Backstage at The Price Is Right: Memoirs of A Barker Beauty (5 page)

Chapter 7

The Meeting

A
month or so went by following Mr. Goodson’s backstage visit, but nothing had changed. The tension between Dian, Holly, and Janice continued to escalate. I felt compelled to try and do something to make peace around Studio 33.

One day, after the first show had ended
—
and before Barker could take his nap
—
I asked one of the producers, Roger Dobkowitz, for a private meeting with Barker to convey my deepest concerns about the ever-mounting pressure between the models. I could clearly see the damaging effect it was having on Dian’s mental and physical wellbeing. Barker had been aware of the backstage tension between the girls for some time and wasn’t surprised. However, he was taken aback that I
—
the newbie
—
took it upon myself to speak out and try to find a solution for peace. After my brief visit with Barker, he assured me that he would look further into the matter. Much to my surprise, he did pass my concerns on to Mr. Goodson, who was also aware of the tension between the models long before I’d come onto the scene. The following day, I received a phone call at home from one of Mr. Goodson’s assistants, asking me to please hold for Mr. Goodson. I was astonished by the phone call. He began by saying that he appreciated my candidness backstage regarding the ongoing problem between the other models. He then asked point blank, “What is really going on behind the scenes?”

I said without hesitation, “I feel Dian is being treated unjustly. I have witnessed the pettiness and little incidents where she has been snubbed or disrespected by the other two models in front of the crew and stagehands. At this point, it has become quite embarrassing for her. There is no place for this type of behavior in a working environment, and it should not be tolerated. If at all possible, we need to bring everyone together and try to find a solution for harmony.”

Mr. Goodson acknowledged my comments and said that he would see what he could do to try to remedy this ongoing problem. Little did I realize that when I was speaking with Mr. Goodson, he had just happened to be in Los Angeles. Based on my suggestion, he agreed to call the models together and have a meeting. The four Barker Beauties received formal letters from Mr. Goodson, requesting our presence at a meeting to be held on Sunday afternoon, July 7, 1991, in reference to the behavior between the models on the set. The gathering was to be held in his luxurious suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where he resided while in Los Angeles, away from his Upper Manhattan home in New York City.

The historic Beverly Hills Hotel, extremely tranquil and known for its private bungalows, is one of the most prestigious, affluent five-star hotels in the world. It is also known for hosting royalty, sports legends, and world leaders and for its central meeting spot for well-known film directors, writers, producers, and entertainment industry moguls. The hotel is a popular hangout for countless celebrities. Some of the most noteworthy moneymaking industry deals have been made at this regal hotel in the famous Polo Lounge.

No matter how many five-star hotels I’ve stayed in during my travels with The Love Machine, it was always a thrill to be invited to the Beverly Hills Hotel for any occasion. The drive up to this majestic hotel, surrounded by eighty-year-old palm trees and banana plants, was awe inspiring, and being greeted by the valet attendants as I stepped out of my car, and then taking the VIP stroll under a plush canopy onto the red carpet entrance into the luxurious lobby was very seductive.

As the Beauties filed into the hotel lobby, we were greeted by the concierge and personally escorted to Mr. Goodson’s suite, which was just a short distance from the lobby. When we were all in attendance, Mr. Goodson thanked us for coming. He commenced the meeting by stating, “It has come to my attention that there is a certain amount of tension and negativity going on behind the scenes between you ladies. For that reason, I felt it was necessary to call this meeting in order to address this subject right away and discuss how we could resolve any and all unwarranted issues related to this quandary.

You were invited here to my suite to make sure everyone feels comfortable and to take you outside of the studio surroundings, so you could talk candidly about any problems or issues that might be affecting your performance on the show and/or your personal lives as it might relate to the show.”

There was a moment of silence as we all sat in the room and looked around at each other, waiting for the first person to speak up and break the ice. I gathered my thoughts, cleared my throat, and said, “I would like to start by saying that I have always had a great respect for
The Price Is Right
and the models, and I feel extremely blessed and grateful to be a part of such an incredible institution. In fact, everyone has been more than kind, respectful, and helpful to me since I’ve been on the show. I didn’t notice or realize how distant Holly and Janice were from Dian until shortly after I started working on the show. However, it is becoming increasingly noticeable by everyone backstage that there is dissension and unrest between the girls, for what reasons, I am not sure. But it’s beginning to have an ill effect on everyone in front of and behind the scenes. I am personally beginning to feel uncomfortable with the residual effects from their feuding and rivalry.”

