Margaret Cho doesn't care that her new ABC sitcom, All-American Girl (see page 49), is up against Beverly Hills, 90210. ''I used to be so into that show, but that whole era is really over,'' says the San Francisco-born stand-up comic- turned-actress, 25, after taping a round of local promos (''Good morning, Texas!'') at a Century City, Calif., hotel. ''I do have all the dolls, which is really sad. Except I can't find the Ian (Ziering) doll anywhere.'' Cho's tastes have matured. These days she's into ''old-school'' comedians like Milton Berle, whom she hangs out with at the Friars' Club in L.A. ''I love that corny, schmaltzy stuff,'' she says. ''If I could smoke a cigar, I would. But I can't, 'cause they're gross.'' Working with old-timers Betty White and Estelle Getty on an episode of Golden Palace in 1992 was heaven for Cho, whose other pre-Girl acting roles included a phone-sex operator on Showtime's soft-core series, Red Shoe Diaries. ''My friend (and Girl costar) Judy Gold and I are both in that episode, and we were so angry because we were not asked to be naked,'' says Cho. ''We totally offered, and they said, 'No, that's okay.''' Girl should provide Cho with plenty of exposure. ''I can't see the show failing. It's like a (infomercial guru) Tony Robbins thing,'' she says. ''I don't have his tapes, but once I was on the StairMaster next to him at the gym, and I felt his power.'' Cho spends her scant spare time away from the Girl set decorating her new Hollywood Hills home in the style of one of her favorite movies, 1971's A Clockwork Orange. ''I found one chair that's so cool. It's like a big white egg with speakers inside,'' she says. ''The giant rocking penis is going to be the last thing. I'll have to have it commissioned.''


Sign up for EW.com's What to Watch Newsletter!

What to watch on TV. Hear what's on tap for the night ahead and get witty, morning after recaps of top shows (sent weekday mornings).
  • Print
  • Del.icio.us
  • Google
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • More

Copyright © 2008 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved.