Behind The Scenes with Kathie Lee Gifford

We are often asked what the celebrities we meet are really like and I love being able to respond that they are all amazing. In the experiences we have had with LIFE+DOG there has not been one negative moment yet and I don’t imagine there will be. Behind the scenes we have a lot of fun with our team and the talented individuals we bring to our pages and we wanted to be able to have you all share in some of the fun so we will regularly post some exclusive behind the scenes photos, stories and tidbits. We hope you enjoy!

Behind the Scenes with Kathie Lee Gifford
by Ryan Rice, Editor-In-Chief
(To read the Dialogue with LIFE+DOG feature and see more of the official photos, read the post here. Come back soon for the full interview, or click here to read the digital issue of LIFE+DOG. 

What started as a cold Manhattan day quickly ended up being warm and bright once we entered the sunlit home of TV legend Kathie Lee Gifford. Our team, including Brett Chisholm, Lora Poe, Terry Chisholm and Lindsey Allen, unloaded and started to set up some of the equipment and were introduced to her three adorable dogs Lola, Louis and little Bambino. Ms. Gifford had not arrived from her daily stint on Today and we were all excited for her to arrive—especially Bambino. He was a little leary of all of us and went upstairs to watch the window and the action downstairs, while Lola and Louis held post at the door, all waiting for momma. When Kathie Lee’s car pulled up and she entered the foyer, there was a whirlwind of furry white dogs waiting for their greeting and—as I am sure she does daily—Kathie Lee obliged, tossing all of her belongings and dropping to the floor for kisses. We all smiled, knowing this was going to be a fun day. Personally, looking back I think it is pretty memorable for me, my very first real impression of KLG was seeing how much she loved her dogs. 

Kathie Lee gracefully rose to her feet with Bambino under one arm and came into the living room to officially meet all of us. We said our hellos and in moments we were in the kitchen responding to her lively request... “Who wants wine?!” As we sat and sipped while eating lunch we all laughed at the stories of her day and discussed our favorite KLG and Hoda moments. It is such an excitingly surreal moment when you realize you are just hanging out and shooting the breeze with a TV legend—and the one that you look forward to laughing with every morning! Perhaps that’s why I was so excited about this day, I, as well as the rest of our team, am a huge fan of the 4th hour of TODAY. I watch the entire TODAY broadcast, but it’s that last hour I find myself needing the most. It’s at times fun, serious, zaney, moving, hilarious and always authentic. More than that it is a welcome diversion of the troubling stories of the day, which by that time we have all seen countless times on screen and online. I love their show and it was really fun to get to tell Kathie Lee that in person. 

A few bottles later (there were a bunch of us) we were ready for the photoshoot. As we moved from look to look, Kathie Lee never lost an ounce of energy and neither did her dogs. Each shot was gorgeous and she was truly glowing...especially when she emerged from her room donning an amazing Adrianna Papell dress that looked simply angelic in the light of her dining room. In what seemed like moments, the entire shoot was complete and we were ready to sit down and chat for our Dialogue interview. There in the living room, with Bambino in her lap we raised our glasses then dove right in. What struck me most throughout the entire interview was how genuinely sincere and heartfelt all her responses were. Her passion for her projects and her charities was truly inspiring and everything she said was truly authentic and straight from her heart. To sum it up, she is the real deal.

We would be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to thank all of the KLG team as well. They were such a pleasure to meet—from her TODAY team to her home team! Christine Gardner, Andy and Elvia Medina and their daughters Julia and Isabella made us feel like we were guests at a 5 star resort and they were such a blast to talk to. Meghan, Joanne and glam team Mary Kahler and Laura Castorino were amazing to work with and true geniuses at their jobs. 

Enjoy an entire series of photos from behind the scenes of our day at the Gifford home by clicking any of the thumbnails below. 

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