I could feel Holly and Janice glaring at me and probably thinking
What the hell is she talking about?

“What exactly makes you feel uncomfortable, Kathleen?” asked Mr. Goodson.

“Actually, just taking note of how Dian is being treated by the other models and the dramatic effect that it has on her. It isn’t cruel or blatant, but rather snarly and snippety, not necessarily from Janice, but mainly from Holly.”

Mr. Goodson asked Dian if she felt uncomfortable or mistreated by any of the models in any way while at work. Dian gave it a beat and stated, “I don’t know why Holly and Janice are distancing themselves from me and treating me like I’m invisible or like I have the plague, especially given our past history and the close relationship we’ve shared as best friends over the many years that we’ve worked together on the show.”

Dian continued, mentioning that when they had to work in proximity on a showcase, she could feel the tension and sense the hostility from Janice and/or Holly to the point where she was glad when they didn’t have to be in the same space anymore. She was aware of the sneers, the snide remarks, and the laughter behind her back, as well as the petty comments about how she flirted with all the stagehands and how she was Barker’s pet and could get away with anything.

Janice then spoke up in self-defense and insisted, “I have, in no way, said or done anything to make Dian feel uncomfortable on the show, and I don’t know what she is referring to in that respect. I have always maintained my professionalism during the rehearsals and especially during the taping of the shows, regardless of who I was working with.”

Once again, silence took over as we glanced at each other around the room. It was Holly’s turn to speak up. “Mr. Goodson, I would like to hear exactly what Dian is talking about. Have her give us an example of any mistreatment that we may have inflicted on her to cause her to feel like we have been picking on her or disrespecting her in front of everybody. Regardless of how I feel about Dian personally, I have also exhibited a level of professionalism while working with her, Janice, and Kathleen.”

As Holly glared at Dian, she continued to challenge her to say one thing
,
anything in particular that Holly may have said or done to her that would lead her to feel that she was antagonizing or belittling her. Of course, when you’re asked point-blank to be specific about a longtime, ongoing witch hunt, you feel like the proverbial cat’s got your tongue. Dian couldn’t come up with one specific incident as she looked at Holly and replied, “I feel slighted and ignored when I’ve tried to start a decent conversation with either you or Janice during rehearsal or if I needed to ask something about the showcase or items we were working on together. It’s like you don’t hear me or you just don’t want to talk to me.”

There was no love in the room, and things started to heat up a little as everyone went on the defense. At one point, we found ourselves talking over each other and voices were beginning to flare. “Ladies, ladies,” Mr. Goodson interrupted. “I understand that you have to work in close quarters with each other during a certain amount of time in the day. Yet, it is important that you maintain your professionalism at all times and treat each other respectfully. It’s no secret that there’s been some tension behind the scenes for some time now
,
and believe me, there are no secrets kept from me regarding the welfare of the show. I’m proposing that you all take what you’ve learned from this meeting and make it a point to work on your individual actions. Please, try to make any and all adjustments to eliminate the friction or undue tension while working on the set. Are there any further comments, suggestions, or remarks that anyone would like to make before we adjourn? If so, please say it now,” demanded Mr. Goodson.

It became dreadfully quiet as we glanced around the room at each other. We then nodded in agreement with Mr. Goodson’s suggestions and let the aura of silence linger. Mr. Goodson thanked us for coming and bid everyone a good day.

