10 Minutes With Debra Jo Rupp

TESS STEINKOLK

Debra Jo Rupp is taking a few days off at her favorite of favorite places: her home in Lee. It’s snowing outside, the fireplace is glowing inside, and her two dogs are by her side. That ’90s Show just dropped the day before. (It premiered at No. 5 on Netflix’s most-viewed list and has been picked up for a second season.) In a few days, Debra Jo is off to Atlanta to film Agatha: Coven of Chaos, the Disney+/Marvel Wandavision spinoff series. She is no stranger to Berkshire Magazine. In 2016, she was photographed with her friend, actor Mark H. Dold, at The Mount before Love Letters opened at Barrington Stage. Later, another photographer was waist-deep in a swimming pool, snapping away as she and other members of Barrington Stage’s Boca sipped imaginary drinks, poolside. This time around, Debra Jo is cozy and relaxed, answering questions about her TV roles, her love for theater, the Berkshires, Kitty Forman’s hair styles, and more.

What have you been doing these past few weeks? I’ve been doing a press junket for That ’90s Show. I’ve never done anything like that before. I’m so happy to be home with two dogs who don’t care if I smile or not. I was doing 75 interviews a day. It was insane. Just insane.

I watched three episodes yesterday of That ’90s Show, and it’s just so funny. Each segment keeps getting better and better. Oh, thank you for saying that. It was very difficult. When we were in L.A., it was in the midst of Covid, and you couldn’t go out. But then there were kids in the cast, and, of course, they had to go out. Someone was gonna get Covid, then you shut down for 10 days, then you have to pick it up again. What should have been a three-month shoot was seven months.

When were the episodes filmed? It started in January last year, and it went on until I was 105 years old. We were very nervous yesterday, because I had not realized how people had personalized that show in their lives. It represented a period of time in their lives, like probably Mary Tyler Moore was to me. Once that got into my little pea brain, I went, ‘Oh, we could be in so much trouble here,’ because people would have such high expectations. If Mary Tyler Moore had brought her show back, I would have had HUGE expectations! It’s not possible to live up to that, because everyone knows what they want it to be, and you can’t please everybody.

Did you ever think that there would be a sequel to That ’70s Show? Very secretly, I felt like it would be revisited, but I didn’t think it would be a series. I certainly didn’t think it would be Kitty and Red. I thought maybe a movie was possible or a one-shot thing, or maybe a reunion show or something. In the back of my head, I thought that. Then again, I’m not sure, because I took absolutely everything from that set that I could get my hands on when the show was over. It was all in my basement. I really have trouble saying, ‘Goodbye.’

Did you bring the props back for That ’90s Show? Yes. They contacted me and said, ‘We understand that you have That ’70s Show in your basement. What do you have, and can you ship it back?’ So I did. I didn’t need it anymore. The goodbye was over. My dog ate part of the cheese grater lights. I didn’t take good care of them. So, I sent measurements to them so that they could be replicated.

Hello, Wisconsin! Debra Jo Rupp returns to TV as the sitcom mom everybody knows and loves—Kitty Forman in That ‘90s Show on Netflix. She previously starred in all eight seasons of FOX’s That ‘70s Show from 1998 to 2006. COURTESY NETFLIX

What did it feel like to step back into the role of Kitty Forman? It was nice to be back with her. It was in a different location, a different studio. We were FOX; now we’re Netflix. Which was actually good for me, because had we been in the old place, it would have been very hard for me to move forward.

How was it to reconnect with the kids from That ’70s Show, like Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon and Topher Grace? That was a gift from the gods. I cried for a week. I think it was over a week. Every time one of them would come in the door on the set, like the living room door or the kitchen door, I would cry. We would take a break. And then we would resume. I’ve watched them grow up, and I’m just so proud of them. They’re just all great humans.

How much of Kitty is you? A lot of Kitty is me, but it has to be a particular day and possibly I have to be drunk. She’s very cheerful. Very, very cheerful. I’m not that. But I can be that on a given day. She’s very, very easy for me to play.

Well, nobody can really be Kitty, right? That’s right. First of all, you need the hair. If you don’t have the hair, forget it.

