By Merle Exit
Actress, comedian and all around entertainer, Renee Taylor is most recognized for portraying Fran Drescher’s mother on the hit TV series, “The Nanny.”
Taylor, a graduate of Jamaica High School, is bringing her one woman show, “My Life On A Diet,” to Queens Theatre Halloween weekend.
The actress will be accompanied by her husband, Joe Bologna, who helped Taylor write the show.
“So I can say I’m having an affair with the director,” Taylor said. “It’s my memoirs and story of my life.”
Although some people associate who they were with or even what they were wearing with milestones in their lives, Taylor recalls events related to what diet she happened to be on at the time.
Taylor has fluctuated between size 2 and 22 throughout her life.
And food memories are not restricted to what she was not allowed to eat.
“As I met famous people I would remember what they were eating,” Taylor said. “I learned something from Fran as well, who was on Weight Watchers for a long time. Every diet works for you when you do it. My problem was always maintaining.”
“The Nanny” may have brought her another showbiz success, but it also played into Taylor’s eating issues.
“It began as an accident,” Taylor said. “When I started with the show, I didn’t have many lines and when I was in a food scene, I would eat off of everybody’s plate. They liked it so much that they kept it in. At one point my doctor gave me a note telling the producers that I couldn’t eat anymore.”
After each performance audience members pepper her with questions about specific diets and whether she has ever tried them. Taylor said there is not a diet she has not been on.
One of her biggest temptations comes from the so-called comfort foods, those carbohydrate rich tidbits like bread, French fries and sweet potato fries.
“Once, Lauren Hutton told me never to eat potato chips because they were made with lard. I ate them anyway, but think about her every time I eat them,” Taylor said. “Overeaters Anonymous tells you to never eat when you are hungry, when you are angry, or when you’re lonely. Then, you never eat.”
Since “The Nanny” ended its run in 1999, Taylor has popped up in other programs, including a role in Drescher’s recent TV Land show “Happily Divorced.”
Taylor said Drescher is working to turn “The Nanny” into a musical, and Taylor would definitely be up for reprising her role.
“I sing, I dance, I do lap dances,” she said.
In reality the only person she dances with is her husband. The two will celebrate their 50th anniversary next year.
“Joe says that the first 50 years are the easiest, then it gets hard,” she said. “You first have to get to know each other.”
If you Go
“My Life on a Diet”
When: Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 pm and 8 pm; Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 pm
Where: Queens Theatre,
Cost: $25 – $35
Contact: (718) 760-0064
Website: www.queen
