Horrible Tawny Little Encounter
P.J. Gladnick
who became a newscaster in L.A.. Her main qualifications were that she
could read a teleprompter and looked great, mostly the latter.
Anyway one day I was at a book show with some friends in L.A. when we
spotted Tawny there with a camera crew filming the event. Of course, I
commented on how great Tawny looked to my friends. Then I fantasized out
loud what a date with her would be like. My friends egged me on and I
theorized that she was so much of a celeb and so hot looking that guys were
scared to ask her out (I didn't even know whether or not she was married at
the time). According to my theory, Tawny was lonely because guys were too
intimidated to ask her out and that if one merely walked up to her and
asked for a date, she would accept.
Of course this was merely me theorizing. But as I said, my friends were
egging me on and said that I was too chicken to follow through on my
theory. Actually they were right. Yeah, right in the middle of a taping
break, me, a total stranger, is going to ask Tawny Little on a date with
her crew looking on? No way! But then I got to thinking-----The worst that
could possibly happen is that she would say no. It would still be a great
memory for me in later years to look back upon when Tawny, with a friendly
smile on her face would politely reject my advance.
So with that in mind I boldly walked up to Tawny and flat out asked her to
join me for a drink when she was done taping. As I stated before the very
worst that could happen would be that she would say no. I was
wrong.........The worst that could happen would be that she would say
NOTHING. Yes, that is exactly what happened. She just looked at me with
complete disgust that I would even dare to approach the mighty Tawny. It
was like she didn't say anything because she wouldn't even waste her breath
on a reply. All that was left for me to do was slither away back to my
friends with whatever dignity I had left (none).
Well, here it is-----years later and I don't have that great memory that I
thought I would. But at least I do have a funny memory (not funny at the
time) about my Tawny Little encounter. Hey, that's still something anyway!
"Clinton's Turkey" Comix
http://www.pjcomix.com/turkey1.html
mslinda
Count yourself lucky. I know someone who *married* the witch.
Linda ASGTPR#49
Sergea...@randozi.com
> So with that in mind I boldly walked up to Tawny and flat out asked her to
> join me for a drink when she was done taping. As I stated before the very
> worst that could happen would be that she would say no. I was
> wrong.........The worst that could happen would be that she would say
> NOTHING. Yes, that is exactly what happened. She just looked at me with
> complete disgust that I would even dare to approach the mighty Tawny. It
> was like she didn't say anything because she wouldn't even waste her breath
> on a reply.
A great story, PJ. One of true courage ;-). But perhaps she didn't hear
you. I think you should ask her again.....
PowerLib
>From: mslinda <msl...@earthlink.net>
>Date: Wed, Nov 25, 1998 07:15 EST
>Message-id: <365BF4...@earthlink.net>
>
>P.J. Gladnick wrote:
>>
>> In case you are unfamiliar with her, Tawny Little was a former Miss America
>> who became a newscaster in L.A.. Her main qualifications were that she
>> could read a teleprompter and looked great, mostly the latter.
>>
>> Anyway one day I was at a book show with some friends in L.A. when we
>> spotted Tawny there with a camera crew filming the event. Of course, I
>> commented on how great Tawny looked to my friends. Then I fantasized out
>> loud what a date with her would be like. My friends egged me on and I
>> theorized that she was so much of a celeb and so hot looking that guys were
>> scared to ask her out (I didn't even know whether or not she was married at
>> the time). According to my theory, Tawny was lonely because guys were too
>> intimidated to ask her out and that if one merely walked up to her and
>> asked for a date, she would accept.
>>
>> Of course this was merely me theorizing. But as I said, my friends were
>> egging me on and said that I was too chicken to follow through on my
>> theory. Actually they were right. Yeah, right in the middle of a taping
>> break, me, a total stranger, is going to ask Tawny Little on a date with
>> her crew looking on? No way! But then I got to thinking-----The worst that
>> could possibly happen is that she would say no. It would still be a great
>> memory for me in later years to look back upon when Tawny, with a friendly
>> smile on her face would politely reject my advance.
