Title:
Tracey Ullman ACA Oral History, January 30, 2020.
Creator:
Ullman, Tracey
Creator:
Matz, Jenni
Creator:
Emerson College. American Comedy Archives
Creator:
American Television Foundation
Record Type:
digital moving image formats
Record Type:
oral histories (literary works)
Date:
2020-01-30
Description:
In her three-hour-and-fifteen-minute interview Tracey Ullman talks about growing up in England and how she started doing impersonations as a kid. She discusses attending a performing arts school starting at the age of 12, leaving school at 16 to be a dancer in Berlin, and how she made the transition into acting. She details how she came to be cast in the improvised play "Four in a Million" and how that led to her being cast on a BBC sketch comedy show. She talks about her years as a pop star and meeting her husband, the late producer Allan McKeown, and moving to America. Ullman goes into detail on the creation of 'The Tracey Ullman Show', including how it began with meeting James L. Brooks, her concept for the show, and the casting process. She then shares stories from the run of 'The Tracey Ullman Show', with a discussion of a typical workweek, specific characters she created for the series, including "Kay Clark" and "Ginny Tilman", winning Emmy Awards for the series, and its eventual end and legacy. Ullman then moves on to her special Tracey Ullman: A Class Act and how that led to her HBO show 'Tracey Takes On…' For 'Tracey Takes On…' she talks about specific characters, directing episodes of the series, and the show's writing team. She then talks about her next series, 'Tracey Ullman's State of the Union', including why she decided to feature more impressions of celebrities and public figures and on getting more political in her work. Ullman discusses her then-most recent series 'Tracey Ullman's Show', talking about sketches that went viral and the characters she's carried throughout her series. She concludes by sharing how she gets into character, her writing process and how she collaborates with other writers, how the industry has changed since she started out, advice to aspiring performers, her proudest career achievement, and how she would like to be remembered. Jenni Matz conducted the interview in partnership with the American Comedy Archives at Emerson College on January 30, 2020 in North Hollywood, CA. Additional topics covered include: Advice, Characters & Catchphrases, Comedy Series, Comedians, Creative Influences And Inspiration, Criticism Of TV, Diversity In Television, Emmy Awards, Fame And Celebrity, First Big Break, Historic Events And Social Change, LGBTQ, MeToo Movement, New Media, Performers, Producers, Pivotal Career Moments, Pop Culture, Television Industry, Women, and Writers.
Extent:
3 digital files
Subject:
Actresses
Subject:
Comedy
Subject:
Career Development
Subject:
Television comedies
Subject:
Women comedians
Subject:
Ali, Muhammad, 1942-2016
Subject:
Beatts, Anne P.
Subject:
Belson, Jerry
Subject:
Brooks, James L.
Subject:
Brooks, Mel, 1926-
Subject:
Castellaneta, Dan
Subject:
Clement, Dick
Subject:
David, Larry
Subject:
Dench, Judi, 1934-
Subject:
La Frenais, Ian
Subject:
Friedan, Betty
Subject:
Kavner, Julie
Subject:
Kohan, Jenji, 1969-
Subject:
McCartney, Paul
Subject:
McGrath, George
Subject:
McKeown, Allan
Subject:
Merkel, Angela, 1954-
Subject:
Palin, Michael
Subject:
Parent, Gail
Subject:
Williams, Robin, 1951-2014
Subject:
Tracey Ullman show (Television program)
Subject:
Tracey Ullman's Show
Subject:
Tracey Ullman's State Of The Union
Subject:
Tracey Ullman: A Class Act
Subject:
Tracey Takes On...
Subject:
Simpsons (Television program)
Subject:
Mrs. America
Collection:
Bill Dana Oral History Interview Collection (ACC-MSS 002), 1L
Location:
Emerson College Archives and Special Collections
Rights Restrictions:
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) (http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/). For questions about rights statements, or access to the original document please contact the Emerson College Archives and Special Collections at www.emerson.edu/library/archives.
Access Restrictions:
No known access restrictions.
Language:
English
Identifier:
Tracey Ullman ACA Oral History
