no secret in the show that Knope has a crush on Biden, but it turns out the cameo was harassed by Beltway politics:
Once the producers committed to shooting an episode in D.C., the process of landing Biden was “so much less difficult than we ever possibly imagined,” says Schur, noting: “His staff really loves the show, and he apparently had watched the show with his family and his family liked it… The hardest part was keeping it secret for so long because there’s all these FEC rules and equal-time rules. We couldn’t air it before the election because it was the equivalent of a campaign contribution to advertise for one candidate.”
This is far from the first time that the vice president has appeared on TV. He’s read the Top Ten on Letterman, shown up constantly on Hardball, Meet the Press and The Daily Show. But this is the third time that he’s ever appeared on a scripted television show. The second was Robert Altman’s sequel to Tanner ’88, the Sundance Channel mini-series Tanner on Tanner. But the first? Way back in 1993, then Senator of Delaware, Biden appeared as himself on the PBS game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? to offer the host some support:
Greg: Hello? Joe Biden: Greg, Senator Joe Biden here. Greg: Oh, hey, Senator. Joe: I just wanted to let you know that I proposed a Congressional resolution naming you “The Best Detective of the Year”. Greg: Why thank you, sir. Joe: But some people were more comfortable with “Best Detective of the Month”. Greg: Uh-huh. Joe: And a few preferred “Best Detective of the Work Week”. Then someone suggested “best” is an awfully strong word, so we decided to name you “The Somewhat-Notable Detective of the Next 12 Minutes”. Congratulations, Greg. Greg: Thank you very much, sir. Thank you. Good-bye. Thank you.
We can only hope he suggested the same when the episode airs next week.
From Second City to the Kennedy Center, Tina Fey still leaves them laughing.
The Emmy – Golden Globe – Screen Actors Guild – People’s Choice award-winning writer, producer, actress, and comedienne took home another statue Tuesday night: the 13th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. As only the third woman to receive this award (Whoopi Goldberg and Lily Tomlin round out the trio), Fey is also the youngest (she’s 40, for those keeping track).
She is the creator, star and Executive Producer of NBC’s 30 Rock, now in its fourth season and spent nine years as head writer and cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. But perhaps it is her eerily good impression of Sarah Palin that most folks are familiar with (even doing a little bit during a recent appearance on Late Night with David Letterman).
While accepting the award at a star-studded event at the Kennedy Center, Fey thanked Sarah Palin, the former Alaskan Governor, for her success. Palin wasn’t in the crowd, but spotted in the President’s box were David Axelrod, Stephanie Cutter and Susan Sher.
Fey’s husband, producer/composer Jeff Richmond was by her side while co-stars, colleagues and friends were on hand to pay tribute to Fey including former Mark Twain winners Steve Martin and Lorne Michaels; Date Night co-star Steve Carell; former Weekend Update co-anchor and now host of his own show, Jimmy Fallon; Mad Men and 30 Rock guest star Jon Hamm; Baby Mama co-star Amy Poehler; 30 Rock co-stars Jane Krakowski and Tracy Morgan; and the indefatigable Betty White.
Alec Baldwin who plays Fey’s “mentor” on 30 Rock appeared in a video as Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. He wasn’t the only one people couldn’t stop talking about: people were commenting on the remarkable resemblance between Steve Martin and David Rubenstein, President of the Kennedy Center. Also spotted at the gala were National Symphony Orchestra Board Member Connie Milstein and guests Austan and Robin Goolsbee.
The event raised $1.3 million in ticket sales which will go to the Center, the largest total in the prize’s history. PBS will air the program on November 14, 2010.
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