>>
>> join me for a drink when she was done taping. As I stated before the very
>> worst that could happen would be that she would say no. I was
>> wrong.........The worst that could happen would be that she would say
>> NOTHING. Yes, that is exactly what happened. She just looked at me with
>> complete disgust that I would even dare to approach the mighty Tawny. It
>> was like she didn't say anything because she wouldn't even waste her breath
>> friends with whatever dignity I had left (none).
>>
>> Well, here it is-----years later and I don't have that great memory that I
>> thought I would. But at least I do have a funny memory (not funny at the
>> time) about my Tawny Little encounter. Hey, that's still something anyway!
>>
>> "Clinton's Turkey" Comix
>> http://www.pjcomix.com/turkey1.html
>
>Count yourself lucky. I know someone who *married* the witch.
>
>Linda ASGTPR#49
>
>
More details please.
****************************
Take away the "nospam" to email.
mslinda
>
> > Count yourself lucky. I know someone who *married* the witch.
> >
> > Linda ASGTPR#49
> >
>
Three times. The first was a doctor named Little. Her maiden name was
Godin.
Once was to John Schneider from the "Dukes Of
> Hazzard." They had a well publicized dopey fake country style wedding on the
> TV set (I think if I remember correctly what I read).
Wrong. The wedding was at Universal Studios - the Dukes was shot at WB.
The only problem was
> that Schneider was not "UP" for his nocturnal spousal duties.
>
Wrong again. After the initial attraction that drew them together wore
off, they fought constantly. I witnessed one of her temper tantrums at a
concert shortly before they separated and also was told by a local hotel
employee that he had checked in after stomping out of their house late
at night. I wasn't surprised when the divorce announcement came shortly
therafter. I have no idea where you got the idea that Schneider has
sexual problems.I've know him off and on for years, and from what I've
heard, his only sexual problem was wading through the women who threw
themselves at him.
Linda ASGTPR#49
pjg...@gate.net
> Count yourself lucky. I know someone who *married* the witch.
>
> Linda ASGTPR#49
>
I think she was married twice. Once was to John Schneider from the "Dukes Of
Hazzard." They had a well publicized dopey fake country style wedding on the
TV set (I think if I remember correctly what I read). The only problem was
that Schneider was not "UP" for his nocturnal spousal duties.
The other guy she married was some assistant lighting director from her TV
newscast. The whole purpose of the marriage was because Tawny felt that her
biological clock was running out and needed someone to be her drone. Once her
drone/husband planted the baby seed in Tawny, she soon dumped him.
Which was the husband that you knew? I'm all ears for more info about her.
-----P.J. Gladnick, who also had a nice "gift package" for Tawny.
"Clinton's Turkey" Comix
http://www.pjcomix.com/turkey1.html
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Sarge
> Oh wait! I just remembered----Tawny was married 3 times that I know of. Her
> first husband was a doctor (I think) by the name of Little which is what
> Tawny continued to use after the splitup. Then when she married John
> Schneider she insisted on being called Tawny Schneider. But then when she
> split with John Schneider she went back to Tawny Little again on the air.
> Does anybody remember that name transition? It must have been hilarious to
> have seen Tawny Schneider do the on-air conversion back to Tawny Little. How
> did she explain it?
Sounds like Hillary's name games. After marrying Jethro she stuck with
her maiden name Hillary Rodham. Then when he ran for office in AR she
changed it to Hillary Clinton. Then after he was elected Gov she changed
it to Hillary Rodham Clinton. Then when he ran for Prez she used Hillary
Clinton again so as to not paint herself as some sort of 'hip feminist'
(can't afford to alienate those older voters when you run for Prez you
know). Now she's back to Hillary Rodham Clinton again. Programs here!
Get your programs here! You can't tell the first ladies without a
PROgram! She just should have had the guts to stick with HRC and leave
it at that...
mslinda
>
> I
> >
> > Count yourself lucky. I know someone who *married* the witch.
