HARRY CONNICK JR.
A look inside the American Idol judge’s talk show.
“Just the fact that we have a chance to celebrate people and positive things, it’s humbling.”
— Harry
Ask Harry Connick Jr. for his wish list of guests on his new daytime show, and it’s clear he’s an aficionado of good, old-fashioned entertainment. “Carol Burnett; she was at my wedding. I love Carol, she’s a good friend,” he says. “If Dick Van Dyke came on my show? It would be amazing. Or [Don] Rickles or Bob Newhart.”
No wonder Harry, his syndicated talk show (which debuted on Sept. 12 to promising ratings), carries such a throwback vibe. “Harry laughs and says he wants to be like Dean Martin,” a friend of the ex-American Idol judge tells Closer. “Tell some jokes, have some laughs, hear some music and make people feel like they’re at a happy hour.”
For his part, Harry, 49, is thrilled to be taping the show in New York City, only 50 miles away from the New Canaan, Conn., home he shares with his wife of 22 years, former Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre, 52, and their three daughters: Georgia, 20, Sarah, 19, and Charlotte, 14. “Harry has been on the road doing concert tours his whole adult life,” the friend says of the jazz singer. “His daughters are getting older, and he finds a certain allure to being a guy who does his job and then comes home.”
As the only guy in a houseful of strong women, Harry’s well-equipped for his new gig. Says his friend, “He laughs and says he looked forward to having his own talk show because he can never get a word in edgewise at home!”
Harry knows the odds of long-term success are against him in the super-competitive daytime arena, and that’s fine with him. “Do you know how many times I’ve been onstage where I tried stuff and it failed? I’m so OK with it,” he says. “It’s not rocket science.”
— Bruce Fretts