Tag Archives: Knew

In 2022, Kelly Ripa’s mother, Esther Ripa, dealt with yet another health issue that required her to undergo heart surgery. Kelly spoke about the experience on “Live!” explaining that her mom was doing well, while expressing her gratitude for the healthcare workers she encountered during the ordeal. “[Y]ou don’t really realize what gems hospital workers are,” Kelly told co-host Ryan Seacrest. “Not just the surgeons and the physicians assistants, but those ICU nurses are just so special and so fabulous at allaying anybody’s fears, anxieties and just keeping everyone in the know.”

Kelly described the experience further, joking that her father had been asking her mother too many questions following the procedure, and that she had learned how to deal with these situations….

At 15, Mario Lopez auditioned for “Saved by the Bell,” which debuted in 1989, to play one of its leads, A.C. Slater. According to the teen heartthrob, Slater was supposed to be Italian, not Latino. “Like Vinnie Barbarino in ‘Welcome Back, Kotter,‘ a John Travolta role, more of a street kid,” he explained to GQ. Executive producer Peter Engel reiterated this fact, telling Us Weekly that because he had a difficult time casting the part, he realized he should open it up to other races. He went on to explain that, two days later, Lopez “blew everyone out of the water.”

Slater’s diverse hobbies were only developed after Lopez was cast in the role. On “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” he dished that his character was not supposed to be an athlete, dancer, or musician. However, that all…