> >
> > Linda ASGTPR#49
> >
>
> first husband was a doctor (I think) by the name of Little which is what
> Tawny continued to use after the splitup. Then when she married John
> Schneider she insisted on being called Tawny Schneider. But then when she
> split with John Schneider she went back to Tawny Little again on the air.
> Does anybody remember that name transition? It must have been hilarious to
> have seen Tawny Schneider do the on-air conversion back to Tawny Little. How
> did she explain it?
>
> his name to the more appropriate "Little."
>
Not according to what my friends have said about him...
Linda ASGTPR#49
pjg...@gate.net
>
> Count yourself lucky. I know someone who *married* the witch.
>
> Linda ASGTPR#49
>
Oh wait! I just remembered----Tawny was married 3 times that I know of. Her
first husband was a doctor (I think) by the name of Little which is what
Tawny continued to use after the splitup. Then when she married John
Schneider she insisted on being called Tawny Schneider. But then when she
split with John Schneider she went back to Tawny Little again on the air.
Does anybody remember that name transition? It must have been hilarious to
have seen Tawny Schneider do the on-air conversion back to Tawny Little. How
did she explain it?
-----P.J. Gladnick, who thinks that John Schneider maybe should have changed
his name to the more appropriate "Little."
"Clinton's Turkey" Comix
mslinda
>
(snip)
> OK, I accept your evaluation of John Schneider. But now I want more
> information about Tawny Little. Obviously you know Schneider and are plugged
> in to a lot of cool Tawny Little facts.
Alas, I lost interest in Tawny after she and John split up.
First of all, what set off her temper
> tantrums? Did she flat out yell in public or was it more like pouting?
She was yelling at an usher at the concert. She's had a rep in LA as a
b*tch for 20 years. John's sweet mom didn't like TL at *all.*
BTW, she dated Burt Reynolds between husbands #1 and #2. He dumped her
for Loni and the gossip was that she then transferred her attentions to
JS because she was determined to marry someone famous.
Also
> what was the name of Tawny's drone husband (he was hubby #3) and what is he
> doing now (he used to be some sort of lighting technician)?
I don't remember - that must have been ten years ago. I thought he was
an account exec with whichever TV station she was working for at the
time (ABC affifliate KABC?).
In addition, what
> happened to the kid that the drone husband fathered with Tawny (she was
> worried about her biological clock running out)?
Probably going to elementary school. The one thing I *do* recall is that
the incident with the little girl (Jessica something) falling in the
well happened right after she came back from maternity leave and Tawny
cried when she was rescued.
And finally, what is Tawny
> doing nowadays (Still on TV?) and who is she dating?
She does the 10 pm news on UPN's KCOP channel 13 in LA. I think she's
still married to #3. You don't hear much about her anymore.
Since I had a brief
> personal Tawny Little encounter I am most interested in any Tawny info you
> can come up with.
>
> -----P.J. Gladnick, who thanx you in advance for more Tawny info.
>
> PJ's Comix
Be thankful it was a *brief* encounter.
Linda ASGTPR#49
pjg...@gate.net
msl...@earthlink.net wrote:
> pjg...@gate.net wrote:
> >
> > > Count yourself lucky. I know someone who *married* the witch.
> > >
> > > Linda ASGTPR#49
> > >
> >
>
> Godin.
>
> > Hazzard." They had a well publicized dopey fake country style wedding on the
> > TV set (I think if I remember correctly what I read).
>
>
> > that Schneider was not "UP" for his nocturnal spousal duties.
> >
> off, they fought constantly. I witnessed one of her temper tantrums at a
> concert shortly before they separated and also was told by a local hotel
> employee that he had checked in after stomping out of their house late
> at night. I wasn't surprised when the divorce announcement came shortly
> therafter. I have no idea where you got the idea that Schneider has
> sexual problems.I've know him off and on for years, and from what I've
> heard, his only sexual problem was wading through the women who threw
> themselves at him.
