The multi-faceted Harry Connick Jr.

MANILA, Philippines - Movies are few and far between for Harry Connick Jr. He seldom stages live concerts, too. So when the reality talent show, Americal Idol, aired its final season last year, many thought that one of the show’s judges would be missed in the entertainment scene for a long while.

However, Harry resurged on television soon enough, with his eponymously titled celebrity talk show, which ruled the daytime slot in American TV in no time. The show, which debuted late last year, has maintained its high ratings in the daytime slot and has consistently earned good reviews.

Harry is obviously multi-faceted. A 10-piece band provides the live music. Audience participation is welcomed often at the start. While the interviews are celebrity dominated, Harry also features interesting people, even man-on-the-street. And since the host is a very engaging conversationalist, he can start talking just about any topic there is.

Harry can even be a prankster, parody other celebrities and instantly crack jokes to his guests and his audience. In Harry Tries, one of the regular segments in the show, he attempts to do several shticks, like trying to break free from a duct tape or getting his hand out from handcuffs.

Singing is one of Harry’s better descriptions about himself.  He is, after all, a multi-Grammy-winning artist, with millions of albums sold worldwide. Understandably, he croons every once in a while and proves to everyone why he has been an award-winning singer-musician.

In one episode, Harry started the entertainment fare by singing an on-the-spot composition to one of the ladies in the audience. Interestingly named Rainbow, the lady is a mom of four who came with her 19-year-old daughter to watch the show. Rainbow intimated she is a “miracle baby,” hence, her name.

Renewed recently for its second season, not surprisingly, Harry has been syndicated nationwide in the US and worldwide, too. To date, the program has earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Harry as an entertainment talk show host. In the Philippines, the program airs nightly, Mondays to Fridays, 6 p.m. on Star World.

In a statement he made prior to the airing of his show, Harry said he has been blessed to be a husband to a “wonderful wife,” a father to “three incredible daughters” and an entertainer “to the most amazing fans.”

In the first, few months of Harry, the show climbed to a higher ratings slot, while other talk shows with veteran celebrity hosts remained steady or even posted declines in the TV ratings.

The proud New Orleans native, a one-time Manila visitor who did a sold-out concert at the PICC in 2008, never terms his daily show a “grind” or a “routine.” He did theater in Broadway before (the 2011 revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever) and even had an eight-show-a-week schedule. To him, hosting his own TV show is a “perfect scenario.”

One of Harry’s most recent guests was fellow former American Idol judge and good friend Keith Urban. Actress Carla Gugino also graced the program recently to promote her latest film, Wolves. Actor Ray Liotta made an appearance to talk about the second season of the New York cop series, Shades of Blue, where he stars with Jennifer Lopez.

Harry’s wife of 23 years, former Victoria’s Secret model Jill Goodacre, was in the show recently to whip up her simple pasta dish, a favorite of her husband’s. The couple has three daughters.