Kurt Browning Fox and Friends Interview Transcript

MH1: When you think Alan Thicke, what do you think?

MH2: Uh, perfect hair.

MH1: Right, and?

MH2: uh...Canadian

MH1: and?

MH2: I haven't watched his show since the 70s!

MH1: I was trying to go for skating...

MH2: (simultaneously) Hockey! Hockey!

FH: Skating...Hockey...Canadian...we get it

MH1: As a young boy our next guest was going to pursue a career in ice hockey (forget the transition) but pursued his passion and became a world class figure skater. He is here, he's in the flesh, he's Kurt Browning and he's currently traveling the country with Target Stars On Ice.

Kurt: (Kurt kind of laughing behind his hand) That's great.. (does a double thumbs up)

FH: Target meaning Target Stores?

K: Target meaning Target Stores.

MH1: What do you have in common with Alan Thicke?

K: You mean besides our heritage?

MH2: You're both Canadian.

K: Um...love of hockey (holly?)..um..follicle fun.

MH1: Did you take on Carson in the 70s with a talk show?

K: I would have.

MH1: you would have.

K: Yeah... I love Alan. He's really rich. Yeah he's loaded. I like that.

MH1: Kurt, thanks for coming by, it's good to see you.

K: Good to see you! You guys are really fun! I was watching the show from the Green Room. You guys are great.

MH1: You've been watching the show?

K: I've been watching the show.

MH1: 'Cause a lot of times the guests in there flip around.

K: Oh do they? No there's tape over the button now. I don't know why, but now I know why.

MH1: Safety catch.

FH: I don't know why, but I can't get over the fact that you started off your career as a skunk.

K: As a skunk, yeah, yeah... a stinky little boy. But that's going back! That's going back to like, wobbly days.

FH: We want to just chart your whole history here this morning. We want to start at the beginning and work our way to Grade school and then..

K: OK well it was a skunk to a dragon, a dragon to R2D2...I was R2D2, and then it went straight to Target Stars on Ice from there, it was just a big ascension. Yeah (winks)

MH1: Did you have trouble seeing the puck in that R2D2 costume? B/c you did play hockey

K: (laughs) uh yeah, it's a prerequisite in Canada, everybody has to play hockey a little bit. (showing clips of Kurt landing a jump in practice, and then with Tara with his outer pants down around his knees)

MH1: Now we have some shots of you when you're out on the ice.

FH: You just pulled your pants down.

K: Yeah Tara and I have a duet together and we were deciding whether or not to use this move, and...

MH1: Should I keep my pants on or not?

K: Exactly. Where did you find that???

MH2: You have a bright career in Washington, DC.

K: (kind of half covering his face - sort of leaning on his hand and not looking at anyone - half laughing) We have a lot of fun on Target Stars on Ice..getting away from death and politics, and back to the ice.

MH2: It's a 2 hour show, we've got to cover everything, don't mock us! (all laughing)

MH1: Now who in addition to the widely successful, frequently wearing pants, Kurt Browning, with the uh red nose. Who else do we see in Target Stars on Ice as you your make 63-city US Tour across this great land of ours. (showing clip of Kurt as Raggy doing his drop the leg eggbeater spin and nauseous look - talking over the clip)

K: That's right. Well, our fearless leader is probably Scott Hamilton, who's really one of the most incredible people on and off the ice. Always good for a quote,

MH2: Former Fox and Friends...

K: yeah he's probably been here many times. Kristi Yamaguchi, Ekaterina Gordeeva, who's become *quite* popular with the skating world right now. We have Russian skaters Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov, Jenni and Todd, who are married. Jenni Meno, Todd Sand...sorry...Jenni and Todd...

MH2: There's a lot of love on the road, isn't there

K: Oh yeah we're all coupled up... and I wouldn't trade Madonna for my wife in a second, you guys. Saw that! Saw that!

MH2: Great they're online

MH1: Yeah, she's obviously watching!

MH2: Now Kurt, being as there's no protective walls, do you ever just get a lot of momentum and fly into the stands and hurt somebody?

K: Absolutely. It happened just the other night.

MH2: Really??

