From 2005 to 2010, comedian and actress Kathy Griffin gave TV viewers an inside look at Hollywood on her wildly popular reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. While fellow celebrities—including Kanye West, Rosie O’Donnell, and Bette Midler—made cameos on the two-time Emmy Award–winning program, it was the appearances by the star’s unintentionally hilarious parents, John and Maggie Griffin, that gave the show its personal charm. Although John passed away in 2009, Maggie remains Kathy’s chief comedic muse, often appearing at awards shows and events with her now A-list daughter. Fresh from the premiere of her new namesake talk show on Bravo, Kathy teamed up with mom to dish on all things food and fame.
Gourmet Live: What’s the most memorable moment you’ve shared together?
Maggie Griffin: There are so darn many. It’s not really a specific moment, but seeing Kathy come from the ground up and get off the D-list—although I never really thought she was a D-lister. Best of all, I enjoy the fact that she really loves what she’s doing.
Kathy Griffin: We have so many, because we are buddies and she’s still a confidante. Even at 51, I still turn to her for advice. One thing I’ve done ever since I got my first apartment is whenever I go out with friends or to an event, I stop by my mom’s apartment afterward. It’ll be 1 in the morning and I’ll be in a ball gown and I can’t resist going to do the postmortem with her. She keeps very late hours like I do, so I’ll knock on the door and she’ll have a glass of wine and we’ll talk and laugh until 3 in the morning.
MG: I love that, because I tell Kathy I’m living vicariously through her. It makes my life very exciting. I just love to hear what goes on.
KG: And my mom has the required old-people candy, which are peppermint patties and peanut butter cups. I don’t know if you at Gourmet Live have ever heard of such fine dining, but we can make a whole meal out of that candy.
GL: Maggie, what’s the most important lesson you’ve taught your daughter?
MG: Kathy and a few other celebrities were asked that same question in an interview not too long ago, and all of the other celebrities were saying wonderful things, and I was thinking, Oh gee, I wonder what Kathy’s going to say about me! And then Kathy said her mother taught her how to drink wine from a box. First of all, she doesn’t even drink. So that right there was a falsehood. But it would’ve been nice if she’d said, “My mom taught me how to sew, or how to be a wonderful person, or how to be smart…”
KG: We keep it real in the Griffin family. I also like that my mom has taught me how to still use words like falsehood.
GL: How do you usually celebrate Mother’s Day?
KG: My mother’s favorite thing to do is to eat a meal outside, because living in sunny Southern California after being raised in Chicago, you certainly come to appreciate the nice weather. To this day, my mother likes to, and I quote, “dine alfresco,” so even if it’s a chilly day in the low 50s and foggy, my mom will still make me sit outside. It doesn’t matter if the umbrellas are flying into the ocean. We’re dining alfresco if it’s the last thing she does.
GL: Who’s the better cook between the two of you?
KG: Wow. That’s a horse race. Mom makes Hamburger Helper and I cry when I don’t boil water properly. I was raised on Hamburger Helper and McDonald’s, and Mom, I’d like to hear you defy that.
MG: Now wait a minute, Kathy. There were other things besides McDonald’s. Every once in a while I’d go a little further than that.
KG: If you guys start a magazine called Gourmet Ordering, then I’d like to be on your cover. I order takeout like a pro.
GL: If either of you was to cook, what would you make?
KG: Mom, tell her how you take pride in your recipes, such as tuna on celery sticks, peanut butter on celery sticks, and then, of course, your favorite, ham and spinach rollups.
MG: What’s wrong with any of those?
GL: What would you say is your signature dish, Maggie?
MG: My husband always thought I made pretty good spaghetti for a non-Italian. I make it with meat sauce or meatballs.
KG: I’m sorry, Kelly, but I have to put a stop to this bullshit right now. My father didn’t know the difference between SpaghettiO’s and what you at Gourmet Live might classify as “spaghetti.” When she says “spaghetti,” she means a box of pasta and then sauce from a can, except she adds paprika.
MG: I can’t win this argument.
GL: Kathy, what’s been the proudest moment you’ve shared with your mom?
KG: I think the thing I’m most proud of is that on the six seasons of My Life on the D-List, I really got to show the viewers the funny, hilarious guy that my dad was and the funny, hilarious woman that my mom still is. I really am flattered when people stop me and say, “I feel like I knew your dad,” or “I feel like I know your mom.” And they do, because the way you see them on TV or in interviews is the way they really are. I have these two hilarious parents, and although my dad is no longer with us, it was so gratifying for me to share them with everybody.
MG: I certainly feel that way about Dad, but I think I’m more on the boring side. Dad was wonderful, and you two have the fast minds. I don’t know anything I say that’s all that funny.
KG: Well, you are the boring one, now that I think about it.
MG: We have to be real honest here.
GL: Speaking of being honest… Maggie, what would be your dream present for Mother’s Day?
MG: It wouldn’t be anything money-wise, or…
KG: I knew you were going to say that! Kelly, she wants cash. I’m telling you right now that every year she asks for cash.
MG: I’ve gotten a lot of nice things, but I’d love for Kathy—and she’s going to hate me for this—but I’d love for Kathy to be very happy in her personal life and find a real nice husband or companion.
KG: Mom, I’m already going out with somebody.
MG: I know you are, but we’ve got to see how long these things last. I so envy these celebrities who have wonderful careers and wonderful home lives, too.
KG: So she wants an envelope of cash and for me to get laid on a regular basis.
MG: Kathy, I don’t even want to answer that.
GL: What is your fondest food-related memory?
KG: It certainly isn’t very Gourmet, but we have a Christmas Eve tradition of having sloppy Joes. My dad worked in retail, and on Christmas Eve sometimes Dad wouldn’t come home until 10 p.m., so we needed something that was quick and easy. To this day, we have sloppy Joes every Christmas Eve, and my mom gets the Manwich and the ground beef and then puts in whatever else. It all started because it was quick, but now we can’t stray from the tradition. Of course, we also have a side of potato chips.
MG: It’s very nourishing, as you can see. Some people’s eyes widen when you tell them we enjoy that, but that’s how our family is. And I did always have a big Christmas Day feast. I really got my stuff together and had an open house for everyone.
KG: When she says, “I got my stuff together,” she means she started hiring caterers.
MG: Well, then the spinach rollups would come out.
KG: Who doesn’t want ham rolled in creamed corn and then toasted and topped with a box of bread crumbs?
GL: What’s your favorite quality about each other?
MG: Outside of her humor, I love Kathy because I don’t think she’s pretentious at all. I wish sometimes people could see the softer Kathy that I know and that other people know behind the scenes. I think she’s real and she hasn’t lost sight of who she is and where she came from.
KG: My favorite quality about Maggie is that she is very naturally funny. My dad could be funny on cue, but my mom is just super-funny and she has no clue why. That’s why she is the perfect foil for me. And if there’s a little boxed wine involved, then that can only help.
MG: That’s the truth, Kelly.
Kelly Senyei is an associate editor at Gourmet Live and author of Food Blogging for Dummies (Wiley, 2012).