OK! VISITS THE VIEW FOR WHOOPI’S FIRST DAY

Whoopee for Whoopi!

I popped over to The View to catch in action on her first day. Just before show time, set dressers finish painting the doorways, and between breaks, the glam squad gives the ladies touchups on their hair and makeup. The crowd pumps up to a dance-off to the sounds of Who Let The Dogs Out.

Ten seconds before show time, gets word that her son is on the line. “My son’s on hold?” she questions, but there’s nothing she can do.

While everyone in the audience receives an Invicta watch worth $300, I am happy with my flowery hand-painted red mug that reads “The View Fall 2007.” Ah. Just like last time, the snacks are Apple & Eve Pomegranate Blueberry juice and Keebler Fudge Shoppe Mini Fudge Stripes.

During a commercial break, chats about her pregnancy with the audience. “I’ve only been thinking of boy names in my head for some reason, but it could potentially be a girl,” she says. “We didn’t do a birthing class, but we thought it’d be fun.”

Next up is the new moderator, who is asked about her weight-loss.

“I lost 43 pounds but I gained back 10,” Whoopi tells the audience during her break. About returning to New York, she says she’s been living in NYC again for eight years. “When you’re young, you just want to get away from it, but when you get old, you think I’ve gotta go home. That’s what I did.”

is on for the next break, and she talks about her daughter’s upcoming wedding and wearing a dress. “I feel like a girl today,” she says. “I’m going to start wearing dresses from now on. I just feel like it now. You have your ankles left, your wrists, cleavage, these are the things, right Barbara? Barbara has the best legs. No cellulite.”

mistakes Joy for Elisabeth during his Q&A session. “Elisabeth, she’s one of a kind,” he says, meaning Joy, who tries to help score some free alcohol for , who is sitting in the front row. (No such luck.) Where’s his wife of twenty-five years, ? “Rhea’s doing a play right now in England called Boeing Boeing,” he says.

After the show, I get interviews with Whoopi, Elisabeth, Joy and Barbara. Whoopi recognizes me from my August 1 visit during which I joined her for her lunch of a ham sandwich. “Didn’t we talk before? Yeah!” she says. The ladies all give Whoopi a glowing review.