Katey Sagal's first love
Katey Sagal got lots of laughs on the TV series "Married ... With Children." Not that she ALWAYS does comedy, as her current show clearly demonstrates. Lee Cowan met her on the set:
As TV mothers go, Katey Sagal is hardly the June Cleaver type. On the biker series "Sons of Anarchy" on FX, her motherly instincts sometimes take the shape of a closed fist.
"She wears tight clothes and big boots and lots of jewelry, and tattoos that aren't mine," Sagal said. "She's a bad-ass."
Sagal plays Gemma Teller Morrow, the matriarch of a drug-smuggling motorcycle gang.
The whole thing is really kind of Shakespearean -- in fact, fans call the series "Hamlet on Harleys."
Sagal said, "Usually at this point, you're a mom, you're a grandmom, maybe you're a judge, you're a lawyer.
"I'm a biker babe. I have a whole new audience, actually."
New audience, perhaps, but as an actress, Sagal has long been pushing the boundaries of motherhood -- no more so than as the tacky, orange-haired Peg Bundy on "Married... With Children."
"She was just, like, an over-sexed wife," Sagal laughed.
"But that's what you turned her into," said Cowan.
"Kind of. Yeah, it wasn't intentional, but that's what happened."
For some it was a bit too much, especially to anti-obscenity activist Terry Rakolta, who famously led a nationwide boycott of Fox to get "Married... With Children" off the air.
"We were all so like, 'We don't believe in censorship, just change the channel. If you don't like it, turn it off.' And she got us on the front page of The New York Times by trying to take us off the air, which completely sent our ratings over the top.
"And every year we would send her flowers!"
Her bold choices have certainly made her a famous actress, but she always wanted to be famous for something else. For as long as Katey Sagal can remember, it's always been about the music.
She's recorded three albums so far -- the latest, called "Covered."
To hear Katey Sagal sing "Free Fallin'," from her album "Covered," click on the audio player below.
"The people who don't know you really, really well, always seem surprised when they find out about your musical background," said Cowan.
"Can you believe that?" she laughed.
Katey Sagal was born into an entertainment family in Los Angeles. Her mother was a singer; her father, Boris, directed some of TV's most iconic shows -- "The Twilight Zone," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E," and "Colombo," just to name a few.
But acting wasn't for his daughter.
"I remember going to a casting agent, and they said to me that I would never work in television," she said.
Why? "'You're not TV-type.' And I thought, 'Oh that's okay. All right, I don't really wanna be TV-type.'"
So she pursued her music, forming bands and going on the road.
"I had a period of time where I actually used to play down in Venice Beach with my open guitar case."
"Did you make a lot of money?"
"Oh no, I'm sure I didn't make a lot of money, but it was probably enough."
But she was getting attention. Soon she was singing backup for none other than Bette Midler, where Sagal was one of Midler's famous Harlettes.
She also sang with Etta James, Tanya Tucker, even the legendary Bob Dylan for a time.
"I rehearsed for him for almost two months," she told Cowan. "I'm sure I was doing a terrible job, but, you know, he liked me. He would take me out to dinner, he liked me!"
Others liked her, too. She stood out on stage -- and she caught a talent agent's eye.
Before Sagal knew it, she was cast opposite Mary Tyler Moore in "Mary."
But even then she considered acting more of a side job. On weekends she and her band were busy playing gigs along Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard.
It was the life she wanted, but a lifestyle that took its toll.
"You know, it definitely kind of promoted some bad behavior," she said, "and being sort of the personality type I am, that bad behavior just lead to MORE bad behavior!"
Drugs and alcohol became constant companions -- and soon, her music was fading.
"I think I crashed it down. I think I burned it down a little bit, all my potential at that time in my life."
"How bad did it get?" Cowan asked.
"It got pretty bad. It got bad enough that I realized that I had a serious problem."
She's been sober now for 28 years -- and it was in recovery where her life really turned around.
Her now-husband, Kurt Sutter -- also in recovery -- asked her out for breakfast.
"She brought her sponsor with her 'cause she didn't trust me," Sutter recalled. "And then at some point during the breakfast she gave the sponsor the nod like, 'It's okay. He's not a psychopath!'" he laughed.
It all worked out. They're now a happy, blended family -- and work companions.
Sutter is the creator of "Sons of Anarchy," and he wrote the role of Gemma specifically for his wife.
But even though she's earned a Golden Globe for her performances, Sutter still thinks that his wife's heart is in her music.
"She is the happiest, I think, on stage when she's singing," he said.
"Moreso than acting?"
"I think so, yeah. She's just got a different energy up there. She's like a kid, and she just digs it."
When she gets the chance to perform on stage, she does indeed seem right at home.
"There's nothing better than playing music," she said. "To me, it's something very centering, and it's such a great gift."
She says she has no regrets -- after all, acting has given her a pretty great life. But more often than not, while her husband is downstairs crafting her next scene, Katey Sagal is upstairs finding her peace at the piano.
To watch Katey Sagal perform "Goodbye," click on the video player below.
For more info:
- kateysagal.net
- "Covered" by Katey Sagal; (Entertainment One); Available via Amazon and iTunes
- Follow Katey Sagal on Twitter (@KateySagal), Facebook, MySpace and YouTube
- "Sons of Anarchy" (FX)