Tavis: I'm pleased to welcome Doris Roberts back to this program. The five-time Emmy award winner of course starred for years on one of the most popular shows of our time, "Everybody Loves Raymond." Now, lest you think she's taken her Emmy statues and her syndication money and retired, she hasn't. She's two new projects upcoming in May.

You can catch her in the feature film "Keeping Up With The Steins." And then later this week, she stars in a new project for the Hallmark Channel. "Our House" is a Hallmark original movie premiering Saturday night at 9:00 PM. Here now, a scene from "Our House.”


[Clip]

Tavis: Hairdo is a little different.

Doris Roberts: Totally different. (laugh) Totally different.

Tavis: Nice to see you again.

Roberts: Oh, it's great to be here.

Tavis: I was just saying before we came on the air, the last time I saw you, we were both on a plane, and I saw you on the plane coming back to L.A., didn’t wanna bother you, you were resting. But we got off the plane; I walked up and spoke to you. And we discovered that it must have been last May, May or June, right around commencement season.

And you had gotten an honorary degree from the University Of South Carolina, and I had gotten one. And we were walking off the plane with our honorary doctorates. (laugh) So Dr. Roberts, nice to see you.

Roberts: Oh, nice to see you, Doctor. (laugh)

Tavis: And again, glad to have you back on the program. This show, this project, "Our House." Tell me about the project.

Roberts: Well, I'm a very rich woman whose husband has died. Her children are so occupied with their own lives that they don’t pay any attention to me. I have no reason to live. And so, I commit suicide, or try to. And a homeless woman sees me, and saves my life. And it's a wonderful story about relationships and how, if we open up our eyes to other people and see their needs are, and if somehow we can help them, we are really helping ourselves.

And it's about homeless people. And I think we're very prejudiced against homeless people. We think, “Come on; get up. Go get a job.” No, it's not true, because in L.A. alone, L.A. county, we have 90,000 homeless people. Better than 20% are women and children. A lot of them are veterans.

Tavis: A lot of African-Americans. Lot of Black men. Yeah.

Roberts: And it's terrible. I stop my car at a light, and someone is there with a sign. I don’t want to make contact. I don’t want to see his eyes. I make believe I'm changing my radio station or something. It's terrible. If I don't want to give money, that's one thing, but why can't I look at him and say, and smile at him?

It's another human being. And with Katrina doing what it did, look at the thousands of people we have in our country who are homeless. And it's not a behavioral thing. It's affordable housing. That’s what they need. And so a lot of people are like a paycheck away from being on the street.

Tavis: Yeah, I'm one of them.

Roberts: No you're not. (laugh)

Tavis: This is public television, I'm not being funny about this. On a serious note, though, I want to come back to "Our House" in just a second. But since you've raised the seriousness, and the political and social and cultural implications of the homelessness issue, you mentioned L.A. county a moment ago.

And as you know, in the front pages of our papers, the “L.A. Times,” every day for the last few months, few weeks, certainly since Antonio Villaraigosa became mayor, we have once again earned this dubious distinction of being the homeless capital of the country.

Roberts: 'Cause we're warm.

Tavis: Los Angeles is, because of the warm weather. So we're the homeless capital of the country. And when I saw that story break some weeks back, it took me back to when I used to work for Tom Bradley in the mayor's office years ago. And we were again at the top of the list during that time for homelessness. And the mayor was dealing with it, and I was on his staff at the time.

San Francisco, though, had eclipsed us as the capital for homelessness. L.A. was, like, number two. I wonder, in your mind, what you think happened. Because it seems to me that years ago, at least homelessness, the discussion, the topic, was on the radar of the American people. In this last election, I don't recall the issue of homelessness even coming up. I don’t remember Bush, Kerry debating it. I don’t remember it being talked about. What happened to the issue of homelessness being on our radar, even?

Roberts: Well, there was a time when, I think it was President Reagan, had them thrown out of hospitals. And these were mentally disturbed people. And they’re out there on the street. No, I don't know why. But I think our mayor is trying to change that. We hope so.

Tavis: Yeah. Back to the project "Our House." They sent me the DVD, and I popped it in and started to look at it and started reading about it. I was taken by whether or not the story would be perceived or received as real, when you have a wealthy Beverly Hills woman attempting to commit suicide saved by a homeless woman. Now, it's television, but can people even get with that kind of story? Does that make?

Roberts: I think so.

Tavis: You think so?

