When the legendary “What’s Happening” star, Shirley Hemphill, passed away from kidney failure in 1999, not only did she leave a major impact on her millions of fans, she also left a major impact on the many celebrities she generously helped. One of those celebs is comedic actress, Rosie O’Donnell. Rosie explained the beautiful things Shirley did for her when she was broke -or like the old schoolers used to say- ‘when she didn’t have a pot to pee in, nor a window to through it out of.’
Why Rosie Will Be Forever Grateful To Shirley
Rosie met Shirley after she became a household name on the 70’s sitcom, “What’s Happening.” Rosie said that Shirley Hemphill was the first celebrity she’d ever met. At that time, Rosie was a broke and struggling teen comedian, hoping she’d one day be able to reach the level of success Shirley had. Then Shirley did this:
Via Playbill: Her [Rosie O’Donnell’s] first big break came when she was a teenager. She would do stand-up in comedy clubs and get in using her neighbor’s fake ID. She actually was introduced as her neighbor for her first three times since that was the only ID she had! One night Shirley Hemphill saw Rosie do her set and told the shocked owner she wanted Rosie to be her opening act. Rosie was still incredibly green but Shirley wanted to support a new comic, especially a female, and told the owner not only would he have to use Rosie as her opener [each week], he would have to pay her! Rosie wound up making $25 for each gig which, for her, was an incredible amount of money.