>
OK, I accept your evaluation of John Schneider. But now I want more
information about Tawny Little. Obviously you know Schneider and are plugged
in to a lot of cool Tawny Little facts. First of all, what set off her temper
tantrums? Did she flat out yell in public or was it more like pouting? Also
what was the name of Tawny's drone husband (he was hubby #3) and what is he
doing now (he used to be some sort of lighting technician)? In addition, what
happened to the kid that the drone husband fathered with Tawny (she was
worried about her biological clock running out)? And finally, what is Tawny
doing nowadays (Still on TV?) and who is she dating? Since I had a brief
personal Tawny Little encounter I am most interested in any Tawny info you
can come up with.
-----P.J. Gladnick, who thanx you in advance for more Tawny info.
PJ's Comix
http://www.pjcomix.com/
mslinda
>
> Can anyone here in L.A. forget the good old days when Tawny was a regular on
> the local ABC affiliate. She was on the news, the local access show and the
> morning show. Her moodiness and unprofessionalism more than once provided
> fodder for all of us lovers of TV trash. One of my favorite Tawny moments
> occurred when she was doing a remote from a concert. One concert goer couldn't
> stop waving into the camera, ruining the shot, no matter how close the
> cameraman came in. Well, Miss Tawny turned around and lit into him. Quick cut
> to the studio where a composed Christine Lund said something to the effect that
> they were having technical problems at the arena. Ah, the good old days.
LOL! I'd forgotten some of this great stuff!
Linda ASGTPR#49
P.J. Gladnick
GO8GO <go...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19981128005852...@ng136.aol.com>...
Actually Christine Lund was pretty hilarious as well. She was only
marginally more intelligent than Tawny. Remember when Chief Darryl Gates
referred to Chritine Lund as "That aryan broad?" At first Christine Lund
just laughed it off. Then I guess she heard from her friends that being
outraged was the PC thing to be. So then she objected to being called
"aryan." But she was confused as to why she should upset over this. Then
Christine finally settled on being upset at being called a "broad."
Actually I too was upset with Chief Gates' remarks----He should have called
her a "DUMB aryan broad."
GO8GO
pjg...@gate.net
msl...@earthlink.net wrote:
> pjg...@gate.net wrote:
> >
> (snip)
> > OK, I accept your evaluation of John Schneider. But now I want more
> > information about Tawny Little. Obviously you know Schneider and are plugged
> > in to a lot of cool Tawny Little facts.
>
>
> > tantrums? Did she flat out yell in public or was it more like pouting?
>
> b*tch for 20 years. John's sweet mom didn't like TL at *all.*
> BTW, she dated Burt Reynolds between husbands #1 and #2. He dumped her
> for Loni and the gossip was that she then transferred her attentions to
> JS because she was determined to marry someone famous.
>
> > what was the name of Tawny's drone husband (he was hubby #3) and what is he
> > doing now (he used to be some sort of lighting technician)?
>
> an account exec with whichever TV station she was working for at the
> time (ABC affifliate KABC?).
>
> > happened to the kid that the drone husband fathered with Tawny (she was
> > worried about her biological clock running out)?
>
> the incident with the little girl (Jessica something) falling in the
> well happened right after she came back from maternity leave and Tawny
> cried when she was rescued.
>
> > doing nowadays (Still on TV?) and who is she dating?
>
> still married to #3. You don't hear much about her anymore.
>
> > personal Tawny Little encounter I am most interested in any Tawny info you
> > can come up with.
> >
> > -----P.J. Gladnick, who thanx you in advance for more Tawny info.
> >
> > PJ's Comix
>
>
> Linda ASGTPR#49
>
I found this L.A. Times article with an update on Tawny Little and her
"Little" career now at KCOP. Tawny makes it sound like she never really did
like that happy talk news and dopey shows she did. Oh, NOW she complains!
BTW, I notice there is very little info about Tawny on the Web. Say, wouldn't
it be funny if Ol' PJ, whom Tawny considered it completely beneath her
station in life to even respond to, puts up the Web's first Tawny Little Web
page (unofficial)? Hey, talk about Karma!
