Andy Cohen Gabs About 'Talk'

Andy Cohen is a self-proclaimed chatterbox. But the “Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture” author also multi-tasks just about as fast as he verbalizes.

Rushing to the airport on Friday to catch a weekend flight to France, the man who might just know more about popular culture than anyone on the planet—and who is also Bravo television’s executive producer of the “Real Housewives” mega-franchise and “Tabatha’s Salon Takeover,” among several hit shows on the network, a blogger, and the host of “Watch What Happens Live”—spared 15 minutes to talk about his upcoming appearance at the Shelter Island Library this Friday.

In spite of his grueling work schedule, the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning, first openly gay talk show host, who has become the ubiquitous face of all things Bravo, still manages to squeeze in some time for himself when the weekend rolls around. When he’s not jetting to Paris, Mr. Cohen’s Sag Harbor home is his number-one destination.

“It’s hard to make the time but I view every weekend out at the beach as a vacation,” he said during a quick telephone interview last week. “I try to be out there every weekend.”

Mr. Cohen, who reported that he wrote the book during visits to his Sag Harbor home from August through Christmas in 2011, said that he is looking forward to another visit this week when he travels to Shelter Island for his reading and book talk. The event will be casual, chatty and free-form, just the way he likes it.

“I’d like to make it as interactive as possible,” he said. “It’s up to the audience but I’m up for whatever.”

Mr. Cohen said he wasn’t sure which particular chapters he would be reading from but he did report that there was a lot of “Housewives” gossip in the book, plus some tidbits about another famous East Ender: Susan Lucci.

It’s fitting that the book “begins and ends with Susan Lucci,” according to Mr. Cohen, because she is not only a childhood idol, she was also his first celebrity interview.

In fact, his career almost ended before it began because of a little white lie the then journalism student told Ms. Lucci’s publicist in order to get the interview with the woman who played the infamous Erica Kane on the soap opera “All My Children.”

In a letter to Ms. Lucci’s publicist the overeager Boston University student promised that his piece would be the cover story of the BU Free Press. In reality, Mr. Cohen, though hopeful for a cover article, was really writing the feature as an assignment for a class paper. Fortunately for the star-struck writer, the piece ended up running in the Daily Free Press.

“I’m standing on the corner of Sixty-seventh and Columbus Avenue in Manhattan waiting for a meeting that will change my life,” Mr. Cohen writes in the chapter titled “My Date with Susan Lucci.” “It’s December 11, 1987. I’m nineteen years old and about to have my first encounter with a celebrity. Not just any celebrity. The Queen of Daytime, and my first diva: Susan Lucci.”

The interview goes well, though Mr. Cohen admits to telling another little fib again. When discussing where to have lunch, he eagerly screams, “Oh my God, I loooooove Mexican food!” when Ms. Lucci suggests one of her favorite restaurants. In fact, he hates Mexican food, passionately. But, the devoted daytime fan admitted that he’d do just about anything to spend more time with Ms. Lucci. So he dived into his beef taco (no beans!) and enjoyed the ride.

But, just as in the most delicious soap opera twist, all good things eventually had to come to an end.

“In front of the restaurant, we take photos and say good-bye,” Mr. Cohen wrote. “As I watch Susan Lucci disappear down Sixty-ninth Street, I wonder if I’ll ever see her again.”

“The Real Housewives” are also discussed in detail in “Most Talkative.” During his interview on Friday, Mr. Cohen shared some Hamptons-based scoop that got the ball rolling for the New York series.

“I think that in the book one of the most crucial moments ever from the New York ‘Housewives’ is at Bridgehampton polo when Jill Zarin ran into Bethenny Frankel and started the process of getting Bethenny on the ‘Housewives,’” he said. “I owe Jill a thank you for bringing in Bethenny. That show was in a little jeopardy until then.”

Though he admitted that his book isn’t necessarily jam-packed with stories about the Hamptons in particular, there are plenty of things Mr. Cohen enjoys here on the East End when he’s here for his weekend vacation time.

Chief among his pastimes are reading (“I loved that book that Steven Gaines wrote,” he said, referring to the Hamptons-based “Philistines at the Hedgerow”), hanging out at the beach and low-key meals.

“I like going to Sam’s and sitting at the counter and having a slice and a glass of red wine,” Mr. Cohen said. But he’s also keen on hanging in with friends, including Bill Persky and Joanna Patton of Shelter Island.

“She makes the best peppermint ice cream known to man,” he exclaimed. “Really!”

Ever outgoing and friendly, Mr. Cohen said that he can’t wait to share his “Most Talkative” experiences with fans.

“I just want my friends in my head, who watch the show, to come,” he said. “I’m excited to meet everybody!”

Andy Cohen will visit the Shelter Island Library on Friday, July 20, at 7 p.m. to read from and discuss his book, “Most Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture.” Copies of the book and audiobook will be available for sale and autographing at the library. For more information, visit readshelterisland.org or call (631)749-0042.