Whether
he’s performing on stage, the big screen, or TV, Harry Connick, Jr.
never seems to run out of creativity. A music icon for more than 30
years, Connick now has his own daytime entertainment show – Harry.
CBN’s Scott Ross caught up with him after a recent show taping.
Scott Ross says, “American Idol was the last time we talked. Do you miss that?”
“I had a really good time doing it,” Harry replies. “What I miss about it is the camaraderie among Jen and Keith and Ryan and the cast. What I don’t miss about it was the judging part. To sort of stand up there and to give like a critique without any interaction, sort of goes against the grain for me a little bit.”
“This concept of what you’re doing now – Harry – where did that come from?” asks Scott.
“Well, we thought maybe there’s a way to do something that’s based on all of the things that I like to do: perform, play music, make people laugh, tell stories, meet people, and we thought let’s see if we can do it during the day and do it in such a way that it feels different than everything else. Sort of bring a party in the middle of the day. Stay away from stuff that’s, you know, too heavy, let the people who know how to do that, do that. And then we pitched it and people liked the idea and here we are.”
Connick doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight. He often features everyday people doing extradordinary things.
Harry says, “There was a woman, she was the first African American female to fly a F-16 in combat. I was so in awe of this woman. That’s incredible, right. I mean, she’s –all I could think to ask her when she was up here is, what happens if you get hungry? You know, and she said, you know, I’m in a combat mission. Like I don’t really have time to eat. And I love meeting these amazing people. Or, you know, young kids who are starting these businesses at eight years old. I just love that stuff. I mean, I love giving them a chance to show their talent. Because that’s what older people did for me when I was a kid.”
He’s always been a family man.
“Off stage, not performing, you’re a dad, you’re a husband; how long have you and Jill been married?” asks Scott.
“Well, we’ve been –we’ll be together 27 years next month.”
“And you’ve survived this industry. Your marriage has survived. How?”
Harry says, “You know, I look at my mother and my father. And my mother died when I was 13. But prior to that, they had been married for 28 years. And I just remember both of them took this ring seriously. And I liked what I saw. I liked seeing my mother and my father together. I liked the feeling that I got. And I got lucky to meet a woman who subscribed to those same sorts of beliefs. Marriage doesn’t work out for everyone. Sometimes people get divorced. I get it and I pray for those people because that’s a tragic thing to have to endure for anyone. But I was fortunate enough to marry my best friend, a woman that I love very much. I like the feeling of developing a relationship with this woman that continues to evolve and grow.”
Scott says, “You live in a house, with three daughters? A wife? That’s 4 to 1 against you, Buddy. That’s the biggest job in life, it seems to me.”
“And the most important one too,” Harry agrees. “That’s a question that you probably were just about to ask, but I get asked all the time is, you know, how do you balance all the other stuff with your family? For me, that really is first. Are there days when I’m not home? Sure. Are there weeks when I have to go and travel? Of course. But in my heart, see, I am of the belief that if you’re lucky enough to have what I have, that makes you better at everything else. I don’t feel that I’m at sea. I don’t feel lost. It’s the same thing with faith, you know. Like if you have something to hold onto, it allows you, I think, to be more productive in all of the other areas of your life. So the fact that I have my wife and my daughters actually makes me a better man, makes me a better performer.”
Scott says, “Well, you mention faith and prayer and so forth - you’re a Catholic?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How does your spirituality affect what you say yes to, what you say no to, if it’s a script, if it’s a subject matter or whatever, how does that faith affect that thinking?”
Harry replies, “I think for me it’s about my conscience. I have to credit my mother, my father, and some of my extended family, for instilling in me the values that I hold today. Here’s the basic answer: If I do something on my show or if I read a script, I always think what would my dad think about this? What would my mom think about this? What would my grandma, my aunt Jessie, think about this? And that’s a pretty good barometer. My way of doing it is by example. Let me act like I would like to see things out there. Let me try to behave in a manner that I would want my children or somebody else’s children to see. Does that mean it’s uptight or goody goody or prudish? Call it whatever you want. I call it family entertainment.”
“Do you pray?” Scott asks.
“I do,” says Harry. “I pray in different ways. Sometimes it’s a real prayer, where you get down on your knees and you pray. But most of the time I find myself just sort of praying throughout the day. And it gives me a great deal of comfort.”
And Connick doesn’t hide his faith. During his Christmas show, Harry said, “I just want to say that as a Catholic, and a Christian, this is the time of year that we celebrate Christ.”
“Okay, what’s the future?” asks Scott. “What have you not done that you would like to do? Do you have your own dreams?”
Harry responds, “Well, I tell you. To be totally honest, you’re sitting right in the middle of my dream. Right here. I love—do you know what my favorite part of the show is? When I look out and I see the people in the audience. I see men, I see women, old, young, black, white, gay, straight, I see everybody. That’s when I find a moment to pray and say I don't know why You picked me to give these people a respite from their day for an hour.”
“But I take it really seriously,” Harry continues. “I love to entertain these people. Because we’re all the same. You know, you’ve struggled. I’ve struggled. We’re all trying to make it. We’re all just trying to make it. And the fact that, that’s why I don’t get real heavy on the show. I just want to make people happy for an hour.”
“Are you a happy, content man?” Scott asks.
“I feel like I’ve been given far more than I deserve,” says Harry. “I feel compelled to try to give as much of what I’ve been given back because I like –listen, I don't know why people come and clap for me, you know. I can’t believe it. I mean, every—people ask me this all the time. Don’t you get tired of the grind? You see my name back there? I don’t get tired of that. Are you kidding? Man, I worked my whole life for that. I come out here every day, I don’t care whether I’m sick or tired or, you know, I’m so lucky, man, I’m so lucky to have this that I feel very, very happy. “
"Well, be assured of our prayers for you.”
