(audience cheering and applauding)
- Wow.
- He came out here like a cool breeze.
I like it.
(Ernie laughing) I like it. - Well, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
- Now, we've met a few times-
- [Ernie] Yes.
- Just in passing.
- Yes, yes.
- [Niecy] So, but I'm happy we finally
have a chance to sit and chat.
- Well, I'm so thankful that you invited me to come
because I've been looking forward to having,
be able to spend some time.
You know, like I said,
I've been aware of you for so, so long.
I'm so proud of you and all the things that you're doing.
So, congrats on all the-
- Thank you.
- Great stuff.
(audience cheering and applauding)
And so it's nice to be here with you.
- Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Okay, so we,
it's the New Year,
so, are you a big resolutions guy?
- I make resolutions every day,
that I try to get to (chuckles)
and I never keep.
(Niecy laughs)
(audience applauding)
But yeah,
you know, my birthday is in December,
Christmas, New Year,
and I come up with all these resolutions,
and I'm good for about six weeks.
(audience laughs)
About six weeks. - And then you just fall off?
- And then it's just, it's over.
It's over.
I can't talk myself into it.
There's a part of me that's always resisting and so,
but six weeks I can really, kind of,
get back in shape and, you know
I'm gonna do it forever and of course it doesn't last.
- Okay, so then what resolutions
have you made for this go around?
- Well, this coming year,
there's a Kenneth C. Davis has a book,
about 52 books,
a book a week for a year.
And I realize, now that I'm older,
there's so many things that I haven't read,
and I'm gonna read a book each week.
Hopefully I'll last for more than six weeks, but.
- A book a week?
(audience applauding)
- Yeah. I think that-
- [Niecy] Wow.
- You know, when you have time,
and when I was younger,
I was so busy trying to build my career and family,
and the kids are small.
Now I have time to really sort of,
take a look at the world and just-
- And it's more of a luxury for you.
- Yeah, yeah.
- See, you know what? And for me, when I was younger
it was a punishment.
If I was acting up, my mother would say,
"Go read a book."
(audience laughs)
And then I'm like- - Yeah.
- You know? - Right.
- So I don't know if I had the same idea about it
as I do now, as an adult, yeah.
- That's what I'm saying.
Now you can actually do it because you want to do it
and you realize the value of it.
- You know what?
I love your speaking voice.
- [Ernie] Oh.
- It has such texture and-
- Oh, well, thank you.
- [Niecy] And depth.
- Oh - [Niecy] Yeah. I like that.
- You know, it doesn't sound the way to me.
It sounds like it's up here.
(audience laughs)
But, thank you.
- Well, see, listen.
When you have a voice,
'cause I have a unique voice, too.
- [Ernie] Right.
- And I sound like I need to drink a glass of lotion.
(audience laughs)
You know?
And I've had this same voice since a little girl.
Can you imagine?
(Ernie chuckles)
You know what I mean?
They were like,
"Little girl, do you smoke cigarettes?"
(Ernie audience laughing)
(Niecy chuckles)
But, do you ever use, like, your voice?
Do you take advantage of having such a great voice?
- Well, as an actor,
that's part of the, you know,
this is what we have to work with.
But sometimes,
which, I think I have a nice voice,
but sometimes it works against you.
I was doing a commercial in New York and they said,
"No, stop, stop.
It's, your voice. It's too sexy."
- Sexy? Whoo!
(audience cheering and applauding)
- And I said, they said,
"We don't want that. We don't want that.
Just do it."
So, but then the next week,
I had an audition for
"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
that Avery Brooks finally did.
- Uh huh.
- And I went in,
I did great on the audition and they said,
"Have Ernie come back,
but this time, tell him to be sexier."
- [Niecy] Ooh.
(audience chuckles)
- So how do you be sexier?
I don't know. But the guy said I had a sexy voice,
so I went in and I said, "Hey, y'all."
And they said, "Ernie, stop."
(audience laughs)
"Stop."
(Niecy laughs)
"Thank you very much.
You can leave now."
So, apparently, it wasn't that sexy.
- It wasn't so sexy that time.
- But your sound is so much a part of you.
I do a lot of voiceovers and I like to change,
because our sound does sort of,
identify who we are.
- Yeah. - You know?
(audience applauding)
- So, for fans of your show "Quantum Leap,"
how are things going over there?
- It's going great.
We got the pickup for the full season.
- Yes!
(audience cheering and applauding)
- It's definitely one of the most amazing,
fun shows I've ever worked on.
I've been doing this for 50 plus seven years.
But, it's a great show,
and it's a great cast,
and I'm so excited to be a part of it, you know?
(audience cheering and applauding)
- Yeah.
So, the show involves time travel.
- Yes.
