Ed Sullivan brought me to TV first in 1952, then Garry Moore's program gave me a lot of confidence and freedom.
The first thing I did on television was a PBS thing where I played a priest. It was a Walt Whitman or Carl Sandburg story - I can't quite remember - but I was a turn-of-the-20th-century priest kind of guy. Never saw it; don't know if I was any good or not.
I started working in front of the camera for the first time when I was 15 years old. I joined a soap opera. We filmed in Brooklyn and I would skip class to shoot my scenes. It was terrifying and I entirely self-conscious in front of the camera.
I started off first doing a TV series called 'Boston Common.' That was my first big job, and then I went on to do another half hour comedy show, and that was with Tom Arnold, called 'The Tom Show.'
While I was doing the first season of 'Girl In The City,' a lot of people remembered me through my character name. None of them knew my real name, and my onscreen name, Meera, became my identity.
By early 1971, I had been acting professionally for 18 months - theatre work and my first telly, an episode of 'Dr. Who.'
'Coronation Street' was my first job, Zoe was a controversial character, and I wasn't used to everyone looking at me.
My first Top of the Pops I didn't want to do. I was terrified. I'd never done television before. Seeing the video afterwards was like watching myself die.
The first job where I actually made money was on 'Guiding Light,' the soap opera. And I played a maid. My name was Ginger, and I had a Brooklyn accent - a really bad one, if I remember correctly.
I was seen dancing at school by a director, who asked me to be in a TV play. And it had a huge impact. So I think that's what really started me off.
I'm beyond excited to join the cast of 'Switched At Birth' and to be part of such a great show on a great network.
'Power' is Andy Bean's first television job, ever. Talk about sticking the landing at first go!
And you know, we did it as an independent film, and we weren't expecting it to be on television, and Lifetime ended up buying it. And the viewers responded intensely to that film.
'SNL' is part of my history. I got on the show as a kid. That's the show I got known from.
The first job I got was this TV job in this show called 'The Unusuals.' Then I did a play called 'Slipping,' and at the same time I was rehearsing another play at Playwrights Horizons, and that kind of snowballed into a bunch of plays.
When Elvis made his mass-media debut on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' - his notorious gyrations filmed only from the waist up - I fell off the family chaise longue with delight.
I was the first to promote The Beatles in the States, and Ed Sullivan called me first about them before he ever booked them on his television show.
I'd never seen any television before I started.
I did 'Showtime at the Apollo' when I was 10, and it was the first time that I'd ever performed on TV, and it felt great.
My first time on TV doing stand-up, I actually did this show in Holland called 'The Comedy Factory' hosted by Jorgen Raymann. It was in 2006 in Holland. It was amazing. I had only been doing stand-up for four years, and I booked that gig through the Just For Laughs Montreal festival, and they flew me out and put me up.
With 'Soul Train,' it was the first time I was on television. And I just couldn't believe it.
On my very first show, my partners in it, Oprah Winfrey and her network, and studio, Warner Horizon, who doesn't get enough credit, said, "Lady, we're going to let you call the shots the way you want to."
My love of performing goes way back. My mom got me on 'Romper Room' when I was five - it was my favorite show. But they couldn't control me. I would run up and smack the camera, and I'd jump around and do my little flips and routines. I wish I could get that tape now.
I used my television phase to save myself as an actor for the bigger screen.
I actually never auditioned for 'Full House.' I had done a guest appearance on 'Valerie' as the next door neighbor's niece, and from that I got into 'Full House.' I was only five years old, and I was on the show until I was 13.
