Pop culture Q&A: Fan wants more information about David Tutera
Q: I so admire David Tutera. Can you tell me about him? He appears to have a significant other (silver ring). He has to be amazingly wealthy: his own show, dress and jewelry lines, Most of all, he seems to be a very nice person.</p><p> A: Here's part of the official biography of the events planner and "My Fair Wedding" star: "Tutera's grandfather, a successful florist, first noticed his grandson's artistic ability at an early age and encouraged David to pursue his destiny. At age 19, with the sound advice of his grandfather and only one client, David opened his own events planning business. Today, David Tutera presides over an award winning company built from experience, dedication and Tutera's natural talent for transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. His name has become synonymous with style, elegance, creativity and vision."</p><p> He grew up in Port Chester, N.Y., and tried acting in high school and college before taking "a detour," as he told the New York Times in 1998. "I opened a little shop in Larchmont, near the movie theater, selling gifts and balloons, and one day when I had the window all glitzed up in black and silver with plumes and glitter, a woman waiting on the movie line saw my window display and asked me if I could create a similar look for her son's bar mitzvah. I accepted immediately. That party got me started in an industry I didn't even know existed."</p><p> He and his longtime partner, Ryan Jurica, had a civil union in Vermont in 2003. You can read more about his businesses and activities at www.davidtutera.com.</p><p> Q: I have been watching "The Bold and the Beautiful" since it started. Isn't the one who's playing Karen Spencer the real Caroline, Ridge's first wife, or am I wrong? If I am right, how dare they?</p><p> A: Joanna Johnson has played both Karen Spencer and Caroline Spencer Forrester on the CBS soap opera. Johnson has been so popular with viewers that, after Caroline was killed off in 1990, the show dared to bring her back in 1991 as Caroline's twin sister Karen. Johnson stopped being a series regular in 1994. As TVGuide.com reported, she "only acts these days when paged by the soap (for guest appearances). Now her claim to fame is behind the scenes, as co-executive producer and writer of the hit ABC Family series 'Make It or Break It.' Before that, she created the Kelly Ripa-Faith Ford sitcom 'Hope & Faith.'"</p><p> But she did get called back by the soap again recently. And that appearance was a surprise, because Karen suddenly had a previously unknown daughter, also named Caroline, after her sister.</p><p> Q: Many years ago, perhaps late '40s on NBC in NYC, there was a program called, "Broadway Open House." It featured Dagmar, Jerry Lester, cello player Morey Amsterdam and a young accordion player who later appeared on the Welk show. Whatever happened to Dagmar and Jerry Lester?</p><p> A: For those of you tuning in late, Broadway Open House was "the granddaddy of all of television's informal talk shows," according to "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows." It aired in the 11 p.m. hour on NBC in 1950-51, years before the network launched the "Tonight" show. Lester and Amsterdam - later famous as Buddy on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" - hosted on different nights; the orchestra leader was Milton DeLugg, an accordionist whose many other credits would include leading the band on "The Gong Show." (Welk's accordionist was Myron Floren.)</p><p> Lester introduced Dagmar (actually an actress from West Virginia named Jennie Lewis) as a comedic character, a stereotypically dumb, buxom blonde. According to "The Complete Directory," she became as big a star as Lester, to his resentment; unable to rein her in, Lester quit the show; his successor, Jack Leonard, could not keep it going for long. Dagmar had a short-lived 1952 series, "Dagmar's Canteen," in 1952, then worked occasionally on stage, including in Las Vegas. She was 79 when she died in 2001. Lester continued to work in stage and screen comedies until 1975 when, according to the New York Times, he stopped performing because he had Alzheimer's. He died in 1995 at the age of 85.</p><p> Do you have a question or comment for the mailbag? Write to the Akron Beacon Journal, 44 E. Exchange St., Akron, OH 44309 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com. Please mark the email or envelope with "mailbag." Letters may be edited for publication. Please do not phone in questions. Individual replies cannot be guaranteed.
Wedding Expo Doesn't Even Make It Through Its Honeymoon Before Divorce Expo Begins
, "We're putting a positive face on divorce, because although it's difficult and a big transition for most people, there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is a post-divorce life." Baras says she and her daughter were inspired to put on a New York expo after seeing a Start Over Smart expo in Paris. "We flew over to check it out," said Baras, "and fell in love." With the expo, not any strapping Frenchmen full of empty promises and stinky, stinky cheeses.Baras, who's been through a divorce of her own, says that though she and her daughter expect mostly women to attend the expo, she also encourages men to come on down to the Metropolitan Pavilion and soberly weigh their options. Amy Laurent, the ringleader of a matchmaking enterprise, said that events like Start Over Smart can be helpful to people who feel stigmatized by a divorce. "I'm telling them they do not have a scarlet letter D on their forehead," said Laurent. "It can feel that way - ‘Now I'm this divorced person.' The people they're dating don't see it that way. Lose that kind of insecurity before you even step back in."
How Zappos' Trendsetters Stay on Top of Their Content Game
That provides breakout opportunities for “up-and-coming” designers and original product lines for Zappos.Although content has always played a central role at Zappos, Callaway and Pace are working with the company’s veteran copywriting blogger, Hannah Espina, to fuel the Emerging Designers program with even more content and new distribution vehicles, such as the monthly Zappos ZN digital magazine .
The three trendsetters took some time recently to share a few thoughts with the Marketeer on their newest adventures in content, as well as some of their favorite media, entertainment, and other sources of inspiration.
Alison Callaway
“Including content as part of the Emerging Designer program is an important way to share the story behind the designer and the collection. If you view the individual landing pages for each designer [ here and here , for example], you will see photos, a bio, and a video of them, along with the product images. Having this content helps engage the customer and help them to see the person and the creative inspiration behind the line. It helps to tell the story behind the line and develop a personal connection with the designer.”