- Now, if you could really go back to any time,
where would you wanna land?
- Well, you know,
that's a big question.
For me, I know I got here some way,
but I've never met my mom or my dad.
- Hmm. - And I would love to,
I know it happened because I'm here
(audience laughs)
and I would love to,
not go back and be in one of them,
but maybe a close friend,
and see how they, who were these people?
How did they come together?
How did they,
how did they, you know,
create me and, yeah, so.
- Okay. I'm with that.
(audience applauding)
- I'd like to-
- I'm with that.
Okay.
So, you've been working in film and TV for over 45 years.
Yeah. - And, yes. Yes.
(audience cheering and applauding)
- Yep.
- Yeah.
- And a lot of young actors, I'm sure look up to you.
Was there ever a time when you felt like giving up
or throwing in the towel?
- Oh, yeah.
There's been a number of times
when you just think you've just hit that wall.
But, you know, my grandmother said,
putting out your faith in man,
you know, God, the universe that I trust-
- Yes.
- I remember I first came out to LA
and it was a real hard time.
I borrowed,
I was doing a play with Nichelle Nichols.
- [Niecy] Oh, yes.
- And, we had a rehearsal at her house in Beverly Hills.
So I drove my car to Beverly Hills,
hoping I had enough gas to get there and back.
- Oh, yeah.
- And when I got there,
I took a seat on the steps inside the house,
but when I looked down,
there was a quarter on the floor.
And I wanted to take that quarter so bad.
(Ernie chuckles)
- Oh.
- And, but I didn't. I didn't.
I thought, "No, it doesn't belong to me."
But man, I could use that quarter, but.
(audience laughs)
So, yeah.
And she and I, we laughed about it.
She was just an amazing lady
and a wonderful, wonderful person, but.
- See, but it's those kind of humble beginnings-
- [Ernie] Yeah.
(audience applauding)
- That make you appreciate all that we have right now.
- Absolutely. Absolutely, yeah.
- You know, listen,
I remember being in a room,
you know, auditioning for a part,
and this was back when they used to give you talent holds.
- Yeah. (chuckles)
- They would just give you a bag of money to sit around
until they found something to do with you.
(audience laughs)
And let me tell you what.
They were talking about me as if I were not there.
- [Ernie] Right.
- I was down to my last.
You know, and I already had children
and my last few bucks.
And they were like,
"Well how much you think we should give her?"
And, you know,
and they were going back and forth with the number.
And I said,
"Do they know I could hear them?"
(audience laughs)
"I can hear you."
Baby, they hit a good number,
and they agreed on it right in front of my face.
And when I tell you I ran around that office
and caught the Holy Ghost,
they said,
"We better get this girl outta here."
(audience laughs)
I said, "Can I get the money today?"
(audience applauding)
- Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
- So, what was the,
what was the first big thing you booked and then,
how did you celebrate it?
- Well, the first big thing was with,
Gordon Parks gave me a part in a movie called "Leadbelly."
- Mm hm.
- And I was one of the first people cast,
and the producer who, he said,
"Well, Gordon likes you.
We're gonna give you $605 a week.
How's that?"
And I'm like, "600, yeah!"
(Niecy laughs)
Well, the minimum was $604.
So it was like,
I found that out later on.
But, you know,
I was a single dad to my two older boys,
and celebration was just being able to go home,
and me and the boys would, you know,
the rent's paid,
we can keep the phone on a little longer,
you know?
- Well, you know, now,
now you should treat yourself.
Every time you get a new job,
buy yourself a little something.
That's how I live.
- Yeah.
That's, yeah.
(audience applauding)
I'm very, you know?
Yeah. Yeah, no, I'm-
- He gonna look down at his fancy watch and go-
- Yeah, yeah.
"Yep, you're right about that."
(audience laughs)
- That's my latest gift.
(Niecy laughs)
- No, it's right, yeah. - I love it.
I love it, I love it.
As you should. As you should.
- Yeah.
- Now, I have to ask one "Ghostbuster" question.
- Whoo! - Whoo!
(audience cheering and applauding)
- Okay.
- You guys.
There, 'cause I need to settle whether or not this is true.
There's a rumor that there could be a sequel coming.
- Yeah, yeah.
You know, there will be another "Ghostbuster-"
- [Niecy] Hey!
- That I can definitely say.
(audience cheering and applauding)
You know, the last "Ghostbusters" was very,
thanks to all the fans,
they loved it,
and now we'll be making another "Ghostbusters."
(audience cheering and applauding)
- I love that. I love that.
- And I'm happy to say that Winston,
the character I play,
is now billionaire,
so he has a little bit more freedom.
(audience cheering and applauding)
- Well, come on!
I might see you on set!
All right!