---------------------------------------------------
Alive, Well and Anchoring in L.A.; Television: Tawny Little, once a
high-profile anchor on KABC, is still presenting the news--if only someone
would notice she's on KCOP.; Home Edition
By STEVE WEINSTEIN, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Los Angeles Times Thursday January 29, 1998
Home Edition
Calendar, Page 47
Type of Material: Profile
Tawny Little--Miss America 1976 and the most glamorous personality at KABC-TV
Channel 7 during that station's heady days of news supremacy in the late '70s
and '80s--has been anchoring the news at KCOP-TV Channel 13 for the last two
years. Which itself may be news, it seems, to a lot of folks.
"Oh, it's really frustrating that not very many people even know we're here,"
Little said. "I had an appearance in a parade in Perris [last month], and
people come up to me and they still think I'm on Channel 7 to this day--and I
haven't been there for five years. It's amazing.
"Or a lot of other people said, 'Oh gee, you aren't working anymore.
Are you just taking care of your kids? We really miss you.' Which is
equally frustrating. It's very nice that so many people are solicitous of
my well-being, but I wish they knew what was going on here."
What's going on at KCOP is far from pretty. Despite pouring tens of millions
of dollars over the last decade into the effort to build a news identity,
Channel 13's 10 p.m. show remains mired in last place. New sets, a new
newsroom, new news directors, new formats, new anchors: Nothing has made a
measurable difference.
Rick Feldman, Channel 13's general manager, admits that over the years, he
has wondered whether it was worth it to do news at all. But news, he said, is
the one area of his business that a station manager can't analyze strictly
in hard, cold economic terms.
"If you don't have it, what's to differentiate you from USA cable?" Feldman
said. "It takes a long time to build a successful news operation, and maybe
we're stretching that out longer than I would have liked because this market
is so competitive, but I'm very proud of our product."
Though the 10 p.m. broadcast is in distress, both Feldman and news director
Steve Cohen have been heartened by the performance of KCOP's 7:30 p.m.
newscast, which premiered last September. Though ratings for the program are
relatively low, they are good enough to make the effort a financial winner.
Within a year, Cohen expects that program "to be an important economic pump
for the station."
Little, who anchors both nightly shows with Alan Frio, joined KCOP after 15
years at KABC and five at KCAL-TV Channel 9.
"I know that if people sample us, they'll find reasons to watch," shesaid.
"One of the reasons I came over here was [Cohen's] pitch that we try to
provide a service to the community. To provide useful information--how to
survive, how not to get ripped off--instead of just crime headlines or
voyeuristic action footage. I think a lot of the stations have lost their
way, lost sight of what we in news are actually here for."
For all her notoriety, fast public life, high-profile marriages--including one
to "Dukes of Hazzard" star John Schneider--Little, now in her 40s, divorced
three times and a mother of two school-age sons, is disarmingly open and
self-effacing. During an interview conducted half in her office and half
in the station's makeup room, she rolled her hair in curlers in
preparation for her broadcast while amiably answering any and all questions,
from whether her glamorous image, perpetuated by her dating such movie
stars as Kevin Costner, hurts her credibility as a serious newscaster to
whether being Miss America qualified her to be an anchor.
"This is going to sound ingenuous, but I didn't really set out to be famous
and live in that kind of limelight," she said. "But I was here on TV and so
young and impetuous and full of vim and life, and I gravitated that way. It
was exciting, of course, but it obviously caused me a lot ofpain in my life.
Divorces are no fun. Public, tabloid romances are nofun. Not what anyone
would want. I wish I was married once in my life and my children were with me
with their father and I was in Williamstown teaching. But that didn't
happen.
"And I would love it if people would think that I want to date businessmen or
bankers, but they don't. So when they introduce me to people, they just
assume that I want to meet actors. It's a major point of frustration. But
it's what people expect of me. . . . And as the public sees that, some people
would actually think that it's an enhancement--that it's all very exciting
and great. But there are a lot of people who don't find that stuff at all
attractive. So it's been a double-edged sword, I think, to this day."