Roberts: I think so. See, most of these people are hopeless, but this one, this homeless woman is really wonderful. And she has a great story. And what you did see is, first of all, a character unlike anything anyone's seen Doris Roberts do. It's not funny. She's not tough. She's soft, and she doesn't know about why she lives any longer.

She has no purpose. And this woman gives her purpose. Which I think is something wonderful. We don't realize that in giving, that we get a lot back. And a lot of people don't realize that, and we should do that.

Tavis: I just read a quote the other day from somebody, I don’t even know who it was. But the quote was, “You don't know what they’re receiving, only what you're giving.” You never know what people receive. All you know is what you give.

Roberts: And how much you get back from just giving. My late husband was a wonderful author. His name was William Goyen.

Tavis: Who you quote, he's in the script.

Roberts: Yeah. He said the most wonderful thing. He wrote this. He said, when we see infirmed people or homeless people, we look away and we shun them and we take away their light. Now, that's a beautiful statement. And it's true. That's all I'm talking about. We need to open our eyes to other people around us and see what we can do to make that human being better than they are at that particular moment. What does it take?

Tavis: I'm sorry. I caught it a moment ago, when you mentioned your late husband, because he was an author and those words you just recited were actually in the film, in the movie. You had that added into the script. How did that feel, to be working on a project years after your husband has passed, and here you are putting his words on the screen?

Roberts: I do. In fact, I'm going to Texas on the tenth of April, and I'm reading a short story of his at the Dallas Museum, which is great. I continue his life that way.

Tavis: How important was it, back to something you said earlier, how important for you to pick this kind of a role? You made the point very clearly earlier that this is a far departure from the Doris Roberts we know on "Everybody Loves Raymond.” That was deliberate, I take it? You been looking for stuff that?

Roberts: Oh, very much so. 'Cause that's a great impact that we've made, a great imprint, that "Everybody Loves Raymond" is now in 171 countries in the world. (laugh) I travel all the time, and they say the most wonderful things. They say, “I love you. Thank you for putting humor in my life.” I go to bed with a smile on my face. That's great. That's great, that I’ve been given that gift. So that’s.

Tavis: So we're, like, approaching the one-year anniversary of the last episode.

Roberts: That's right.

Tavis: Does it feel that way for you, that it's been almost a year now since you stopped shooting that show?

Roberts: No, because I’ve worked ever since. Ever since. I did a movie for Adam Sandler (laugh) called "Grandma's Boy," that I don't want my grandchildren to see. (laugh) Not until they’re 50 at least.

Tavis: Yeah. (laugh)

Roberts: (laugh) And this wonderful movie, the Hallmark movie, "Our House,” which is on March 25, Saturday night. And then I have another one coming out in May called “Keeping Up With The Steins,” which is great fun.

Tavis: Mm hmm, I mentioned that, yeah. So you’re not trying to slow down. You’re just...

Roberts: Slow down, honey? (laugh) No, no. No, I'll slow down when I'm dead. No, no, no. I'm going out on a walker. You'll see an old woman out there, still acting away.

Tavis: How fortunate do you feel, though, to be at this point in your life and to still have these opportunities? A lot of folk in this business get to a certain age, and the scripts don't ever come again.

Roberts: I'll act anywhere, honey. I'll act in a garage. (laugh) I love what I do. And I do what I do very well. See, you can get to an age where you can say that about yourself. You don’t wait for someone to tell you that.

Tavis: I'm not there yet, but. (laugh)

Roberts: Well, get there soon.

Tavis: I do this show very well.

Roberts: You do.

Tavis: Every single night on PBS.

Roberts: You do. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.

Tavis: Well, I'm glad to have you here.

Roberts: I'm glad, too.

Tavis: Catch Doris Roberts just about anywhere. She got movies and television programs and of course syndication everywhere. So, we're glad to have you on. You’re welcome back here any time.

Roberts: I have one more thing to say.

Tavis: Please. You say it.

Roberts: On April the eighth at the Wilshire Theater, we put on a wonderful night of comedy; it's our fourth year, for Children Affected By AIDS Foundation. So, if you want tickets, go get them.

Tavis: All right. For those in the L.A. area, you heard it. Anywhere you can see Doris Roberts, it's a wonderful opportunity, a wonderful blessing, and I'm glad that this project on the Hallmark Channel is dealing with an issue that needs to be front and center once again, so thanks for doing it.

Roberts: Great, thanks.

Tavis: Glad to have you here. That's our show for tonight. You can catch me on the weekends on PRI, Public Radio International, check your local listings. See you back here next time on PBS. Until then, good night from L.A. Thanks for watching, and as always, keep the faith.