Roseanne Barr and George Clooney had a fun working relationship during the first season of “Roseanne” back in 1988 — but that doesn’t mean the actor didn’t cause “problems” for the titular actress.
Speaking on Howard Stern’s Sirius XM show on Tuesday, Barr recalled Clooney’s prankster tendencies on set. When the show reached No. 1 in ratings — beating out “The Cosby Show” — ABC sent Barr a giant chocolate bar shaped like a #1. But Barr said Clooney, who played Booker Brooks on the show’s first season, suggested they smash the bar and send pictures to the network president because he knew other actors received much nicer gifts than candy. Barr said she obliged.
“That caused a lot of problems for me. I should not have sent that picture,” she said. “But it’s so funny.”
“[Clooney] goes, let’s go out, and I’ll throw it … and you hit it with a bat and then we’ll send the picture to the president of the network,” she continued.
“The show went to No. 1 in its third episode,” Barr added. “It premiered in the Top 10, though.”
The comedian recalled that Clooney teased her willingness to push executives’ buttons.
“George always would … when I’d go to my dressing room every day, it would say ‘Sandy Duncan,’” Barr said, referring to the actress who took the spot of Valerie Harper on Season 2 of “The Hogan Family.”
“Didn’t Valerie Harper get fired from her own show?” Stern asked. “And you were always thinking you would get fired from your own show?”
“Oh, I knew they could do it if they wanted to,” Barr said.
