Queen of All Media

Kathie Lee Gifford’s beaming visage floats over Wal-Mart shoppers perusing racks of her pleated linen-look pants and floral rayon camp shirts. Her voice wafts from TV sets and CD players. And her words fill the pages of four books.

And you thought Cindy Crawford was the most mega-exposed Uber-celebrity.

Fueled by the pep of a dozen cheerleading squads, Gifford is at her perky best as co-host with Regis Philbin on “Live With Regis and Kathie Lee,” the syndicated chat show in its 10th year, with 233 markets. From her stool on a New York City set, “America’s sweetheart,” as her agent calls her, regales viewers with nothing-sacred monologues about everything from her children’s potty habits to life and love with hubby Frank Gifford.

And that same upbeat, shoot-from-the-hip style permeates every facet of what has become a seemingly boundless career. So it was only a matter of time before barbs would begin to fly, shot by people who just don’t get her enormous popularity.

Washington Post television critic Tom Shales has skewered Gifford. Spy magazine has roasted her, and Howard Stern routinely rails against her holier-than-thou attitude, picking at her like an itchy scab. Said Stern in TV Guide last year: “She has this phony-baloney quality and Pollyanna attitude that I just don’t buy.”

But if the infamous shock jock prides himself on being “The King of All Media,” then Gifford, 42, is the queen. Beyond the talk show, records and best-selling books, she stars in her own TV specials, hawks various products, poses as a cover favorite for women’s magazines, has an exercise video, appears in live stage shows with Philbin, and until recently co-hosted the Miss America pageant. Oh, and let’s not forget that she’s Mom to the oft-mentioned Cody (age 5) and Cassidy (age 2).

Before she was Kathie Lee Gifford superstar, she was Kathie Lee Johnson, struggling wannabe star from Bowie, Md. She had a steady gig as a singer on the quiz show “Name That Tune” when Sam Haskell first laid eyes on her in 1978.

Then in the mail room trenches at the William Morris talent agency, Haskell was so taken with the spirited Johnson that he promised she’d be his first client when he worked his way up to agent. She was, and the two have remained a team.

“People all have agendas,” he said, “and Kathie Lee’s are as pure as anyone I have ever known. She wants to please people and give them something to relate to--she wants to touch them. In turn, she feels that she’s making a difference. Don’t we all want to accomplish that?”

(One of the differences Gifford wants to make is in the lives of kids. Working with the Assn. to Benefit Children, a New York-based national advocacy group for HIV-infected and crack-addicted babies, she has helped launch two shelters: Cody Gifford’s House and Cassidy’s Place.)

Gifford’s alliance with Carnival Cruise Lines dates from 1984, when she was a guest correspondent on “Good Morning America.” Carnival President Bob Dickinson said he was looking for a spokesperson “who had talent, who could sing, dance, and was attractive to men without being threatening to women.”

He added that the cruise line’s business has quadrupled since Gifford came on board, so it’s no wonder her new contract ensures three more years as Carnival’s TV pitchgal.

Wal-Mart apparently wanted the same kind of all-American package. The discount chain’s Kathie Lee Gifford Collection debuted in 1995, her second eponymous clothing line (the first, once sold in department stores, is no longer made). Pieces in the ’96 spring collection, including short-sleeve shell tops, straight skirts, long floral-print dresses and tailored pants, cost less than $30. A design team from the clothing manufacturer works with Gifford to create the styles, and proceeds benefit her children’s charity.

“We term it ‘Go to church, to work’ kind of apparel,” said William DuBose of Wal-Mart. “The customer we have in mind is 25 to 50, most likely has children, and is rushed for time.”

Added Haskell: “[Gifford’s] whole thought process is, ‘This is a way to help the association and also another way for me to reach out to the people who trust me. For under $50, anybody can look like this.’ It’s a way of giving a sense of style and self-confidence to women who can’t afford to buy a $1,000 outfit.”

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But Gifford sells more than just makeup, vacations and clothes. She has called herself the Moral Majority’s Madonna, and in her autobiography describes herself as “an anomaly. A thriving career woman who also stands up for traditional values.”