K: The second half of the show I have these pants on that should be restricted and only used in NASA and if you do fall there's just no friction whatsoever and I did, I careened into the front row. So we don't have a wall at Target Stars on Ice, we just have, we have feet, we just have people who sit right there.

MH1: Right so you're geared to the front row people.

MH2: So in other words, the people are actually targets!

K: They are, yeah they could be, and the target of the show is to really target in on the audience.

FH: So when they give away those first row seats...

MH2: yeah yeah look out

MH2: yeah, you've got to wear a helmet!

K: So the first row seats are very exciting, but they can also be very dangerous too.

MH2: So do you try to make a big mistake like that seem like just part of a show so the people don't suspect...

K: If you're wearing a red foam nose, yes you do! Actually sometimes in my clown number when I do, when I screw up totally, it's the best laugh because you can have fun with it and cover it up and stuff.

MH1: You know what bothers me? (everyone just looks at him) Does anyone want to say what?

FH: You're just going to tell us anyway, aren't you.

K: What?

MH1: That you guys are at the peak of your careers, really after the Olympics are done! I want to see you guys compete again competitively after the Olympics are done with the pro status.

K: We were just talking about it...yeah we get a chance to bump up against the guys who just won the World Championships. Professional skating..the world of professional skating is going all over in all sorts of different directions and I think it's a bit of a learning curve and we're all trying to figure out where we're headed, but...

MH1: Well Dorothy Hamill, you guys get to do the Goodwill Games! The Winter Goodwill Games! You see Dorothy Hamill at the Goodwill Games, going for the gold again!

K: Going for the bob!

MH1: What is the deal here?

K: The deal is that the Goodwill Games have sort of opened up. And what they did is they gave it an opportunity to have a little fun at the Goodwill Games. But Stars on Ice people didn't get to go because we were busy that night... (little double thumbs up?) doing Target Stars on Ice. Conspiracies...

MH1: Doing the George Bush ... I like that. (with a smile) (Kurt does the little double thumbs up again to the camera)

MH2: You know, normally when you're working you have skates on. If you didn't have skates on..could you just stand up and show us how to skate without the skates?

K: I could, but you know, since you've already embarrassed me so much this morning I'm not going to. What do you want to do what do you want to do? (to the female host) Do you want to do a duet? (MH2 clears away the coffee table)

MH2: Yes, oh yeah there you go, that's good.

K: OK so what we do is ...we can do like.. so first off I bend down so no one really knows how much shorter I am than you (he squats down, and then spins holding her hands) and then we can do one of these, and then we go UP! and down (jumps up still holding her hands - she squawks) and then a big kiss (he kisses her hand) and then we're done.

MH1: Oh very nice!

MH2: Fantastic!

K: You're next! (to MH2 who gets up and starts walking off the stage) No come to the show, come to the show, it's much better. It's much better.

FH: You know I've gone to the ice many times before.

MH2: OK if you'd like information (coming back on stage) starsonice.com or call Ticketmaster.

FH: I can see where I can be a really good skater with you.

K: Oh I love, I love doing duets. Tara and I have a lot of fun, we laugh all the way through it.

MH2: Well Brian and I can identify because we've been on thin ice for a long time.

MH1: Yes, yeah... but that's with the career... this is a little different

K: I can be the dancing map when I'm done, okay?

MH2: You could be! You want to come back?

K: I'll come back (waving his arms and wiggling his upper body back and forth a bit) as the dancing map.

MH2: We'll do the weather in a couple minutes! BTW, You've been on Regis and Kathie Lee, right?

K: I haven't but um, but Katia...

MH2: oh, I think I'm thinking of someone else here.

MH1: I need the transition, Kurt will you play along?

K: Katia is on Regis and Kathie Lee today.

MH2: Oh that's what I was thinking.

K: There it is.

MH2: So that's our first question of the day, who should replace Kathie Lee? Who should sit in Kathie's Lee chair now that she's quitting?

MH1: Gore's leading on the Democratic side, George W. on the Republican side. We don't care about that, we want to know which candidate would you choose as your lifeline if millions of dollars are on the line. 1-800-TELL-FOX or foxnews.com

K: Rosie.

MH1: Rosie?