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C.J. is the Star Tribune's gossip maven. Her column appears in the Metro section on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Call 612-332-TIPS with your comments and celebrity sightings. E-mail? Forget about it.

Last update: January 7, 2003 at 3:19 PM

C.J.: Sad last day for WCCO-TV anchor

C.J.,  Star Tribune
January 7, 2003 CJ07
 
 

Insiders say that Bill Carlson's last day anchoring the noon news was another low for WCCO-TV management's employee relations. Carlson, who refused to comment, will continue to provide entertainment segments for 'CCO, at least for a while. A 53-year employee of WCCO, 37 of them as noon anchor, Carlson did his final show Dec. 13. Coming to the station to watch the milestone were his wife, Nancy Nelson, a former WCCOer who has become much more famous as an infomercial pitcher, daughter Susan and grandchildren Sarah, 11, and Megan, 6. The emotional setting became painful when a mini-drama erupted over what he would be allowed to say in his goodbye. Bill told news director Maria Reitan that he didn't want anything special done for his last newscast, just the last 60 seconds to say goodbye to viewers. Carlson wrote something like, I have been asked to step aside to make room for a new face. It's true. Andy Dominianni, from Charlotte, N.C., was hired to take over the noon show. But apparently Maria Callous didn't want that said. Carlson also wanted to say, I'll still be here, at least for a while, doing entertainment reporting. Reitan reportedly excised the phrase between the commas. Watching Carlson fight back tears during this editing session caused Nelson to tear up, too, she told me Thursday. "My husband is a man of such integrity and decency that it was painful to watch him be treated so unkindly and with such disrespect," Nelson said. "Having said that, we are grateful for all of the blessings we've received through WCCO-TV and will be just fine. We have each other." As kind as she is lovely, Nelson insists on seeing the bright side. "WCCO has given us a wonderful life. We've met people and gone places and done things and took [Susan] backstage of everything when she was a kid and now take our grandkids. I don't have, and Bill doesn't either, any anger. I'm disappointed and saddened. I feel sorry for the people there. I feel sorry for people who don't see a future that is big enough to understand the enormous impact their actions have on the lives of people." Reitan's mouthpiece, Bronwyn Schaefer Pope, said she was around for Carlson's last noon read and saw no drama. "I didn't see any of those family here," said BSP. "I was down and around. As far as I'm concerned, his last day went very well."

Castaway party

On Sunday more than 100 friends and colleagues turned out for a surprise party for Bill Carlson, who thought his wife was just throwing a Happy New Year Open House. Colleagues shared memories of Carlson, but the party also became a celebration for others whose ties with WCCO have been cut or strained. "We included the [engineers] and tried to honor them, too, for 30-plus years of service," said his wife, Nancy Nelson. "Nobody acknowledges [engineers], because they are not in front of the camera. It's been pretty sad for them." Chris Grote, the former morning meteorologist, also was present. Nelson said Grote was so pained by his departure from WCCO that he wasn't returning calls.

Dignity returns

Gov.-elect Tim Pawlenty was seen at Lilydale's Pool & Yacht Club on New Year's Eve about 8:30 p.m., I'm told by someone who saw him leave about 8:45, carrying a yacht club teddy bear. Just when we thought he was going to be a sensible rock 'n' roll guv, Pawlenty personifies the compassionate conservative. It is going to be wonderful having mature adults as governor and First Lady.

Minnesota Melissa?

There's a Minnesotan on Fox's new unreality show "Joe Millionaire." Melissa Mowery is probably her name, Minneapolis marketing employee Amanda Alexander tells me. "Yet another cheesy reality TV show," said Alexander, "and now I am sucked in to watching for having a weak connection to someone who went to my high school. Pathetic, I know." Mowery is a 1996 grad of RaCoon Rapids High, the high school confirmed Monday. Paula Weakly, a Brooklyn Park insurance claims rep, met the "Millionaire" contestant, who reportedly goes by Mel, at a December party at the Elk River Country Club. She didn't completely believe Mel's tale of her TV show until she saw the commercial. "She's in the commercial. She's got dark, curly hair. She's very cute. In the commercial they've got her like winking, and they make this ca-ching noise. It's really mean, but she laughed about it. I wonder if she's going to be laughing when she sees the show. It's all going to be edited to make these girls look terrible." This show features women willing to parade around on TV to land a man; whoever called it "Jackass for Women" was right on. And isn't Fox taking the formula to another low, passing off a Yeah Baby! of a construction worker as a multimillionaire? "Well, all those programs, 'Bachelor' and all of that, deceive people anyway. It's all in the editing," Weakly said. Mel didn't share details, only telling Paula what we all know, that it was shot in France. "I said [to Mel], 'Isn't this poor man going to get his feelings hurt if it turns out they are only in it for the money? He could really get hurt by this.' She made a face." The memory caused this wonderful laugh to pour out of Weakly for a few seconds. "I think the face indicated to me that this poor man wasn't going to be hurt by too much."

-- C.J. is at 612-332-TIPS or at cj@startribune.com, where she never opens attachments. So don't even try.

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