Introducing an Astronaut

Introducing an astronaut for most of us is a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity, and I wanted to do it well.  So I researched Eileen Collins and wrote her an introduction that her husband proofed for me the morning of the event. I'm happy to report it was a success!

Colonel Eileen Collins was the first female pilot and commander of a U.S. Space Shuttle (Space Transportation System) and was in 1990, only the second female to become a U.S. astronaut.

Eileen was in Las Vegas to do a Keynote Presentation, "Breaking Barriers to Become a Successful Pioneer in your Field," as part of the National Pawnbrokers Association's annual event.

Eileen Collins and I , Mirage Hotel,Las Vegas 7/11/17

Eileen piloted the Columbia in 1995 and commanded the Discovery Space Shuttle in 2005. So while raising her children she was also piloting space shuttles...now that's a REAL life Wonder Woman! She's been married for 30 years to her husband Pat Youngs, (an International Airline Pilot), and is the mother of two children.

I can write about how many missions Colonel Collins commanded or how many awards and commendations she's received but I'd rather talk about her, the person.

Eileen Collins, first female Space Shuttle Pilot

It's hard for any mother to leave her family and travel for work, but it takes an especially brave one to leave her husband and children on planet Earth and head into space, not once but four times, (logging a total of 38 days in space).

Colonel Collins last two missions were her most well known.  Her team delivered the Chandra X-Ray Telescope to space in 1999. The last mission she commanded was her crew's return to space on Discovery in 2005, (this was only two years after the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia accident that took the lives of the seven astronauts on board). During the 2005 mission she piloted an unprecedented 360 degree pitch maneuver so the International Space Station could identify any damage to the shuttle Discovery after it's launch into space. In other words she flipped the Space Shuttle!

Eileen Collins retired from her position as a NASA astronaut in 2006.

Watching Eileen speak and answer questions from the audience it was clear to me that her favorite subject to talk about is space flight and the future of humans in space. I asked her what she missed most about being an astronaut and she said seeing the planet Earth from space, the camaraderie of the crew, and the weightlessness of zero gravity. The only thing she doesn't miss is that she had to be away from her family, and that's the only thing she could think of, she said.  Eileen told me before her presentation that she hoped nobody would ask her about aliens during the Q & A because that is her least favorite subject to be questioned about.

When asked about what it feels like to launch into space Eileen said, "Imagine seat belting yourself into your car, turning it back on it's wheels at a 90 degree angle and applying 600 lbs of pressure," that's what it feels like to launch into space!

Eileen Collins was not born into a family of privilege, in fact the opposite. She spent her first two years in community college before graduating with a B.A. from Syracuse University in 1978 and later the Air Force Academy. To me that's one of the most important pieces of her history, that she started in community college as her route to becoming an astronaut. We need more examples like her to encourage others that the path to success can be non traditional.

The NASA space shuttle program born in 1972, ended in 2011.

Video Link:

Eileen Collins Final Mission: Space Shuttle Discovery Launch & Landing 2005

Special thanks to Eileen Collins, Sheree Wilson, Jaki Baskow, Dana Meinecke and Robbie Ellis.

A Day in the Life of a Rehearsal Actress and Stand In

As a performer I've played victims, survivors, thieves, reporters, and many more roles as well as live hosting and Emcee work for conventions.

However I have a parallel career that I am often asked about, which mostly includes accepting awards! I have accepted and presented many awards over the past several years. This includes Billboard Music Awards, The Emmys, and many more. It’s my job to accept and also present awards because I am a professional rehearsal actress and stand in for Dick Clark Productions, ABC, NBC, Vh-1 and others.

Since I appreciate that people are curious about what we stand ins do, I thought I'd take a few minutes to explain it in my blog. Everything you see on an awards show has been rehearsed several times and for several days. This is to prevent mistakes like the one that happened at last year's Oscars from happening more often! Because most of them are live shows they’re timed not only to the minute but also to the second, to make sure everything flows smoothly including all of the commercials, sponsor bumps, social media plugs and teasers.

The celebrities performing and presenting the awards are touring or working on other projects and are only there for mostly just dress rehearsals (and not even always then) so their spots need to be covered and that’s where people like myself come in.

You never know what you’re going to be called on to do. So whether it be to present an award, accept an award, dance, play an instrument, (or pretend to), sometimes even sing for an artist, a rehearsal actor has to be able to jump in and just do it. A lot of money is being spent because most rehearsals are taped so the full crew is there, so we can't be shy or unable to do what is asked of us. Especially because we're working for the best directors and crew in the business who expect professional talent. 