As a teenager, the New York native yearned to be a college professor. She
majored in linguistics at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.,and
intended to specialize in "language acquisition programs for elementary-age
schoolchildren." She entered the Miss America pageant, she insisted, with
hopes of winning scholarship money to continue her education.
"Well, things change when you become Miss America," she said. "And all of a
sudden I had all of these offers to be on television. I was 19 years old and I
thought I'd be crazy if I didn't investigate some
of them,because I knew these people wouldn't be knocking on my door
in five years. And I really thought I would do it for a couple of
years and then stop. That was 21 years ago. I still love the idea of being
a college professor. I still have those dreams. I never got to finish
school. I'm unbelievably frustrated."
When she hit the air at Channel 7 in 1977, Little admitted, she was much too
young and inexperienced and she had to struggle for years to tryto overcome
the "ridiculous amount of baggage" she arrived with. On top of that, those
were the days of "happy talk" news, and Channel 7 was the king of the ratings
and the king of chit-chat. And, as if the noose of a lightweight image wasn't
tight enough, the station also asked Little to host several frivolous
entertainment shows like "A.M. Los Angeles," "Eye on L.A." and "Hollywood
Close-Up."
"How schizophrenic is that, not only for me, but what is
the audience supposed to think?" Little said. "I was very concerned about
that, but the station wanted its anchors, especially me, to do all
those shows. So I think it wasn't until I moved to KCAL that I fully
overcame the MissAmerica thing--and that's after 15 years at KABC."
But at least back then, for better or worse, the audience
knew she was on TV.
"I know," Little replied. "We would come out of 'Roots' and have a 25 rating
for the 11 p.m. news at Channel 7, and now I look at our rating and it's a 2
and I think, 'Oh, my God, how can this be?' But we will never have those days
again.
"I'm glad I was on the air in Los Angeles in the '80s. That was an
unbelievably heady time. But it was also a time when we really didn't serve
the public, with all the games and manipulation we did to get ratings.
Anything to get ratings--series on the Nielsen families or whatever. It was
wrong. And that's too bad, because that's when people really watched news.
I'm much more proud of what we're doing here."
Copyright, The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times, 1998.
STEVE WEINSTEIN, Alive, Well and Anchoring in L.A.; Television: Tawny Little,
once a high-profile anchor on KABC, is still presenting the news--if only
someone would notice she's on KCOP.; Home Edition., Los Angeles Times,
01-29-1998, pp F-47.
GO8GO
lot of stories. Local entertainment guru/bleached blond himbo David Sheehan was
always good for laughs. Once, Evel Knevel had taken a baseball bat and had
beaten one of his business associates senseless because of an upcoming business
deal Knevel was unhappy about. Sheehan had the plumb assignment of
interviewing the poor guy in the hospital. The guy, with his arm and head
bandaged and his leg up in a sling got this question from Sheehan: "Is this a
publicity stunt?"
LandonEx
actress Carol Lynley?
Anyway, my two favorite Tawny Little memories:
1) When "Jurassic Park" was about to be released, she did a story on a
pre-release V.I.P screening on the evening news and pronounced the film's title
as "JURR-ah-sick" (rhymes with "Your-A-Sick") Park.
2) She covered the Oscars one year and was positioned next to the red carpet,
where she could snag and chat with arriving celebrities. She waylaid someone I
can't remember (I'll have to watch the tape again ... Sigourney Weaver? Anne
Bancroft?) and after preliminary chatter, said, "So! Are you EXCITED to be
NOMINATED this year??" And the startled actress sputtered, "Ah, Tawny ... um,
I'm not nominated this year."
This gal is Emmy-bound!!!!
=Landon=
dewme
pinch...@gmail.com
louco...@gmail.com
I had already heard she wasn't a nice person so a food delivery came in for, who else, Tawny Little.
When I called Tawny she must have read her caller ID reading, "Front Desk."
She just said, "I'll be right there."
She come by for her food and all the acknowledment she gave me was a tight lipped grin.
