The Busy Woman
I couldn’t help but notice that the only comment to my blog on Tuesday was from someone who expressed her preference to hear from Marie, not me. Well, I assure you that Marie will be back on these pages soon but, as you know, she’s just n the middle of the third week of her new show in Las Vegas with brother Donny. She’ll be back, I promise.
That Las Vegas show, by the way, is selling out like crazy. The Flamingo Hilton just extended the run by six months. “Donny & Marie” ranks 5th or 6th in ticket sales for all of Las Vegas which, as you know, is a show heavy town with lots of major talent, not to mention the successful Cirque shows like “O.”
Once again this speaks to the incredible popularity that Marie has enjoyed for over 40 years. And she stays highly visible through her active involvement in a number of high profile activities. This past Spring she co-hosted both the “Miss USA Pageant” and “America’s Favorite Mom” for NBC. She toured much of Europe and Asia celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Osmond Family as entertainers. She continues her work as a spokesperson for both the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” and Nutrisystems while still making time for her other passions like her love of dolls (she’s sold over $350 million dollars worth on QVC) and The Children’s Miracle Network, a charitable organization that she founded with her mother for which she has raised almost $4 billion dollars. All of that as a working, single mom with 8 children.
I can’t understate the value of all of that as an asset to stations as we move toward a fall 2009 launch. It’s the kind of publicity that money can’t really buy. Add to that her off-the-charts popularity and you start to see how Marie is so well suited to win in such a fragmented, decimalized marketplace. I mean, you know what they say…..if you want to get something done - like creating the next dominant talk show in syndication - you ask a busy person!
Ritch Colbert
Program Partners
Marisha commented:
Sue's not mean,Just very realistic and she is a hellava lot smarter than some of you. ( Alot of you I believe are in the closet when it comes to Marie, so defensive when it comes to her and you speak so lovingly of her) and you believe in someone who has changed so drastically in the last year just because of some stupid dance show where she only placed 3rd, not first! The guy who placed first has remained sweet, so there was no need for her turning into a DIVA! I was also told that Marie is upset because she has to pay alimony to her EX. My question is: What Idiot doesn't get a PRENUP when they are a celebrity? And don't tell Sue where to go, but if you want, I can tell you where to go.
Nanlyn48 commented:
Sue, You need to go somewhere else. Your too Mean spirited
Barbara Wright commented:
Well, I like to be update so thanks RICH!
Looking forward to Marie's letter as well.
Love those OSMONDS!
Maya commented:
Sue - Unless I'm mistaken, I believe Ritch is the person syndicating/producing the show. So, without Ritch, there would not be a talk show and there would not be a blog (since his company seems to sponsor it for her). We should be giving Ritch a big thanks!
Kristin Marie commented:
Where is this new talk show taking place? Is it in LA or Utah?
Thanks for the update, Ritch!
Looking forward to Marie's next post
Glad she's having fun in Vegas with her brother, Donny
Sue commented:
Just out of curiousity, Who's Ritch Colbert? And why was he picked to write Marie's column? No offense, but Marie should try to get Lisa Hatch to come back and write this column, noone knows Marie like Lisa. Marie, get Lisa back! Lisa took such good care of you and wrote fantastic blogs!
Maya commented:
Hi Ritch,
Thanks for the update. I just read your previous post, too. (the print on that post is reealllly small, though, for some reason - different than the other posts). Anyway, I think the likeability survey you mentioned is interesting. I've never met anyone who didn't like Marie, even if they're not into her music (or dancing).
One thing - this blog doesn't seem to show up on my news/blog aggregator. So, some folks might not know about it, meaning fewer comments. When Marie posts, her website/forums, etc. publish a link. I just happened to check to see if there had been an update.
Finally, I hope the crowded talk show environment isn't causing problems for the show. Do you know when you might announce some stations? Or is it too early?
Thanks!
