J. Peterman on Oprah

Ever wondered what it's like to be on Oprah? The following is an excerpt from the book Peterman Rides Again: Adventures Continue with the Real J. Peterman through Life and the Catalog Business by John Peterman:

"Oprah Winfrey was one of our major fans, and when her producer called and asked if I would be on the show about catalog shopping, I didn't see how I could turn down such an excellent customer's request.

The drill was much as it had been when I was a plant doctor on Good Morning America. They sent me the airplane ticket, I flew to Chicago, was met by a limousine, taken to a good hotel, then whisked to Oprah's studio early the next morning. They put me to work in the makeup room this time -- I'd been asked to bring lots of possible items for models to wear, and I made up outfits on the spot to suit their looks. There was a fellow in charge of wardrobe who had his own ideas on how to dress the models, but because they were presenting Peterman, and I was Peterman, they ended up dressed the way I wanted.

I met Oprah when I joined her onstage. The program was in progress; they were at a commercial break. I walked on, shook her hand, and said; "I'm John Peterman." She smiled warmly. "No, you're J. Peterman... 'J.' is more mysterious." She turned to face the audience and the camera light blinked on.

Mostly, I just sat back and enjoyed the show. Oprah was a dynamo of enthusiasm. She swept here and there, picking up item after item, holding them out, putting them on, saying how the Owner's Manual was her favorite catalog, how she loved the copy, loved this dress, loved that coat, owned three of those shirts. She tried on several hats, turning around, asking the audience, "Isn't this great?" She put on the Shepheard's Hotel bathrobe and confided that it was the softest, most luscious robe and that she wore hers every morning.

The show ran just after Thanksgiving, and at the end of my segment they flashed our 800 number on the screen. Our incoming lines started to sizzle. The show aired first on the East Coast, and the volume of calls mounted in waves as it went on in successive time zones. Everyone in the company was manning the phones, scribbling orders on scraps of paper because our computer system was overtaxed. We managed to take about 25,000 calls in an atmosphere in pandemonium... then sudden silence.

Hurricane Oprah had crashed the Lexington, Kentucky, phone system.