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Valerie Bertinelli reflects on her first episode of One Day at a Time
The actress, who got her big start on the sitcom in 1975, appeared as a guest on the Drew Barrymore Show
"I remember thinking I'm going to be able to show this to my children one day," Bertinelli said
Fifty years later andValerie Bertinellican vividly remember her first episode ofOne Day at a Time.
On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the Emmy Award-winning actress spoke on theDrew Barrymore Showwhere she, Barrymore and co-hostRoss Mathewslooked back on a moment Bertinelli will never forget.
"What is the first thing that comes to mind?" Barrymore, 50, asked Bertinelli.
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"It's been fifty years. It premiered December 16th, 1975. Whenever I think ofOne Day at a Time,I can smell it. I can smell the stage because it was my first big job," theValerie's Home Cookingalum said.
The CBS sitcom, which ran from December 16, 1975 to May 28, 1984, starred Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips and Bertinelli as a family of three.
Franklin portrayed single mother Ann Romano as she navigated life with her two teenage daughters, Julie (Phillips) and Bertinelli's Barbara.
"I'm holding the doorknob and I can see the audience because I'm right here and I'm about to go in. I have my basketball, I'm fifteen years old and I'm saying my line over and over: 'Mom, mom I made the team, mom, mom I made the team,' because I wanted to make sure I got my first line right and I remember thinking, this is what's so weird," the actress and author said.
She added, "I remember thinking I'm going to be able to show this to my children one day."
Bertinelli has one child, a son namedWolfgang "Wolfie" Van Halen, from her first marriage to late musicianEddie Van Halen.
"I don't think Wolfie's ever seen the show. I don't think he ever has," theHot in Clevelandalum confessed of her son.
Mathews and Barrymore joked that now Wolfie has time to catch up on the series "one day at a time," before the comedian announced a special surprise.
The Drew Barrymore Show/Ash Bean
"We are gonna celebrate. We have something fun. We have some retroOne Day at a Timelunchboxes. Look at this," Mathews said, showing off the item that had the characters' images on them.
"Little 15-year-old Valerie," Bertinelli said while looking at herself.
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The actress also reflected on her role ahead of the 50th anniversary while speaking exclusively toEntertainment Weeklyin February 2025.
"I remember being 15, standing at the apartment door, and really thinking, at 15 years old, 'This isgonna change my life,'" she told the outlet. "I don't know how I knew that then, but I could feel it. I wish I'd feel those feelings more."
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