ET spoke to Bertinelli at the 'Norman Lear: 100 Years Of Music & Laughter' celebration event.
Valerie Bertinelli is one proud mama! ET's Kevin Frazier spoke to Bertinelli and Mackenzie Phillips at the Norman Lear: 100 Years Of Music & Laughter celebration event, where the Hot in Cleveland actress gushed over watching her son, Wolfgang Van Halen follow in his late father's musical footsteps.
"I was there, at Wembley," Bertinelli, who shares the Mammoth WVH rocker with the late Eddie Van Halen, said of Wolf's performance at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert. "It was spectacular. I’ve never been so proud, and I’m sure I'll be proud again."
"And Shane [Hawkins] on the drums -- two of the moments that I was sobbing," she added of the emotional tribute, which saw Hawkins' son taking over on drums for his late father.
Not only did Wolfgang honor Hawkins, but he also paid homage to his father, covering a few of Van Halen's hit tracks on the guitar.
"I was weeping while I was watching it on my phone," Phillips added.
The pair, who are honoring Norman Lear's legacy through the 100 Years of Music & Laughter celebration event, said they owe their careers to the 100-year-old TV writer.
"Everything," Phillips said of what it means to be celebrating Lear. "Norman gave us so much"
"He gave me my career," Bertinelli agreed. "I wouldn’t be here without Norman."
"And then Norman gave me the reimagining of One Day at a Time on Netflix, and I got to do that, and Norman has been kind to me when I was a very difficult person to be kind to, and so has this one," Phillips continued.
The longtime friends, who both starred in the hit 1970s comedy reflected on their start in Hollywood and how the business has changed since.
"it was so different back then though, 'cause there was no social media," Bertinelli said. "It wasn't like, always in your face. We actually could lead a normal life. I mean, I felt like I've always led a normal life."
"We went places together," Phillips added. "Forget about it, it was like, 'Does Makenzie know that Valerie's right over there?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, we're here together.' It was incredible, because being characterized as a teen heartthrobs when you really just feel like a weird little kid..."
"You're still a teenager, and you don't know what you’re doing," Bertinelli chimed in.
While the actresses, both 62, jokingly said they're still figuring things out, they both agreed that Lear is "magic" at his 100 years of age.
"He's just magic," Bertinelli gushed.
"Some people have beautiful angels sitting on their shoulders, and the universe is conspiring in their favor all the time -- everybody’s favor all the time, but Norman is a very special man who holds a deep place," Phillips agreed.
RELATED CONTENT
