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The Nanny, Fran Drescher, Continues to Make News
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Photo: Brian Nice
About six months ago, I had the pleasure of speaking to Actress Fran Drescher, best known for her role in the television sitcom “The Nanny.” And while she hasn't been on TV in a while, yes, her voice was the same but I really enjoyed talking with her.
I also admire her for her work with Cancer and now, I read recently that she has been named a U.S. public diplomacy envoy. According to Newsmarket.com, Drescher, a cancer survivor and advocate of female empowerment, will support U.S. diplomacy efforts aimed at health organizations and women’s groups. Available video includes soundbites from Actress Fran Drescher and Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Goli Ameri.
Here's my interview with her where she shared her feelings on "The Nanny," her bout with cancer and love life, as well as what's ahead.
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At Home With Fran Drescher
"The Nanny’" talks about cancer, dating and starting a revolution.
By Debbie L. Sklar
It’s early morning and the voice on the other end of the receiver sounds just as whinny as it did on my TV screen so many years ago.
Yes, who else could it be other than actress Fran Drescher known to many of us as “The Nanny” from her sitcom on CBS from 1993 to 1999?
According to Wikipedia.com, “she played a woman named Fran Fine who casually became the pantyhose-clad nanny of three children; with her wit and her charm, she endeared herself to their widower father, Maxwell Sheffield, a stuffy, composed, proper British gentleman and a Broadway producer (played by British actor Charles Shaughnessy).”
Drescher is also the author of the mega-bestseller and her second book “Cancer Schmancer” (now in paperback; Grand Central Publishing 2003)in which she wrote about her experiences. Her first book was an autobiography called “Enter Whining,” (Harper Entertainment 1997).
“I’m tired, but I am busy,” said Drescher, during a recent interview from her home in Los Angeles. “But I am completely cured and do not have cancer; I’ve been well for 7 and a half years and get checked once a year. Sometimes, I do go twice a year to put my mind at ease.”
Drescher was diagnosed in 2000 with uterine cancer. But emergency surgery caught it early as it was only at Stage 1 and she didn't have to undergo chemotherapy.
In June 2007, Drescher announced the national launch of the Cancer Schmancer Movement, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all women's cancers be diagnosed while in Stage 1, the most curable stage.
She has said, “we need to take control of our bodies, become greater partners with our physicians and galvanize as one to let our legislators know that the collective female vote is louder and more powerful than that of the richest corporate lobbyists.”
Ready to Yak
When I spoke with Drescher, she was easy-going and had no resolutions talking openly about her cancer or what has been her number one priority for quite some time – her organization.
“It really has dominated all of my time for so long and in June, we will be 1 year old,” she said. “I have to hire a CEO because I have been doing everything myself.”
In terms of the book, she said she wasn’t surprised or shocked that it became such a hit.
“I just put everything into it, I thought if I am going to do this, I am not going to soft peddle or leave stuff out,” she said. “I wanted to be totally honest with the reader about my experience and my fears, my life, my relationships. I wanted to be frank about what my body looked like, and what sex was like after having a hysterectomy.”
She was pleased that “Cancer Schmancer” became a national bestseller and she said it is still available and continues to be widely read.
Lots of Stories
Of course, many women come up to Drescher to this very day to share their own stories about cancer.
“They tell me about how they dealt with their doctors in a different way, or how tired they were of looking at the clinical books about cancer when visiting bookstores,” she said. “They say they asked for Fran Drescher’s book and that it became their mantra, ‘cancer schamncer.’ ”
However, listening to cancer stories so often isn’t always easy for anyone. But Drescher said hearing about them did help her turn her own pain into purpose. In fact, she has a follow-up to the book in the planning stages.
“I just need to clean my plate a little bit,” she said. “Starting a women’s revolution is very time consuming.”
Drescher added that she does feel that the movement has been beneficial in more ways than one.
“It makes me feel like I am doing something that is greater than any individual and that keeps me going when I am running on empty,” she said. “But on another level and as a cancer survivor, although I try and deflect as much as I can, the stories that I am told, I do go through cycles where I am hearing too much about cancer. I need to get out of that pool; sometimes a woman will tell me something and it gets me worried that that could happen to me.”
After undergoing a complete hysterectomy, she said, “As my oncologist said, ‘You did have cancer and lightening can strike twice, so you have to take care of yourself.’”
“Bottom-line is that I do need to reduce my stress level and even though I feel I am helping people, I can’t do it at the risk of my own heath,” she said.
Fast-Forward
As for what’s ahead for Drescher in addition to her follow-up book, she is going to focus on her acting and other entrepreneurial ventures.
For example, the multi-talented Drescher is writing a screenplay, and developing a TV series with Rosie O’Donnell, which O'Donnell's video blog announced in February. It mentioned that the two women would be doing a “fun, happy, family comedy” together. No further details were given, as both said they could not talk about it further than their announcement.
Drescher is also penning a children’s book and said she is going to be appointed a special envoy for women’s health issues by the U.S. State Department in the very near future.
When does she have the time to multi-task and juggle all of these projects?
“That’s just it, I don’t,” she laughed. “I need to slow down.”
Known for her keen wit and clear-cut sense of humor, when asked if she plans to revisit comedy, she was quick to answer.
“I never considered myself a stand-up comic, I am a comedienne,” she explained. “I do sit-down comedy when I am on talk shows, which are very clearly structured, written stories that are funny and similar to stand-up.”
Still on the Couch
One thing she will continue to do is visit with her therapist because it is a “great sounding board.”
“My question is always, ‘Why do I?’ ” she said. “I usually dig deep within myself. It does always end up being about me and it is helpful to gain insight as to what your issues and history are and how that may rule you in certain circumstances.”
And what about her love life? Well, after separating in 1996, Drescher (who never had children) divorced her husband, Peter Jacobson, in 1999. She then dated a man 16 years her junior from 1998 to 2002.
“It took me a long time to get over him,” she explained about the last serious relationship. “It was emotionally mixed up and there was a lot of hero worshipping on his part … he was so wonderful to me at my lowest point when I had the cancer …”
Now single, Drescher added, “I’m putting the secret out that I am single and that I want this year to be a year of romantic love.”
But in the mean time, she is redirecting herself and going back to her real “first love” – acting.
“It’s now time for me to dedicate some time to my acting,” she said. “In a way, I kind of reinvented myself: I’m not the same person I was when I was The Nanny. But whatever it is that is ahead -- a TV show, another book -- it is going to have to resonate with issues that are affecting middle-aged women today.”
Ultimately, she said she would like to live in a time when women's mortality rates drop as their healthcare improves and early cancer detection increases. More information can be found on her Web site at cancerschmancer.org.
Question: Would you like to see Fran back on TV? Let me know.
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