[twigs]

No, it it NOT an urban legend. I worked in Annapolis at the time and my best friend watched it on TV. She told me about it then. She could absolutely not believe what she had heard. At the time, Oprah was just local and I had hardly heard of her. It's all very true! The way I heard it was that Oprah asked him how did he respond to people's saying he looked like a chicken. (Apparently that was a common comment about Perdue at the time. He was not well liked because he maintained very strict standards for all his employees who did not appreciate it and considered him not the nicest person himself.) He answered by saying "what do you say to people who say that you look like a baboon?"

[dmz]

that's right, baboon, not ape.

I've lived in baltimore my whole life (minus the 4 years in college). the show she was on was "people are talking", with richard sher as the co-host.

this story has circulated for so long...what a scream.