Oprah Winfrey's 1983 audition tape is released

CHICAGO (KABC) -- In case you were wondering what Oprah was like before she hit it big, the media mogul posted a clip of an early audition tape on YouTube earlier this week.

The audition tape is from 1983. Winfrey was auditioning to be the host of a show called "A.M. Chicago," a gig that would eventually launch her daytime talk show career. The clip is originally from a Nov. 14, 2005 episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and it was posted to OWN's YouTube Channel on Monday, May 5.

Winfrey explains in the video, before footage from the audition tape appears, that she worked all night with an editor to compile footage for the tape.

Winfrey, now 60, appears in the audition tape wearing a black and cream suit and explains just how she got her name.

"Hi there. My name is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah, spelled O-P-R-A-H, and if you notice, it's Harpo spelled backwards," Winfrey explains. "My folks did not really like Harpo Marx -- we did not even have a television set for a number of years. Originally, I was named from the Bible by Aunt Ida, who named me from Ruth, the first chapter at the 14th verse, Orpah, but no one knew how to spell in my home, and that's why I ended up being Oprah."

Check out Winfrey's audition tape below.