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'''Ellen DeGeneres''' is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and host of the syndicated talk show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''. She first reached success with her own sitcom called ''Ellen'' (1994-98).

'''Ellen DeGeneres''' is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and host of the syndicated talk show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''. She first reached success with her own sitcom called ''These friends of mine'', later renamed ''Ellen'' (1994-98).

The ABC show was popular in its first few seasons due in part to DeGeneres's style of quirky observational humor; it was often referred to as a "female Seinfeld."

The ABC show had difficulty finding a formula to bring in a large audience, having frequent cast changes.  While not a ratings hit, it did do well enough to be renewed for 4 seasons.

Ellen made her [[homosexuality]] public on The Oprah Winfrey Show in February 1997, surprising few people.  The resulting media attention highlighting this event caused a stir.  Subsequently her character on the sitcom literally came out of the closet in April of that same year; admitting she was gay to her therapist (portrayed by Oprah Winfrey). The outing episode, entitled "The Puppy Episode," was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show, but later episodes of the series would fail to match its popularity, and after sinking ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and would later re-establish herself as a successful talk show host.

Ellen made her [[homosexuality]] public on The Oprah Winfrey Show in February 1997, surprising few people.  The resulting media attention highlighting this event including being put on the cover of [[Time magazine]] caused a stir.  Subsequently her character on the sitcom literally came out of the closet in April of that same year; admitting she was gay to her therapist (portrayed by Oprah Winfrey). After a great deal of media attention highlighting the outing episode, entitled "The Puppy Episode," the showing was the highest-rated episode of the sitcom.  But the bounce proved to be short lived.  The show became a constant weekly refrain of lesbian themes and viewers stopped watching rather quickly.  Even Chastity Bono, the media director of GLAAD, a homosexual group, critisized the show for going over the top on the gay issue.<ref>http://www.planetout.com/entertainment/news/?sernum=544</ref>  After diving in the ratings, the show was canceled.

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[[Category: Broadcasters]]

[[Category: Broadcasters]]