“Thank you,” says Harry. “I really appreciate that. And it’s mutual.” CBN
Scott Ross says, “American Idol was the last time we talked. Do you miss that?”
“I had a really good time doing it,” Harry replies. “What I miss about it is the camaraderie among Jen and Keith and Ryan and the cast. What I don’t miss about it was the judging part. To sort of stand up there and to give like a critique without any interaction, sort of goes against the grain for me a little bit.”
“This concept of what you’re doing now – Harry – where did that come from?” asks Scott.
“Well, we thought maybe there’s a way to do something that’s based on all of the things that I like to do: perform, play music, make people laugh, tell stories, meet people, and we thought let’s see if we can do it during the day and do it in such a way that it feels different than everything else. Sort of bring a party in the middle of the day. Stay away from stuff that’s, you know, too heavy, let the people who know how to do that, do that. And then we pitched it and people liked the idea and here we are.”
Connick doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight. He often features everyday people doing extradordinary things.
Harry says, “There was a woman, she was the first African American female to fly a F-16 in combat. I was so in awe of this woman. That’s incredible, right. I mean, she’s –all I could think to ask her when she was up here is, what happens if you get hungry? You know, and she said, you know, I’m in a combat mission. Like I don’t really have time to eat. And I love meeting these amazing people. Or, you know, young kids who are starting these businesses at eight years old. I just love that stuff. I mean, I love giving them a chance to show their talent. Because that’s what older people did for me when I was a kid.”
He’s always been a family man.
“Off stage, not performing, you’re a dad, you’re a husband; how long have you and Jill been married?” asks Scott.
“Well, we’ve been –we’ll be together 27 years next month.”
“And you’ve survived this industry. Your marriage has survived. How?”
Harry says, “You know, I look at my mother and my father. And my mother died when I was 13. But prior to that, they had been married for 28 years. And I just remember both of them took this ring seriously. And I liked what I saw. I liked seeing my mother and my father together. I liked the feeling that I got. And I got lucky to meet a woman who subscribed to those same sorts of beliefs. Marriage doesn’t work out for everyone. Sometimes people get divorced. I get it and I pray for those people because that’s a tragic thing to have to endure for anyone. But I was fortunate enough to marry my best friend, a woman that I love very much. I like the feeling of developing a relationship with this woman that continues to evolve and grow.”
Scott says, “You live in a house, with three daughters? A wife? That’s 4 to 1 against you, Buddy. That’s the biggest job in life, it seems to me.”
“And the most important one too,” Harry agrees. “That’s a question that you probably were just about to ask, but I get asked all the time is, you know, how do you balance all the other stuff with your family? For me, that really is first. Are there days when I’m not home? Sure. Are there weeks when I have to go and travel? Of course. But in my heart, see, I am of the belief that if you’re lucky enough to have what I have, that makes you better at everything else. I don’t feel that I’m at sea. I don’t feel lost. It’s the same thing with faith, you know. Like if you have something to hold onto, it allows you, I think, to be more productive in all of the other areas of your life. So the fact that I have my wife and my daughters actually makes me a better man, makes me a better performer.”
Scott says, “Well, you mention faith and prayer and so forth - you’re a Catholic?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How does your spirituality affect what you say yes to, what you say no to, if it’s a script, if it’s a subject matter or whatever, how does that faith affect that thinking?”
Harry replies, “I think for me it’s about my conscience. I have to credit my mother, my father, and some of my extended family, for instilling in me the values that I hold today. Here’s the basic answer: If I do something on my show or if I read a script, I always think what would my dad think about this? What would my mom think about this? What would my grandma, my aunt Jessie, think about this? And that’s a pretty good barometer. My way of doing it is by example. Let me act like I would like to see things out there. Let me try to behave in a manner that I would want my children or somebody else’s children to see. Does that mean it’s uptight or goody goody or prudish? Call it whatever you want. I call it family entertainment.”
“Do you pray?” Scott asks.
“I do,” says Harry. “I pray in different ways. Sometimes it’s a real prayer, where you get down on your knees and you pray. But most of the time I find myself just sort of praying throughout the day. And it gives me a great deal of comfort.”
And Connick doesn’t hide his faith. During his Christmas show, Harry said, “I just want to say that as a Catholic, and a Christian, this is the time of year that we celebrate Christ.”
“Okay, what’s the future?” asks Scott. “What have you not done that you would like to do? Do you have your own dreams?”
Harry responds, “Well, I tell you. To be totally honest, you’re sitting right in the middle of my dream. Right here. I love—do you know what my favorite part of the show is? When I look out and I see the people in the audience. I see men, I see women, old, young, black, white, gay, straight, I see everybody. That’s when I find a moment to pray and say I don't know why You picked me to give these people a respite from their day for an hour.”
“But I take it really seriously,” Harry continues. “I love to entertain these people. Because we’re all the same. You know, you’ve struggled. I’ve struggled. We’re all trying to make it. We’re all just trying to make it. And the fact that, that’s why I don’t get real heavy on the show. I just want to make people happy for an hour.”
“Are you a happy, content man?” Scott asks.
“I feel like I’ve been given far more than I deserve,” says Harry. “I feel compelled to try to give as much of what I’ve been given back because I like –listen, I don't know why people come and clap for me, you know. I can’t believe it. I mean, every—people ask me this all the time. Don’t you get tired of the grind? You see my name back there? I don’t get tired of that. Are you kidding? Man, I worked my whole life for that. I come out here every day, I don’t care whether I’m sick or tired or, you know, I’m so lucky, man, I’m so lucky to have this that I feel very, very happy. “
"Well, be assured of our prayers for you.”
“Thank you,” says Harry. “I really appreciate that. And it’s mutual.” CBN
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