[ rare / exclusive ] Oprah Winfrey with Kevin Roy, 1986. unseen

An interview with Oprah Winfrey seen by very few people until now. It was 1986, and Oprah came to Oak Park-River Forest High School to speak about the first observance of the new federal holiday, Martin Luther King, Junior Day. She arrived at the high school in a purple limo because the previous day, Oprah had been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "The Color Purple."
Kevin Roy was a Senior at OPRF High, and anchor of the school's cable TV news show called "Newscene." Because he was the only TV student who was also an editor of the school's newspaper, "The Trapeze," Kevin was selected to conduct the big interview with Oprah right after she arrived at the school and before she was to go on stage to speak.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Oprah
• Winfrey
• with
• Kevin Roy
• 1986
• kevin
• roy
• interview
• exclusive
• rarely seen
• just discovered
• rare
• unseen
• harpo
• productions. raw
• uncut
• unpolished

[krroy]

Would you like to see a clip of this vintage interview played during this the final season of the Oprah Winfrey Show? If so, please pass it onto Oprah's producers, especially if you know any. Or leave your comments here...

[krroy]

Dear Oprah and Oprah's producers,

What a find! Oprah in a candid interview from 25 years ago. Wouldn't it be a perfect element for one of Oprah's shows in this her 25th year and her final season of the Oprah Winfrey Show?

It's an interesting thing to watch Oprah on the cusp of her huge success. She was in the first year of her show. And she knew then that she was going to be very wealthy. It's in the interview. It makes me think of the power of having a vision, like she did.

--Kevin Roy

[trumpet603]

Clip almost made me cry. I love this woman so much...

[ljohnson215]

4:34!!!!

[ChrisCrossdresser]

Why did she wait 20 years later, to thank Roger Ebert?? "Roger was the person who convinced her to go into syndicataion…while they were on a date!

Roger says since that show, his "'cred' has gone way up!" In his Chicago Sun-Times column, Roger says that he and Oprah went on not one, but two dates back in the '80s.

For their second date, Roger says they went to see the Count Basie Orchestra. But, he recalls, Oprah had to leave early so she could get up at 5 a.m. to host her new talk show."

[abenebaby]

oprah = 1 word. phenomenal.

[nickelwindow53]

i love the 1980s oprah so much better than today oprah!

[WorldOfSnakes]

I liked the previous era better. Notice how she says "I'm a BLACK woman" and not "African American"? And how she says "sisters and brothers"...she doesn't speak like that anymore, society doesn't accept that anymore for whatever over-sensitive reasons. I wish ppl still talked like that on tv and in public.

[dedrawilliams]

:( i was 7

[royalredus]

Awesome!! Great vid :)

[garycalgary]

Her show started in September 1986 so she was still hosting AM Chicago. She started in Canada in 1987 and I was glued for 24 years (on and off)