What has happened to Whoopi Goldberg?
Last night she missed hosting the all star Love Rocks NYC charity rock concert at the Beacon Theater. No announcement was made until after the show–featuring two dozen rock stars– began.
This comes as Whoopi has now missed a month of shows for “The View.” Her last appearance was on February 6th. During the week leading up to the Oscars, which were on February 24th, her disappearance was credited to the rumor that she’d be hosting the show. But Joy Behar explained that Whoopi had pneumonia, and couldn’t host her own show let alone the Oscars.
Now two more weeks have passed, and Whoopi still MIA. I spoke yesterday with a former associate who’s kept in touch. That person led me to believe that Whoopi “is improving,” that she’s definitely been felled by pneumonia, and that the Oscar winning actress and “View” captain was “finally back home.” The implication is that Whoopi had been in the hospital.
Last night, Whoopi’s hosting duties at Love Rocks were taken by Martin Short, Bill Murray, and Paul Shaffer, with a surprise appearance by Chevy Chase. Love Rocks president Karen Pearl asked everyone to send good wishes for Goldberg’s recovery.
We can only hope that everyone is right– that Whoopi got hit by a bad strain, that she’s on the road to recovery and that we’ll hear from her soon. We’ve heard of pneumonia being surprisingly bad this year. Kim Porter, the mother of Sean Puffy Combs’ children, succumbed to it last November.
You know, we take Whoopi Goldberg for granted because she’s on TV every day and she’s outspoken. But she’s comic genius. Her original live, directed by Mike Nichols, was one of the greatest theatrical experiences. Her turns in “The Color Purple,” not to mention “Ghost.” are some of the best movie performances ever. Let’s all of us keep her in our thoughts.
