WHOOPI GOLDBERG - GOLDBERG CREDITS THE VIEW WITH SAVING HER FROM FINANCIAL RUIN

GOLDBERG CREDITS THE VIEW WITH SAVING HER FROM FINANCIAL RUIN

Oscar winner WHOOPI GOLDBERG came close to financial ruin before landing a job as co-presenter of U.S. TV talkshow THE VIEW.
The actress shot to fame in 1985 after starring in the movie The Color Purple, a film which landed her her first Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe prize.
She went on to garner critical acclaim for roles in movies like 1990's Ghost and Sister Act in 1992, before moving into TV and enjoying stints on Broadway and as a singer - becoming one of few stars to boast an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony Award for her career achievements.
But Goldberg reveals she almost lost everything after acting roles dried up - and was once so cash-strapped, she would have done anything to avoid bankruptcy.
She says, "Sometimes there is no choice. Often times people forget that sometimes you're a star and then things dry up and you still have to feed your family and these people have had everything at their feet. Suddenly there is nowhere for them to get a gig, no one will hire them."
And the comedienne, 53, admits she has TV bosses at The View and executives at New York radio station WKTU, who picked up her Wake Up With Whoopi show, to thank for helping her get her career back on track.
Speaking on the programme on Thursday (04Jun09), she reveals, "I'm talking to you this way because I have lived this, where you're begging people, please let me audition for you.
"If the radio show that I got hadn't come when it did, and The View hadn't called when it did, I would have (been broke) and I'm not ashamed to say I need help."
Goldberg's radio show was cancelled last year (08); she continues to present The View after replacing Rosie O'Donnell in September 2007.