My first show as a rehearsal actress/stand in was several years ago for the 2001 Billboard Music Awards. Back then I had recently graduated from the Stella Adler Academy of Acting.  For that job I accepted an award for Britney Spears and presented other awards as actress Jaime Pressley and Mandy Moore. By the way you don't have to look like someone to stand in for them. If it's a situation where they need a body double that's a different job altogether and you do need to be able to look like the person you are doubling for. After that more work followed on shows such as The Academy of Country Music Awards, (standing in for then host Reba McEntire), the Daytime Emmys, the NHL Awards, and concert specials like A Tribute to Lionel Richie, (standing in for Nicole Richie) and ACM Girls Night out, Superstar Women of Country where I stood in for Carrie Underwood.

Me, Carrie Underwood (2014)

Speaking of Carrie Underwood she is by far the person I've stood in for the most over the years. It started shortly after she won American Idol and performed for the first time on the Academy of Country Music Awards. Twelve years later I'm still standing in for her on various shows and have watched her star rise, (deservedly so)!

One of my favorite memories was of working Vh-1 Divas where that particular year there was a medley with Stevie Wonder and each of the "divas" on the special. Each singer sang a short version of one of his songs with him. I had to go on for Shania Twain during dress rehearsal because her helicopter had not yet landed. So someone handed me her mic and I sang "Superstition" with Stevie Wonder! Although as stand ins we don't have the chance to sing very often it's awesome (but nerve racking) when we do!

In 2015 I got the chance to sing "New York New York" for Lady Gaga when she was rehearsing her choreography for Sinatra 100: An All Star Grammy Concert. I was accompanied by the ShowStoppers Orchestra and dancers. Also I enjoyed singing "Beautiful" at rehearsal in place of Christina Aguilera for the 2009 CNN Heroes Awards show. That was an amazing experience as she had an even bigger orchestra and for three minutes it was all mine!

Being a rehearsal actress means we get to accept awards before the artists ever do. For example I accepted "Entertainer of the Year" for Taylor Swift the first time she won at the ACM Awards. When I accepted an award as Madonna for "Top Touring Artist" for the Billboard Music Awards it required the longest acceptance speech I've ever had to improvise. When it comes to acceptance speeches we are sometimes asked to be very specific and other times to be completely vague, it just depends on the show and who's watching. 

Sometimes I have to do really unusual things like lighting an award winner's card on fire during a magic trick rehearsal with David Copperfield. In the past I have also enjoyed several years of pageant work as Rehearsal Host for each of the big three several times...Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss America. I wrote about that in a blog article back in 2013, "What is a Rehearsal Host."

Karen, Anna, Billboards 2013

The last time I ever saw Prince was introducing him with my sister Karen Wendt at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards dress rehearsal. He was at the show to accept the Icon Award. Fortunately I have worked with my sister Karen many times over the past several years as she is in the same profession. There is a small group of us who do the shows together every year and we're like a stand in family. Most of us have known each other and the crew a long time. 

Stand ins are also used for TV and film. I've stood in for Jenny  McCarthy for a TV pilot (that wasn't picked up), Isla Fisher for Now You See Me, and Cheryl Ladd when she played James Caan's wife in the series Las Vegas.

Standing in for Lara Spencer, The Oscars 2017

The Red Carpet shows have become more popular than ever and some are now shown as pre-shows just before the big event. For the 2016 and 2017 Oscars I've been Lara Spencer's stand in as a red carpet rehearsal host for Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live from the Red Carpet. 

Being a rehearsal actress has helped me when I audition for other acting jobs because I'm used to jumping in and doing something without worrying about nerves. Working so many awards shows has also kept me current on music, TV and film. 

Here is a video the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences recently made about us rehearsal actors/stand ins where they interviewed the 2016 Oscar stand ins who did a great job explaining what it is we all do!

YouTube Link:

For This Rehearsal Only: The Life of a Stand In at the Oscars

How We Found A Missing Person

We saw her just as we were about to walk to our car.

It was around midnight on March 18, 2015 on busy Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. My sister Julie and I had just eaten a late night dinner and were going to head home. We were surprised to see the band Zowie Bowie playing on the 3rd Street Stage, so we stayed to watch them do their last set.

As we were dancing with about 200 other people I looked to my left and saw a woman alone. She was short and a little slow on her feet but smiling and attempting to dance a little. I kept my eye on her because she seemed older than the crowd and perhaps mentally challenged. She had approached a few young guys and was watching them and tried to dance with them a bit. They seemed like they were kind to her and let her hang with them so all seemed ok. My sister Julie was watching the whole scene too. At that point though we looked away and when I looked back a couple minutes later they were all out of my range of sight so I forgot about it.

