Transcripts from The Howie Mandel Show Featuring Rebecca Herbst Featured on Dec. 9, 1998
Much thanks goes out to Karen for letting me use the pictures!
Howie: OK, just last year Soap Opera Digest named my next guest one of soap's hottest newcomers, and I guess they were right. She also appeared on Beverly Hills, 90210, Boy Meets World, Sister Sister, and many other TV series. You know her best as teenager Elizabeth Webber from General Hospital. Take
a look at a clip from GH (they show the scene when Lucky gave her the bracelet on her birthday)…Please welcome Rebecca Herbst!
Howie: Hi!
BH: Hello.
Howie: Welcome.
BH: Thank you.
Howie: You look great!
BH: Well thank you.
Howie: That's a nice top.
BH: Oh, (laughs)
Howie: No, no I didn't mean, you know because somebody just told me something backstage, they said the top that she's wearing is a special top. You made it.
BH: Yes I did.
Howie: So, I think that's pretty neat. (Audience applauds)
BH: Thank you. Actually…
Howie: I made the pants I wore yesterday!
BH: Oh really! No, I made this out of the scraps of the dress I wore to the SOD Awards.
Howie: Scraps of dress?!
BH: Yeah, (laughs a little) like the left over material from the dress I made for the Soap Opera Digest.
Howie: Wow, so you just make..and the one at the SOD awards you made the dress too.
BH: Yes, it was out of material like this too. (pointing to her top) (laughs)
Howie: Right, so you don't go shopping, you just make stuff.
BH: (laughs) Omigod, no, I shop!(laughs)
Howie: You shop?
BH: (still laughing) Yeah, I shop.
Howie: But for material and and wool.
BH: (laughing)Yeah, I buy my own sheets, you know, no , I shop.
Howie: You shop a lot?
BH: Yes.
Howie: Well, you can. Because you're doing very well.
BH: Well thank you.
Howie: That's great. You having a good time on the show?
BH: Oh, wonderful time.
Howie: You have a tough storyline.
BH: I do, I do, yeah. I'm very fortunate though to be challenged in that way, so.
Howie: But, do you take the work home with you, you know…and I think most people know, but people who don't watch GH, your character was raped, right?
BH: Right.
Howie: And you're going through that. And you're getting a lot of letters from real victims. And that's gotta feel good, where you're making them feel..
BH: Yes. It does, it does you know. If I can just help a couple
people out there I feel like I've done my job.
Howie: Well, that's wonderful. (audience claps) You won an award right?
BH: Yes, a couple days ago, my storyline one a SHINE award. It's Sexual Health in Entertainment.
Howie: Congratulations on that.
BH: Thank you. (audience claps)
Howie: Now, it's so neat that you're on GH, and I read that your mom was a big GH fan (Becky's laughing) when she was like nursing you when you were a baby.
BH: Yeah, yes. (laughing)
Howie: And you end up there.
BH: I know, it's funny isn't it?
Howie: It is funny.
BH: She never though that…
Howie: You're Mom's here
BH: My mom's here, and my grandmother. (show them in audience, audience claps)
Howie: They're here as fans for support right, they're not still
nursing…because I don't think..
BH: No! Oh, Howie…Howie…
Howie: Cause I don't think that would be right at this age. Now, when did you start acting?
BH: When I was 6.
Howie: 6 years old.
BH: Yeah, when I was 6 I did my first commercial for Banter toilet paper.
Howie: For Banter..You're the Banter toilet paper girl?
BH: When I was 6! (laughing)
Howie: Well, not anymore you gave up that..
BH: I choose not to be known as that yes.
Howie: What did you do? You just said to your mom you just want to act and she sent you out on audition?
BH: Well, no, my sister had done a show called Mousercise for Disney, it's an exercise program.
Howie: Mousercise?
BH: Yeah, it's an exercise program for kids. And I wanted to do it but at the time I was 5 and you couldn't be on it until you were 6, and so the producer of the show..
Howie: The legal Mousercising limit
BH: Exactly, you can't dance with Mickey until you're 6. So,umm, the woman who was producing it turned into an agent and picked me up on the first audition I went out on and got it.
Howie: So, were you schooled on sets or did you go to regular school
BH: No, I was always in regular school, a regular private school, my parents never allowed me to be home-schooled or they would never have taken me out of school to pursue my career.
Howie: So, that's wonderful, you actually finished school
BH: Yeah, finished school, went to prom, the whole nine yards.
Howie: So that's cool, and now you're off and doing well yourself.
BH: Yes. (audience clapping)
Howie: That's great. I think that's right. I want my kids..
BH: I do too. You know, at the time I was like, please pull me out of school I just wanna act. But I couldn't be happier that they made me stay in school.
Howie: And your very close to your parents, obviously your mom's here. You still live at home?
BH: I do. (she laughs)
Howie: You're laughing at that?
BH: No! (laughing still)
Howie: Well, that's good!
BH: No, I still live, I have a very close relationship with my parents.
Howie: Really? And what's home life like? You have pets and things like that?
BH: Oh, home life, it's crazy. I have an older sister who's in law school
Howie: As a pet??
BH: (laughing) No!
Howie: How often do you feed her?
BH: You know what, she's a little messy at times !(both laughing) But I do have 4 cats, 2 dogs, a rabbit and a squirrel.
Howie: A squirrel?
BH: Yes
Howie: A squirrel doesn't seem like a pet.
BH: No, they're actually illegal to have.
Howie: There illegal to have. So, why not mention it on National TV?
BH: They're not gonna, but this is the thing, it's ok because this man had found this baby squirrel and it was 2 days old and brought it to the humane society. And I have a friend who works there so she let me take care of it and raise it cause it had a broken arm and dislocated hip. And I was supposed to let it go..
Howie: Oh, a squirrel with a dislocated hip…
BH: (laughing) Howie, it was black and blue, it was really sad.
BH: No, (laughing)
Howie: Cause there's lots of people down there with dislocated hips.
BH: (shocked and laughing)
Howie: But, you know what I'm saying.
BH: I know what you mean (still laughing)
Howie: But that's wonderful that you're doing that work and you keep it.None of the other kids went into the business.
BH: Oh, my siblings?? No, no, it's just my sister and I.
Howie: Well, congratulations to you.
BH: Thank you!
Howie: I want to thank you for being here.
BH: Well, thank you for having me.
Howie: And I welcome you back anytime you want.
BH: Great!
Howie: You're adorable. Thank you so much for being here. Rebecca Herbst everyone.
BH: Well thank you.
BH: Yes, it was out of material like this too. (pointing to her top) (laughs)