Candice Bergen on profound love, shocking loss and brutal honesty
Candice Bergen may be best known for playing star reporter Murphy Brown for the fictional FYI newsmagazine — but she's got much more to report from her personal life.
CBC Radio ·
Candice Bergen may be best know for playing star reporter Murphy Brown for the fictional FYI newsmagazine — but she's got much more to report from her personal life. (Reuters)
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She may be best known for playing Murphy Brown, but there's undoubtedly much more to Candice Bergen's extraordinary life. Her first memoir — the 1984 bestseller Knock Wood — covered her early years growing up with her "brother" Charlie McCarthy (her famous ventriloquist father's dummy) and how she broke into acting.
"If you're going to do something that's as self-involved and as narcissistic as a memoir, the only way you can justify it is to be as honest as possible"- Candice Bergen
Today, the award-winning actress joins guest host Piya Chattopadhyay to discuss her new memoir, A Fine Romance, which details her later years.
In it, she reflects on her marriage to acclaimed French director Louis Malle, the birth of their daughter Chloe, Malle's untimely death, and the surprise of falling in love again.
She also looks back on the lasting impact of Murphy Brown and why the word "empowerment" is perhaps too cliched to capture the spirit of the show.
Dummy Charlie McCarthy sits Candice Bergen's lap as her father, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, performs live. He died in his sleep later that night. (The Associated Press)
In this 1997 file photo provided by CBS, Murphy Brown, portrayed by actress Candice Bergen, smokes a marijuana cigarette to quell nausea induced by the chemotherapy used to treat her breast cancer. The show famously pushed boundaries by putting the actress in such scenarios. (Spike Nannarello/The Associated Press)
French film director Louis Malle and actress Candice Bergen in 1992. Malle died November 24 in his California home. According to friends, Malle had been suffering from cancer for several years. (Reuters)
Candice Bergen says she didn't expect to find love again after the death of her first husband. Her second love and husband, Marshall Rose, took her by surprise. (Laura Rauch/AP)