Dian and I remained behind in the suite, talking after Janice and Holly had left. Mr. Goodson offered us each a glass of champagne, and we accepted. We talked about life in general and touched on the subject of the backstage work environment that we had just discussed with Janice and Holly. I think the second glass of bubbly may have gotten to Dian
because
as we sat and talked a little longer
,
she began to sniffle. She expressed her sentiments of disenchantment with the other models and how she was being snubbed. She fondly reminisced on how they used to hang out together and shared the best of times
—
the parties at the Playboy mansion, the Beverly Hills exclusive nightclubs, the private dinner parties, Barker taking his Beauties out, and the close-knit family gatherings. It seemed like it all hadn’t been so long ago. I could feel her hurt and frustration as she openly sobbed. What happened? What made her longtime allies and best friends distance themselves? I had heard too many conflicting stories of several defining moments that set their relationships apart from the backstage grapevine for me to make a definitive conclusion. I would later understand that sometimes, when you’re around someone long enough and their true colors start to show, you realize that you just don’t care for that person anymore and prefer not to include them in your inner circle.

Mr. Goodson said encouragingly, “Dian be patient
.
Hang in there, and keep your chin up.”

I embraced Dian and said, “Come on
,
after today, things are bound to get better on the set. Don’t rack your brain or beat yourself up, worrying about what went wrong or what you did to cause conflict with Janice or Holly.”

She dried her eyes and went into the bathroom to freshen up before we left Mr. Goodson’s suite. On our way out, we decided to go to the world-famous Polo Lounge right there in the hotel to see what mischief we could get into just for the fun of it. We sashayed in and went straight to the bar. Lo and behold, the dynamic salt & pepper duo had half the lounge patrons and servers gazing with amusement. We never paid for one drink. One of Dian’s old pals and his associates invited us to a late lunch. For the short period of time that we were there hanging out
,
we all had a blast. All of the encumbrances of the world and the
TPIR
drama had temporarily drifted away.

Chapter 8

Cat Fights

W
e were back to work on Monday, the day after the meeting with Mr. Goodson. We had only that night to sleep on what had transpired the day before and reflect on what Mr. Goodson had strongly suggested. What would happen when the rehearsals began and the cameras started rolling? It was bound to be another enlivening day at Studio 33 for the Barker Beauties. It would be interesting to see who got the message and who didn’t.

Everything appeared normal, with all of the Beauties doing their parts to make the show successful and with the typical excitement and enthusiasm during the actual show taping. I prayed that we could make it work and that there would be less tension on the set, allowing everyone to give their best performances.

At the end of the day, not much had changed, yet we all felt a little better that things were more out in the open. Dian was able to cope with the situation a little easier, and she appeared to be less stressed
,
which enabled her to deal with and accept the one thing that she could not change
:
Holly and Janice’s dislike for her.

There were times when we were on stage and Holly would intentionally move away from Dian or ask me if I would trade items with her during the showcase, so she wouldn’t have to interact or stand too close to Dian. I was essentially being used as a human shield to separate bodies and the negative vibes. Holly expressed to me that she thought Dian was evil, manipulative, wicked, and related to the Antichrist. She said that, over the years, Dian had proven to be a pathological liar
—
someone not to be trusted. I had never thought of Dian in that way. Was Holly exaggerating, or was I just too blind to see?

Occasionally, Holly’s personality would remind me of my daughter Cheyenne’s
—
they are both Virgos and, coincidentally, share the same birth date
,
August 24
th
. They both possess a restless quality that can lead them to become hypercritical or over analytical
,
and they can be their own worst enemies. Either they are as sweet and loving as angels or as mean and cantankerous as the devil.

I sensed that Holly and Janice disapproved of the extremely close relationship and fondness that Dian and Barker had developed over the years. Not that they were jealous
, but
perhaps resentful or annoyed by Dian’s devious tactics to undermine them by telling Barker that they were treating her badly. No doubt, sleeping with the boss gave Dian an advantage, as there was no question about which Beauty was Barker’s favorite.

Barker tried numerous times to get Dian, Holly, and Janice to make peace and put the feuding behind them, but without success. The locations of their dressing rooms were rearranged so they would be as far apart as possible, so they wouldn’t have to come in contact with each other until rehearsals or show time. I somehow found myself caught up in the middle, something I had tried to avoid from the moment I’d found out about the feud. Janice was always such a lady and the consummate professional. You’d never have a clue that her innermost contempt or ill feelings toward Dian ran long and deep.

