Madonna has appeared on the old boob tube (no pun intended) so many times, it's a wonder she never got her own television show. Maybe she'll get around to that during the next 50 years. But in the meantime, we'll continue celebrating her upcoming 50th birthday by counting down five more milestone moments in her incredible career--four of which are TV-related.
11) Gorillaz & Madonna Give A Feel-Good Grammy Performance
As if we needed any more evidence that Madonna is in fact not a real human being but some sort of otherworldly superhero creature from the Planet M, in 2006 she performed the opening number at the Grammys with the animated band Gorillaz. Actually, it was a hologram of Madonna, at least for part of the routine, a bit of trickery that allowed her to fully interact with her cartoon co-stars. And the hologram was so lifelike, so convincing, that maybe when the unimaginable happens and Madonna finally gets too old to perform herself, she can still send her computer-rendered 3D likeness on tour, in her place:
12) Courtney Love Bumrushes Madonna
Courtney Love may be the only woman on the planet who can upstage MADONNA, but that's just what she did at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, when she interrupted a perfectly pleasant onscreen conversation Madge was having with MTV's Kurt Loder. In the space of seven unforgettable live-televised minutes, Mrs. Cobain hurled her MAC makeup compact at Madonna's head, slurred over Madonna's sentences, flirted awkwardly with Kurt, fell out of her shirt/heels/chair, and generally invaded Madonna's personal space. Madonna, normally the controversial/shocking/attention-seeking woman in most situations, suddenly came across as the epitome of class and grace, maintaining admirable composure as Courtney dug herself deeper and deeper into her hole (pun intended):
13) Madonna Finds Her Guy
Despite the A-Rod-centric divorce rumors that continue to surround the Ritchies--who were introduced in 1999 by Sting and Trudie Styler--their union is still intact as of this writing, after eight years of marriage and two children (biological son Rocco, and adopted Malaiwian toddler David Banda). And the fact that their marriage survived Swept Away is, in and of itself, a testament to the strength of their bond. Here's one of the couple's more successful creative collaborations, the Guy-directed video for "What It Feels Like For A Girl":
14) She Uses Four-Letter Words on 'Letterman'
Madonna has had a more combative relationship with David Letterman than she has with Guy Ritchie. Or with Courtney Love! Case in point: Her infamous 1994 Late Night With David Letterman interview, in which she used the F-word a whopping 13 times, accused Dave of wearing a toupee, asked him if he ever smoked herb, and after 22 uncomfortable minutes actually refused to leave the set. (As a result, the poor 1994 United States Grocery Bagging Champion, who was scheduled to appear later on the show, had his segment cut due to time constraints.) Madonna later claimed she was trying to make a stand against TV censorship, but it seemed more like she was just making a stand against good taste and/or polite conversation. Her behavior would have made even Courtney blanch:
15) Letterman & Madge Kiss And Make Up
Don't you worry, Letterman didn't stay mad at Madonna for long. The same year that she disastrously appeared on his chat show, he accompanied her to the podium at the MTV Video Music Awards, jokingly chiding her, "I'll be out by the car. Watch your language." At least we think he was joking...
Come back tomorrow for numbers 6-10!