My name is Tyra Martin. In the near decade I've spent working with the good folks here at the WGN Morning News, I've had some great days and some not so great days.
Today, was one of the latter.
As Entertainment Producer, it's my job to deal with celebrities...More often than not, they're wonderful. It's their "people" who suck.
The "people" are the publicists and managers who exaggerate, over schedule and make crazy demands on behalf of the celebrities.
Today, I dealt with lots of "people."
We were all excited about today's show.. Lots of great guests were booked, including hip hop legend Kurtis Blow and movie star Daryl Hannah.
As a kid of the 70's and a lover of hip hop's origins (Even at 35 years old, I still have a mean up rock… for the record) I was anxious to meet Kurtis Blow.
Then there's Daryl Hannah, a gifted and socially conscious actress, who was so convincing in the movie "Splash" that for just a second, I thought the strange woman wandering downtown wearing no shoes or pants, squeaking and clicking like a dolphin -- may actually be a mermaid. Closer inspection however proved that lady had not been near any water, for a very, very long time.
Pardon me, I digress. Back to the "people."
It was the "people" who kept me, nay the world, from enjoying those talented artists this morning.. Here's what happened.
Sometimes we go after guests, but Daryl Hannah's "people" called us... and were happy to oblige. Things were fine until her "person" started changing things around and getting snippy and LYING. I can deal with everything but the lying. Daryl's "person" made a series of ridiculous requests regarding the segment's scheduled time. Because I TRY not to gossip (shut up) I won't get into details, but just know that it was one of the most RIDICULOUS conversations I've had in a long time.
Now, if you surf channels in the morning, you may have noticed that sometimes celebrities make the rounds, stopping by every station to promote their concert, movie, album, book signing, tree climbing, etc.
That's fine, here at WGN we know we're the best, so it doesn't matter what they do with the rest. The ever increasing number of viewers tuning in to the number 9 each day back that up. And the "people" know that, that's why THEY CALLED US. Long story short, we looked up and saw Daryl on a way lower rated show at the time she was originally scheduled to be here. Her "person" lied to me, and there's a trail of p-r "people" I've dealt with who can tell you that's not a good idea.
I called them before they made the trek from the un-named, way lower rated show and sent them home.
Now onto Kurtis Blow, who I was giving directions to on the phone as this Daryl Hannah thing was unfolding.
Mr. Blow may be great on the microphone, but he could use a little help with Mapquest.
First he and his crew were on their way to WGN Radio, which is nowhere near WGN TV. Then they headed south.. Even further away.
They got here about 5 minutes AFTER the time they were scheduled to appear. Still, I was geeked when he walked through the door, I mean it WAS Kurtis Blow. The shiny jacket, gold chains and gheri curl were gone, clearly a gracious act of God, to whom he has recently devoted his life. That's right, Kurtis Blow will soon be Reverend Blow.. He's studying theology and plans to use hip hop to build his ministry. It actually worked out, since I needed a lot of prayer this morning.
Anyway back to the "people." Since Kurtis and his "people" were late, they missed the opportunity to appear live. But we offered to tape a performance in our studios and put it on the web. Now you and I know the website is popular, but maybe they didn't. My offer was met by frowned faces, mind you these faces were filled with the free bacon, eggs and biscuits they were eating in our cafeteria at the time… but frowning all the same. I couldn't help but laugh out loud as Blow's signature song "These are the Breaks" played on a constant loop in my head all morning.
A few minutes later, I get a call from Kurtis in the cafeteria. "Yeah, Tyra… I think we're just going to go." That breeze you just felt is my head still spinning. You're an hour late, you just ate free breakfast and you're leaving? I grabbed my Executive Producer, Allison Hunter and went to the cafeteria, where we found the guys getting up from the table and the driver on the way to get the car. I tapped my well heeled foot while Allison diffused the situation. They apologized, stayed and gave the great performance you can watch on our website right now.
So that was my day.
I've got to go now… in a few minutes I'll be interviewing the wonderful Geena Davis. This morning her "people" sent me an email requesting that I "only refer to Ms. Davis as an actor, not an actress."
I love the "people."
In the words of our dear friend Kurtis Blow, "Errrah!"