While Holly made it perfectly clear why she hated Dian, Janice’s reasons were very different. I had gone on long enough, listening to Dian’s grievances and complaints about being the victim and thinking that Janice was just being petty. I needed to hear the story from the other side. Dian led me to believe that Janice had become jealous of the close relationship she had established over the years with Janice’s sister Ann. However, that was not the case as told to me by Holly. Holly wouldn’t elaborate, but she admitted that Dian had caused a lot of dissension between Janice, her brother Warren, and sister Ann. She said that Dian had single-handedly broken up Janice’s family with all of her lies and deception.

Everyone always appeared the perfect picture of friendliness and professionalism on camera
—
until one day… Dian and I needed a room downstairs closer to the stage, where we could make a quick wardrobe change between the showcases. Since our dressing rooms were upstairs, we couldn’t chance running up and down the stairs in record time in order to achieve this feat. Sherrell suggested we change in the makeup room. The makeup room was quite small and was adjacent to Janice’s dressing room. As a matter of fact, you had to go through the makeup room to get to Janice’s dressing room. Dian and I proceeded to change and realized that the makeup room wasn’t cutting it, so I suggested we go into Janice’s room for more space while she was on stage. Dian appeared slightly hesitant, but followed me in
.
Little did I know what was about to happen. When Janice returned to her dressing room and saw Dian and me, she went berserk, not because I was in there, but because Dian had intruded her private space
and
this was forbidden from her archenemy. Janice went medieval on Dian’s ass. She became extremely loud and abrasive, as her voice echoed throughout the entire backstage area.

I must admit, I was a little shaken up and surprised when Janice lit into Dian. I had never heard such contempt and foul language come from the lovely, beautiful, fun-loving, and nurturing Janice. It seemed as though time stood still for a brief moment, as we both grabbed our garments and stumbled out of Janice’s dressing room, while still changing. We damn near fell on top of each other, trying to get the hell out of that room in one piece. Half the crew came running to the area to see what the heck was going on. By that time, we were running toward the stage for the end of the showcase scene. I could see the embarrassment and shock on Dian’s face as we both tried to perform and act natural as though nothing had happened. Dian remained utterly speechless.

By no means did I frown upon Janice or judge her with any negative feelings after her outburst. I had crossed that line myself many times when I had become outraged. The tabloids got wind of this incident and blew it
way
out of proportion, stating, “
Price Is Right
gals slug it out on set, and it took three hefty stagehands to pull Dian and Janice apart.” Contrary to what the tabloids would have you believe, there was absolutely no physical contact made during this incident.

After it was all said and done, Janice apologized to me for her behavior and said that it was in no way directed toward me. I took total responsibility and blame for the incident. I, in turn, apologized to Janice and told her that I was unaware that she did not want nor would allow Dian in her dressing room under any circumstances. I now understood why Dian was hesitant about going into Janice’s dressing room. She was fully aware that there would be consequences from just stepping foot into Janice’s private space
,
but none as harsh as this.

Barker was on stage when the incident took place and was unaware of any disturbance until he was informed after the show. He summoned all four of his Beauties into his dressing room to find out what the ruckus was about. Everyone involved in the episode was given the opportunity to state her case one at a time. Holly remained silent, as she was usually the one on the hot seat for causing Dian distress and unnecessary drama
;
nevertheless, it was Janice’s turn. There was a lot of tension in Barker’s dressing room, and I felt a little uncomfortable. Tempers began to flare between Dian and Janice as they were both trying to make their points at the same time. When it came time for me to give my side of the story, I admitted that it was my idea to make the quick change in Janice’s dressing room rather than inside the cramped quarters of the makeup room, and I apologized to everyone
—
once again.

As much as Barker tried to be diplomatic, careful not to seemingly give in to Dian’s side of the story as the sympathetic victim too soon, he chastised Janice for not using more restraint and advised her to be a little more understanding due to the circumstances, because Dian’s actions were not premeditated, nor did she have ill intent. Even though Holly had nothing to do with it, he gave her a warning as well. Barker ended the meeting by saying, “Ladies, we cannot afford to continue to have this kind of discord behind the scenes on this show. Please, try to work out your differences and make peace.”

After that episode, the tension on the set worsened. That was just one of many incidents that took place that would ultimately send Dian over the edge and prompt her to prepare her “exit stage right” strategy.