Whoopi Goldberg kicks off 30 days of guest co-hosts this Thursday on Turner Classic Movies, where November is Guest Programmer month. Each night at 8, a celebrity from showbiz, literature, public affairs and even “Sesame Street” joins TCM’s Robert Osborne to introduce films they’ve chosen as being personally memorable or influential.
Goldberg’s picks are fascinating, led by Jean Cocteau’s dazzling 1946 take on “Beauty and the Beast” [photo at right]. Says Whoopi, “When I couldn’t explain why I wanted to be a person in cinema, this would be the first movie I showed [people]. Because magic happens and that is what the movies are about.”
Nice way to kick things off. The “View” cohost’s Thursday picks also include Barbra Streisand’s “Funny Girl” (10 p.m.), Robert Young’s 1945 love story “The Enchanted Cottage” (12:45 a.m.), and Andy Griffith’s 1957 power-of-celebrity drama “A Face in the Crowd” (2:30 a.m.).
Other intriguing choices this week come from Alfred Molina (the 1953 British workplace comedy “Trouble in Store” Friday at 8 p.m., followed by “The Secret of Santa Vittoria” and “Divorce Italian Style”), Donald Trump (“The African Queen” Saturday at 8 p.m., plus standbys “Gone With the Wind” and “Citizen Kane”) and Gore Vidal (Bette Davis’ “The Letter” Sunday at 8 p.m.).
Check out TCM’s interactive calendar of Guest Programmers for picks from the likes of Alec Baldwin, Matt Groening, Tracey Ullman, Harvey Fierstein, Martha Stewart and Kermit the Frog.