Whatever Happened To...?

Do you ever do that? Wonder whatever happened to someone you haven't heard of in a long time? I'm talking about people like Christopher Lowell or Lynette Jennings. Both of them had shows on the Discovery Channel before there was such a thing as HGTV.

I always seemed to learn a lot from Lynette. Like how to use a tennis ball as a curtain rod finial. It sounds stupid, but it was actually kind of cool for its time. Her show was also where I first heard of using brown paper bags and tissue paper in wall treatments. Okay, maybe those were not so great ideas. Still, I wonder where she is and what she's doing now.

Christopher was over the top. In fact, his background was in designing theater sets as opposed to strictly interior design. He could faux marble like nobody's business. In fact, fauxing almost anything seemed to be one of his strengths. He could faux PVC pipe to look like bamboo and cardboard to look like stone. I liked how he cheered us on with his "You can do it" mantra -- kind of like Richard Simmons for amateur decorators.

If you go way back, you may remember Susan Crenshaw.
She also had a decorating show on the Discovery Channel. After that show, she went on to host "This Small Space," one of the better shows on HGTV. Gosh, that show's probably been off the air since the end of the 20th century. I think she was originally from Texas, though the small space show was produced in Canada. Now I'm not only wondering whatever happened to her but how a girl from Texas ended up Canada.

Susan Powell, the former Miss America, also hosted a decorating and home show on the Discovery Channel.
I still remember when she won Miss America. I liked her because she was from Elk City, OK. Forget New York. If a girl from Elk City could make it to Miss America, she could definitely make it anywhere. If you've ever been to Elk City, you'd know what I mean.

Chris McWatt was kind of a supporting host during the latter years of Susan's show. He seemed to get the "on the road" gigs where he'd visit different cities and try different food. He probably did more than that, but I mostly remember that he would eat. A lot. He went on to host "Weekend Warriors" on HGTV. That show's been gone quite a few years, so now we can wonder whatever happened to him.

So who do you wonder about? If there are lots of responses that have to do with just decorating, maybe we can do a little series and eventually include actors and singers. I'm lame and wonder where a lot of those folks are these days.