Who came up with her hair styles? Gabriella Rodman, who also did my hair in That ’70s Show. I asked for her because she’s so good. And she’s really good with wigs. We talked about it together, and she came up with the initial kind of a flip thing. I don’t think I realized what it was going to look like until it was on my head, and then I was, like, ‘Oh, wow.’ And then there we were; we were sort of stuck with it. In the beginning of That ’70s Show, it was my own hair. To get that flip thing, you have to fry your hair. So we were fortunate enough to get a wig. And then every season, I’d have a new wig. We would change it up a little bit. The last season, the eighth season of That ’70s Show, I asked for a wedge because I thought, we need to move on a little bit here. And then, when we came back with That ’90s Show, I thought Kitty would continue with the hairdo that made her feel the prettiest. We decided that this was the one. We made it a little shorter. We flattened it out a little bit. But it’s basically the same. It’s got that little loopy thing at the ends.

You have more than 300 TV appearances to your credit: Alice on Friends, Jerry’s booking agent, Katie, on Seinfeld, just to name a few. What’s a favorite for you? I love From the Earth to the Moon. First of all, it was HBO, and I had not worked for HBO. At the time, they didn’t pay you very much, but they treated you like a queen. So we were in the best hotel. We stayed at Disney World in Florida, and we stayed at the Grand Floridian, which was a five-star hotel. It was unbelievable. Every night, I would walk out on my little balcony for the fireworks over the princess castle. And then you could go to Disney World. They would have a little man greet you and take you around and get you to the front of the lines for everything. So I invited my friends. I said, ‘Come on down. Come on. This is unbelievable.’ I was there for this Tom Hanks series about the astronauts, and Sally Field directed the episode that I was in. So, all of it was just one huge star after another, with beautiful accommodations. We worked long hours. I think our first day we shot for almost 23 hours, but it was fine because we were all in the same boat. That was a job that I really loved doing, and I felt like I was taking a step up.

You starred in The Cake and Dr. Ruth, both Barrington Stage productions. Tell me about your relationship with the theater company. Theater is big for me. I really like a live audience. My favorite roles have been theater. I loved doing Dr. Ruth, and I loved doing The Cake. You can tell because I took them everywhere. They were long-lived for me.

Remember the photo shoot that we did with you and Mark Dold? That was very fun. Every once in a while, Mark will resurrect one of those secret photos that we took and send it to me and go, ‘Thinking of you’ or whatever. That was back in our pretty days.

You guys were great. The next month, you two were on stage with Love Letters. That was also a really, really good experience for me. First of all, I didn’t have to learn the lines. Secondly, that character was so driven, and it was really well-received. We loved doing that.

We met again when we photographed you and other members of Boca in 2021, which was staged outdoors under a tent in a parking lot in Pittsfield. Oh, my God. It was a heatwave. There was no air conditioning. There were trains going by. People’s car alarms were going off. I couldn’t concentrate. But, they were trying to keep the theater going. They had to do something.

I understand that your role in the off-Broadway play, A Girl’s Guide to Chaos, propelled your career. That changed everything for me. I was in this acting class at the time. Cynthia Heimel, who wrote for The Village Voice, had written this thing for Teri Garr. They wanted to workshop it, but Teri Garr was busy. So, Wynn Handman, who was my acting teacher and was going to direct it, said, ‘I have a student in my class that could completely do this workshop.’ So, I did. Cynthia Heimel’s friends who came to see it said, ‘You have to keep her. She’s really good.’ So, I got the part. That put me on the map. I got rave reviews from The New York Times. I got a Hirschfeld from The New York Times. It just went BOOM! That was in 1986. For my birthday, which is in February, my best friend—who actually lives next door to me now in the Berkshires because we planned it all—got me an appointment with this famous astrologer. I was very skeptical. I just sat there, and then she said to me, ‘Your world is going to change in September. Your career is fine.’ It was non-existent at that time. There was acting class. Sure enough, that’s when it happened. It was in September of 1986 when Girl’s Guide happened. I have dabbled in lots of little things, and I looked into this astrology thing. What was happening to me in 1986 roughly happens every 12 years. So, 12 years later, I got That ‘70s Show, and then 12 years after that, I got another series. And then 12 years after that is right now.

You said earlier that you like stage the most? I really like stage, but I will say with That ’70s Show and That ’90s Show, we filmed in front of a live audience. That’s really good for me. That way, you get the money and the joy.

