CHICAGO – No guests, no makeovers, no giveaways. Oprah Winfrey kicked off her last original episode of The Oprah Winfrey Showby telling a studio audience that the broadcast would be a simple, celebrity-free affair focused on what her audience has meant to her.
"You and this show have been the great love of my life," a tearful Winfrey told viewers in The Oprah Winfrey Finale,taped before an audience of 400 on Tuesday afternoon and broadcast yesterday morning.
“This last show is really about me saying thank you,” she said. “It is my love letter to you.”
Wearing a simple pink dress, Winfrey took the stage to a standing ovation and showed clips from some of her earliest broadcasts while sharing her life lessons with viewers.“Thank you, America. There are no words to match this moment.”
Winfrey (57) was a pioneer in confessional television, promoting discussion of formerly taboo subjects including incest, rape, sexual abuse and depression.
The Oprah Winfrey Showalso became the go-to place for celebrities and politicians to promote new ventures and to apologise publicly for their indiscretions.
The Oprah Book Club, started 15 years ago, championed 65 titles and has almost two million members. In one memorable 2004 show, Winfrey gave all 276 audience members a new car.
Winfrey announced in November 2009 that she would end her popular talk show after 25 years. She is expected to focus in the next few years on her cable channel OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), which launched in January 2011.
In contrast to the glitzy “surprise spectacular” featuring Beyonce, Madonna and Tom Hanks, taped in a basketball arena and which aired on Monday and Tuesday, the final broadcast was a humble recap of the values Winfrey believed in.
At one point the host introduced from the audience her fourth-grade teacher, Mrs Duncan, whom she praised as an early “liberator” who made her feel valued.
Winfrey urged viewers to find their calling, make the world a better place and take control of their lives. – (Reuters)