The next morning I was reading my daily newspaper, the Las Vegas Review Journal, (yes I still read the actual newspaper every day). I noticed a small article along the left side of one of the pages. It was a short paragraph about a local missing woman. There was no photo but the description said she was short and about 60 years old, mentally disabled (could not read or write), and a diabetic. She had been wearing blue and tan clothing and was missing for eight days now. She lived with her sister who was looking for her. This woman had gotten on a bus during the previous week, (on Wednesday March 12) , and hadn't been seen since.

The realization came over me that this may be the same woman we had seen the night before!

So when my sister Julie, (who was visiting from Minnesota) woke up, I told her I had a very important question. I asked if she remembered seeing a woman last night and I described her. She said, "Yes, near the D Casino watching the band. She was wearing light blue and tan clothing."

After this I pretty much knew it was her, but it seemed so unlikely that she'd been missing for a week and we were the ones who accidentally found her. But it was possible so I called the number in the article. It was the North Las Vegas Police station.  I asked one question, "The lady who is missing that you mentioned in the paper this morning, is she African American?" The woman who answered said yes. I said, "We saw her, my sister and I, last night just after midnight on Fremont Street." Then I gave her the details and was transferred to another person who I told everything to, who then transferred me to a voice mail for Detective Sherry Bishop. I repeated to her voice mail what I knew.

A few days later I got a call from the same Detective Bishop to thank me for our help and let me know Audrey was safe at home. She had been found sleeping in a church near where we last saw her, shortly after our call on March 19!!  

My friend Lori Hall of Red Rock Search and Rescue later told me that what we'd experienced is what they call a "confirmed sighting," and that law enforcement takes this seriously and acts on it immediately. I'm so glad they do and that in this case they did because they helped two sisters reunite, and it made my sister Julie and I very happy that we'd been a part of it all.

Audrey Pamela Thrash

Many times you hear of people who were missing (sometimes abducted) and they say they were out in public many times but nobody noticed them, or maybe they did and didn't know they were a missing person. What should you do if you see someone who may be in this situation and might need help? I know that every missing person doesn't necessarily want to be found, but I have to go with the belief that the majority do.

Here are the websites you can go to to see if someone is listed as a missing person.

National Missing & Unidentified Persons System

www.namus.gov

FBI Missing and Kidnapped Persons website (This is not for most wanted, we are not looking for criminals here).

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

www.missingkids.com

Someone is Missing website

www.someoneismissing.com

Missing Persons of America

www.missingpersonsofamerica.com

Las Vegas Golden Knights!...It's time to pick our team

We've finally done it...Las Vegas now has a major league professional sports team! 

The Las Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL's 31st Franchise, will announce their team roster as part of the 2017 NHL Awards. It all airs live from the T-Mobile Arena here in Las Vegas on June 21 at 4:30PM PT/7:30PM ET on NBCSN.

Here's how it works...

The Golden Knights get to select 30 players, one from each NHL team. Although some NHL players are protected, (as allowed by the league) there are plenty available to choose from. The Golden Knights must choose 14 forwards, nine defensemen and four goaltenders in the expansion draft. The deadline to turn in their roster to the NHL is at 7am on June 21. The remaining will be chosen as part of the regular NHL Draft.

During the time between the protected list having been made available to the Golden Knights, (which was on Sunday), and the end of the day today, other NHL teams cannot trade with each other, only with the Golden Knights.

After that the first round of the regular NHL Draft will begin on June 23.

By the way, the last time new teams were added to the National Hockey League was the simultaneous creation of both the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2000.

Hosting the NHL Awards honoring the top players of 2016-2017 season will be Joe Manganiello. Co-hosts are Kathryn Tappen and Daren Millard.

Kathryn, (pictured), is a host and reporter for NBC Sports Group, and the one I'm standing in for in rehearsals as Expansion Draft Host.

The other co-host, Daren Millard is a Canadian sportscaster for Sportsnet.

Link to NHL Awards

Link to NHL Draft

Hollywood Underdog is back!

My hiatus is over!

Creativity is not something that can always be scheduled and corralled-- it doesn't exist in that realm, at least not for me. It can be forced out at times (when it has to), but not consistently disbursed indefinitely.

I tried to do this a little too much for a little too long and the result was I ran myself down. So back in late 2015 I decided to put my health and personal life first and some other projects were left to simmer on the back burner, like this blog.

In this country we are obsessed with productivity, activity, and success. However there are areas that to me are more important now, and those are love, spirituality and physical/mental well being. Now that I have all of that back, I'm more excited for the future than ever!

Thank you for subscribing and I hope you will enjoy the new Hollywood Underdog, a combination of Blog and Vlog, as I look forward to sharing my experiences, thoughts...and much more with you!