And you said your best friends live right next door? Dee and Steve Zimmer. We met in New York. We were kids, all trying to be actors or directors. Then I moved to L.A. in 1990, and they came out and hated it. They moved back to be around Steve’s family, who were in the Berkshires. By that time, I had started That ’70s Show, and I knew I was going to be in L.A. for a while. And I said, ‘You can move, but you have to find a house that has land next door so I can build the house.’ And they went, ‘Okay.’ And they did. So I built this house that I’m in now, next door to them.

When did you decide to move here? I knew that it would never be as good as what I had with That ’70s Show. I could almost walk to work, which is a big deal in Los Angeles, because the traffic is terrible. I had a parking spot, which is another huge thing. I think the hardest thing for me to let go of was that parking spot. A year before we ended, I started building the house, which was done in 2005, and then I moved when the show was over in 2006.

Did you work with Barrington Stage at the time? Yes. Pat McCorkle, who’s the casting director, knew me from New York. Pat was one of the few who would always bring me in for auditions. She was really good to me. When Julie [Julianne Boyd, Barrington Stage’s founding director] was doing Ring Around the Moon, Pat said, ‘You really should see Debra Jo Rupp.’ At the time, I was in Canada doing a film and couldn’t get out to see her. So we did a phone interview. I don’t think Julie’s a big television watcher. She had no idea who I was, what I was. Not a clue. So we chatted, and then Julie said, ‘Okay, well, I’ll let you know.’ Apparently, Pat was appalled and said, ‘You call her back right now and say yes.’ So, later in the day, she called me back and said, ‘Oh, we’d love to have you.’ That was great for me, because I was moving, and I had a theater that I could do a show that was within driving distance. And then Julie started doing full productions. It’s always easier if you have local people, then you don’t have to house them. She called and asked me to do To Kill a Mockingbird, and I died. That’s one of my favorite books, and I think that cemented things with me and Julie.

You’ve also done work for Williamstown Theatre Festival and Berkshire Theatre Group? All of them. And that little theater I love, Chester Theatre. It’s great there, because the material is less commercial. The audience is very involved, and they really listen. I enjoy all of them for different reasons.

You’re in a great place for live theater. I know, I know. It’s part of the plan.

How do you like it in the Berkshires? It’s my home. It’s completely my home. I will die in this house. I feel very, very safe, and I love the cultural activity that goes on here, primarily in the summers. I like the weather. I like snow storms. I have a fireplace. I’m happy. This is the best thing I’ve ever done.

What time of year do you like the most? The springtime. I like it when everybody’s gardens start to come to life, and the grass comes out, and the barbecues, and going to the theater. I won’t be able to do Barrington Stage this year, which is a shame because there’s a new artistic director, and I really like him a lot. If That ’90s Show gets picked up, I will be done in July, and then I can come out here and just rest a little.

It’s not just all about That ’90s Show. You have something else coming out, right? It’s the second season of Wandavision for Marvel. It’s very much like American Horror Story, where each season is a whole new kind of a thing. I was shocked when they called me, because I really thought that would be it, and I was fine with that. But when they called, I got so excited because it’s a character I never get to play. She’s gonna be great fun.

What is it about her that you’re so excited about? I cannot tell you. I am terrified of these people. They are the most secretive people on the face of the Earth. You are forbidden to talk about anything. I’m afraid they would come arrest me. This I can tell you: I am basically the same person that I was in Wandavision, Mrs. Hart, but in a different kind of a thing. We’ve shot in LA, and I’m packing now as we speak, to go to Atlanta for two months to continue shooting.

Besides working in the Berkshires, do you go to many live performances? I do. Peggy Farr Wilson and Tristan Wilson are very good friends of mine. Peggy’s always working, and Tristan is always working. If I’m in town, I will go and support my friends. I’m sponsoring a show at Barrington Stage that Mark Dold and Chris Innvar are in, Faith Healer, and I think it’s late enough that I’ll be able to see it.

You’re an associate artist and on the board of Barrington Stage. Is Faith Healer (August 1–27) the first show you’ve sponsored? I sponsored Waiting for Godot last summer. Chris and Mark are two of the best actors. I met them during Ring Around the Moon. They were my first Berkshire actor friends, and I love them both. They were both in Godot. I would support them anywhere, if they do anything. I just think they’re brilliant. That was the first time I sponsored. And then this year, because Julie’s directing that show, I jumped right in.

—Anastasia Stanmeyer