Who could ask for a more wholesome spokesperson? To her credit, Gifford has acknowledged that coming across as a wide-eyed, goody-two-shoes turns some people off.

TV critic Shales, for example. While he maintains he has at times praised Gifford, he’s not offering any roses now.

In a recent phone interview, Shales said he’s pained by “show business people who try to set themselves up as moral role models for us poor slobs in TV land. I used to write nice things about her, I thought she was effervescent and charming and certainly intelligent, but she’s turned that into a forum for a running testimonial dinner to herself and her great concerns for mankind, and it just becomes oppressive. . . . I think she should be very careful, or she’s going to be in the same position as Anita Bryant and identify herself with the self-righteous people in this society, the ones who want to give us all moral lessons, and she’s going to invalidate herself as a performer.”

If there is a medium where Gifford has not performed well, it is radio. Although 1993’s “Sentimental” album sold about 400,000 copies, it got little FM airplay.

Her record producer, Warner/Reprise Nashville’s Danny Kee, contends that her songs are featured on AM oldies and adult contemporary stations across the country, and adds that “[FM radio] has never been something we’ve gone after.”

Instead, Warner/Reprise markets Gifford through TV and print ads, going directly for the fans who make her show a morning ritual and travel halfway across the country to see one of her live performances.

Carol Coppa is one. The 44-year-old wife and mother of three who co-runs the family woodworking business in San Pedro is a rabid Kathie Lee Gifford fan and belongs to the show’s official fan club.

“Regardless of the fact that she has everything,” Coppa said, “her kids and her husband are still her main priorities in life.”

Joan Hyler, a top talent agent-turned-manager, thinks Gifford “doesn’t deal from an Olympian height, she doesn’t pretend she’s royalty, it’s just that this is what she does for a living.”

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What does Gifford have to say about all the hype surrounding her career? After emerging from a busy holiday season that saw her all over television and in several magazines, she declined to do a formal interview for this story, preferring instead to answer questions via fax. A sampling:

Question: It’s hard to think of another celebrity who is involved with as many projects as you are.

Answer: Every new project in the last two years has been to help build Cassidy’s Place.

Q: What motivates you to be involved with so many different things?

A: My dad has always had three jobs at a time. . . . My grandparents were immigrants and I’m proud to say I inherited their work ethic.

Q: How do you handle criticism and the occasional backlash against you?

A: I consider the source and go on with my day.

Q: What do you want your legacy to be?

A: Two incredibly honest, decent and compassionate human beings named Cody and Cassidy.

Gifford’s year-to-year contract with the “Live” show has been renewed, but it’s no mystery that Reege at some point will be in need of another co-host. CBS has a standing offer for a sitcom, and Gifford has said she’d like to dedicate more time to acting and singing. A Broadway show perhaps? The buzz is it could happen.

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Kathie Lee’s World

Television

* Programs. “Live With Regis and Kathie Lee,” the weekday morning show that premiered 10 years ago. Now seen on 233 stations. Also TV specials, including two Christmas shows for CBS.

* Commercials. Longtime pitchwoman for Carnival Cruise Lines. Previous endorsements include Slim-Fast and Revlon.

* Infomercial. Hawks cosmetics and skin care for Mon Amie. Upfront $1-million fee went to charity. Receives an undisclosed percentage of cosmetics sales.

Print

* Autobiography, “I Can’t Believe I Said That” (1992); children’s book, “Listen to My Heart: Lessons in Love, Laughter and Lunacy” (1995); “Entertaining With Regis and Kathie Lee” (1994) and “Cooking With Regis and Kathie Lee” (1993). Has also appeared on myriad magazine covers, including TV Guide, Good Housekeeping and Ladies Home Journal.

Audio

* CDs include “Sentimental” (1993), about 400,000 copies sold, according to Warner/Reprise Nashville; “It’s Christmas Time” (1993); and “Dreamship: Lullabies for Little Ones.” (1995).

Video

* “Kathie Lee’s Feel Fit and Fabulous” (1994). More than 300,000 copies sold.

Miscellaneous

* The Kathie Lee Gifford Collection, women’s casual and career clothes, for Wal-Mart. Donated $1 million of undisclosed fee to charity.