20060623 KDDC Connie Chung and the last laugh

Connie Chung - Thanks For The Memories Sassy Cabaret Number

June 23, 2006

If you have not seen the video of Connie Chung doing a little cabaret number to commemorate the canceling of her MSNBS show, Weekends with Connie and Maury, then you do not know what you are missing. It has quickly become a cult-classic. You can see it here, on You Tube.

Remember when she was in Westminster to do a show on heroin?

For those who need a little perspective and background information, TV Guide has an explanation, which I have pasted below:

Connie's Last Laugh

Her MSNBC swan song's become a huge online hit

If you haven't seen Connie Chung's swan song on her MSNBC show Weekends with Connie and Maury, you're one of the few. Her parody of "Thanks for the Memory" — warbled off-key while she writhed on top of a piano in a slinky gown — has become the watercooler video clip of the moment. The segment racked up thousands of views on YouTube.com and was dissected on Today and the cable news channels. The Biz spoke with Chung, who left for a family vacation before she became a singing sensation, to discuss this surprise phenomenon. We can report that the veteran newswoman is having more than a few laughs over all the attention.

TVGuide.com: Clearly doing the song was a joke. You've done stuff like this before. But did you realize it would get into the echo chamber like this and get played over and over again?
Connie Chung: No. I obviously am not attuned to the new media. It's on a little cable program. I never imagined. If the critics don't watch out, it's going to spur me on.

TVGuide.com: Spur you on to more singing?
Chung: Absolutely.

TVGuide.com: Have there been any offers for a recording contract?
Chung: I'm waiting for a Broadway producer to call, and darn if that phone hasn't rung.

TVGuide.com: Seriously, you'd be a viable choice for another job in TV news again. Do you think this would hurt your chances?
Chung: Not one whit.

TVGuide.com: Why not?
Chung: Because today's television news is ridiculous. For the first time in my life I fit.

TVGuide.com: Some people are saying you should have done this on the first show; maybe Weekends with Connie and Maury would still be on the air if you had.

Chung: I'm kicking myself for not singing on the first show. I threatened [husband and cohost Maury Povich] with singing on the first show, and he was so adamantly against it because it embarrasses him to no end — and that's what thrills me so much.

TVGuide.com: How could he be embarrassed when he saw you in that dress?
Chung: Exactly, I rest my case.

TVGuide.com: How does it feel to be the cause of this national laugh?
Chung: We all need a good laugh. If all of us took ourselves as seriously as most anchors do — the ones whose heads you can't fit into Madison Square Garden — it would be a sad, sad country.

TVGuide.com: You've been traveling since the show aired. How's the public reaction been?
Chung: We were in Montana with our favorite family that goes on vacation with us. Yesterday we left the kids at home and the adults came to Las Vegas, and one of the dealers at the gambling table said, "I saw your song; it was great." He was carrying on and on about it. Everywhere I've gone, the cashiers — they've all seen it. 'Fraid so.

TVGuide.com: But no regrets.
Chung: Oh, heavens no. I've been doing this for years.

TVGuide.com: What did Maury say after he saw your performance?
Chung: Maury is sufficiently mortified, but he understands the whole gig. He can't stop me, anyway.

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