Jenny Jones (presenter)
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Jenny Jones (born Janina Stranski on June 7, 1946) is a Canadian-American talk show host who hosted The Jenny Jones Show from 1991 to 2002.
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[edit] Early life
Jones was born to Polish Roman Catholic parents in Bethlehem, British Mandate of Palestine. Her parents immigrated to London, Ontario, Canada, shortly after her birth.
In her teen years she learned to play drums and eventually went on world tour with all-girl bands like Marlene and the Swinging Dolls, who toured the Far East including Japan, Hong Kong, and Viet Nam circa 1968. In early 1969 played with some of the same female musicians at the Four Queens in Las Vegas, but left in the spring to work with comic Al Bello and his all-girl revue. She left Bello's act and went on to sing with Wayne Newton's backup chorus. She eventually moved to Los Angeles to hone her skills as a standup comic.
She appeared as a contestant on Match Game in 1981 and Press Your Luck in 1985. Fans of the latter show remember her for making a sarcastic remark when she hit "Pick A Corner" and had the option of choosing a Whammy (the show's villain who stole contestants' money) as opposed to $1500 + ONE SPIN or a Water Bike. In 1986, she was the first female comedian to win Star Search. Jones then became an opening performer for Sammy Davis Jr., Smokey Robinson, Kenny Loggins, and Engelbert Humperdinck.
She also fluently speaks Polish, which is her first language.
[edit] Talk show
In 1991 she became the host of her own daily TV talk show, The Jenny Jones Show. The show had many elements that are now considered daytime-talk cliches, such as paternity tests, sending out-of-control teens to bootcamp, and makeovers. Her show was noted for using rhyming show titles, such as "You May Shake it for Money, But Leave Those Sexy Clothes at the Club, Honey!" Jones rejected comparison to Jerry Springer, saying that her show was fun, and not exploitative.
During the show, Jones admitted she had breast implants and talked about how they created complications.
[edit] Controversy
On an episode called "Same-Sex Secret Crushes" taped on March 6, 1995, a gay man named Scott Amedure confessed his love for his car engineer, Jonathan Schmitz. Schmitz reacted with laughter while on the show, but became disturbed by the incident later. He had a history of mental illness and alcohol/drug abuse. Three days after the show's taping, Schmitz killed Amedure. Schmitz was later convicted of second degree murder and received 25-50 years in prison. The episode was never aired.
Amedure's family then sued the producers of The Jenny Jones Show saying they should have known about Schmitz's mental illness history. In interviews, Jones said her producers told Schmitz that his admirer could be a male, but Schmitz maintained they misled him into thinking it would be a woman. While under oath, Jones admitted that the show didn't want Schmitz to know that his admirer was a man. Amedure's family won the initial ruling and the show was ordered to pay them $25 million. The verdict was later overturned by the Michigan appellate court. The case is now studied in law school tort classes because of the legal significance of saying the show's producers were not responsible for guests' safety after they had left the studio.
The show's ratings declined in the years after the case and was cancelled in 2002.
[edit] Parodies
On the comedy sketch show MADtv, past member Mo Collins would often do skits in which she acted as Jenny Jones; poking fun at her high voice and chuckle.
[edit] Filmography and TV appearances
- Jenny Jones
- Match Game
- Wisecracks
- Man of the Year
- Press Your Luck
