Is Jen X now Jen Ex? That's what show-biz observers were wondering after the once phenomenally hot MTV star was consigned by NBC to the chilly land of dead sitcoms in 1998. The former Playboy Playmate of the Year had approached household-name status during her 1995 to 1997 run as the wacky, bombshell host of Singled Out, MTV's raucous send-up of the Dating Game. Whether whacking male contestants with a rubber mallet or convulsing the audience with her scatological goofiness, McCarthy became the biggest game-show sensation since Vanna White flipped her first letter on Wheel of Fortune. McCarthy was a merging of beautiful youth and total uncouth: a babe who got laughs by sniffing her armpits. In July '96 alone she appeared on the covers of Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Playboy and YM. Entertainment Weekly, meanwhile, named her the "It Girl" of the summer. Wherever you looked, you were sure to see McCarthy's lovely mug making a face at you.
Then came the big gamble: leaving Singled Out in 1997 to try to make the jump to a career as a comedic actress. Everything looked as bright and winning as her big grin. But McCarthy's weekly sketch-comedy series The Jenny McCarthy Show on MTV tanked. A print ad for Candie's shoes, with McCarthy reading the newspaper on a toilet, drew unamused criticism. And what was supposed to be her breakthrough for her, the Jenny sitcom on NBC, was canceled mid-season.
But don't count McCarthy out quite yet. Though she was raised on Chicago's tough South Side, McCarthy -- the second of four sisters in a blue-collar family -- got her real toughening-up at the hands of rich kids at the conservative Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. "Let me tell ya, it was like Cell Block H," she told Rolling Stone. For four years her classmates tormented her, sometimes taking sanitary napkins from her purse and taping them all over school, with her name written on them in lipstick. "I remember walking up to get my high school diploma," she said recently, "and no one applauded. I wanted to say, 'I've given you my heart, and you've given me ... coal.'"
Next came a brief stint as a nursing major at Southern Illinois University. After dropping out due to lack of money, Jenny had an epiphany: She would try her luck at Playboy magazine, where so many other young women blessed with good looks (and surgically-enhanced breasts) had launched their careers. Three days after walking into the Playboy building in downtown Chicago with no appointment or portfolio, she became Miss October 1993. Within months she was named 1994's Playmate of the Year.
Soon after, Jenny moved to Los Angeles where she found work modeling and doing commercials. ESPN recruited her to host the network's Maui Sports Challenge, a watersports competition for women. Next came small roles in HBO's Silk Stalkings and the film Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead. But it wasn't until she debuted in Singled Out during the summer of 1995 that she really began to catch the public's eye. Her onscreen antics -- such as spanking male guests and showing off her repertoire of goofy faces -- helped make the Gen X game show one of MTV's highest rated. Network president Judy McGrath said: "She's funny, provocative and completely at ease with herself. She's the perfect MTV host."
Prophetic words -- once the show relaunched with Carmen Electra as co-host, it was canceled. Now McCarthy and her namesake show have been singled out for the ax, too. Her 1997 book, Jen X, resulted in similar rancor. Publisher Judith Regan shelled out a million dollars for the autobiography, but in '98 McCarthy sued for $200,000 she says she's still owed. HarperCollins has countered that the blonde didn't fulfill her part of the marketing bargain.
Don't cry for Jenny McCarthy, though. She's bouncing back with Baseketball, a sports movie spoof starring the super hot South Park creators. And her alliance with manager/boyfriend Ray Manzella appears to be equal parts affection and career consulting. She's already gotten pretty far with Manzella (who, as it happens, helped steer Vanna White and Pamela Anderson's careers) in her corner, and TV networks have a way of throwing stars at sitcoms until something works in the ratings. That's the thing about irrepressible comedians: You can't keep them down.
OUTTA SITE! Jenny McCarthy's Shore Thing: From TV Guide Online, a photo shoot for a recent print magazine cover. See Jenny make castles in the sand, see Jenny holding a beach ball... you get the idea.
The Unofficial Jenny McCarthy Fan Club: Still under construction, but when completed it will be "THE place for diehard Jenny fans." It already contains the requisite photo archive, membership list, up-to-date info on the comings and goings of Jenny, links to other Jenny pages and other Jennyphile necessities.
AND... alt.fan.jenny-mccarthy: Populated almost entirely by teenage boys and young men, this newsgroup features bodacious banter about her latest TV appearances, where to get Jenny MPEGs, her Playboy beginnings and the final word on who her real fans are.
(People Online)
