Martha Stewart Show Cancelled

[Midpack]

Never a follower (and never owned MSO thankfully), but I well remember how ubiquitous she was for many, many years. She built herself into the pinnacle of style and a killer brand, and from there to a billion dollar business (never would have guessed being a master hostess could be such an empire), you have to give her credit. She influenced how people entertain and live in the US, only in America.

She's since fallen from network TV to cable TV and now cancelled. Where her products were once very exclusive, she eventually landed on K-Mart shelves as a commodity. Of course there was the insider trading scandal (appropriate but overblown to me only in the sense that I suspect there are thousands more who have done the same and were/are never prosecuted). And it appears the great recession and a more frugal electorate (99% or so) has probably killed off any chance she'll rise again in the previous incarnation.

But I'm not running her down, she's having the last laugh. She did her IPO in 1999, clearly the right time (see chart) and I am sure she's FI.

She had an interesting ride...and probably fared far better than her shareholders.

[Sue J]

I used to enjoy her show as an alternative to the morning news shows that just kept churning the bad news and dire predictions. I learned a few cooking techniques that come in handy but her decorating and table setting advice was just useless fluff to me.

Her scandal and prison time were devastating yet she came out of it with her head held high and her brand survived. I used to like it when she'd talk about her prison time on her show. She wasn't shy about talking about how she made do with what she had available and still kept in touch with the women she met.

I lost track of the show when it moved and I haven't kept up with it.

[Dawg52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sue J I lost track of the show when it moved and I haven't kept up with it.

I knew she had a show at one time, but didn't realize she still had one. Oh well........

[Onward]

She's #1 on my list of utterly talentless, insipid people who somehow got wealthy. (It's a long list.)

Maybe I'm just jealous.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onward She's #1 on my list of utterly talentless, insipid people who somehow got wealthy.

#1 for me are the Kardashians ...

[audreyh1]

I've gotten several awesome recipes off her website, so I hope that stays up and running. As long as her magazine continues, the website is probably safe.

Audrey

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Of course there was the insider trading scandal (appropriate but overblown to me only in the sense that I suspect there are thousands more who have done the same and were/are never prosecuted).

She wasn't prosecuted for insider trading. She was prosecuted for trying to cover it up and lying to the Feds about it.

That's all they got our former Governor Blago on in the first trial (lying to Feds), the other counts were a hung jury, but the second trial convicted him on most counts. The prosecution opened the second trial with a single question "Have you ever been convicted of lying?" He had to respond "Yes", no wiggle room in that one. Quite a set-up for the jury!

I think it is important that lying to authorities and destroying/altering evidence be dealt with harshly. If that punishment wasn't far worse than the crime, it would always be the easy way to go (if you had the opportunity).

DW follows her, the kids and I can't stand her (Martha Stewart that is, not DW!). We always joke about her constant use of multiple adjectives. Nothing can be described as 'wonderful', or 'charming', it must be 'wonderfully charming', or 'endearingly lovely', or 'charmingly wonderful' GAWK!!!!!.

Her sister gave her a gag gift of a parody MS Living magazine, it was hilarious. Articles like "How to Make your Own Water", "Why I'm better than you", .... I'd always mock MS, by imitating her and saying, "I'm Martha Stewart, and you're not".


-ERD50

[bbbamI]

I never cared much for Martha Stewart. I always felt if I watched her program and burped (horrors of all horrors); her arm would come flying out of the tv and smack my hand with a wooden spoon.

[mickeyd]

When did she escape from prision?

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeyd When did she escape from prision?

She's trapped in her own self-imposed life sentence with no parole.

Seriously. Do you think she can ever bear to let her kitchen or her computer desk get messy? Can she ever relax at any holiday and let someone else take over the decorating & cooking? Can she ever kick back to enjoy a wedding ceremony or the table settings at a reception?

I guess the good news is that she's enriched herself through a lifetime of anal-retentive obsessive compulsiveness, so she won't become a lifetime ward of the government's prison system...

[Bestwifeever]

Martha Stewart is an interesting self-made person imho. I think her father was a school teacher, and she and her five siblings all learned lbym skills growing up (she made her clothes, cooked, gardened, etc., from a young age). She modeled in high school, graduated with straight As, went to Barnard on scholarship. Married and worked as a stockbroker (so she obviously knew what she was doing re that insider trading ) until moving to the NY burbs, where she started a catering business and the rest is history.

I don't think she's too miserable--net worth is >$600 million.

[obgyn65]

+1 - Some people who have lied less than she did are still in jail.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeyd When did she escape from prision?

[Orchidflower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords She's trapped in her own self-imposed life sentence with no parole. Seriously. Do you think she can ever bear to let her kitchen or her computer desk get messy? Can she ever relax at any holiday and let someone else take over the decorating & cooking? Can she ever kick back to enjoy a wedding ceremony or the table settings at a reception? I guess the good news is that she's enriched herself through a lifetime of anal-retentive obsessive compulsiveness, so she won't become a lifetime ward of the government's prison system...

I can't imagine ever describing Martha better than this...kudos!

[DoingHomework]

She's not dead...she just signed a deal with JCPenney. Her stuff will feature prominently in their stores starting in 2014 or 2015 I think. Of course JC Penney seems to look at the deal as their savior while I suspect Martha sees it the other way around.

Her show will probably be picked up again when she adopts a southern accent and opens a pawn shop...or writes an uni cookbook.

[haha]

One thing about Martha- while not exactly young, she is not half-bad looking. Of course, I also think Suzi is pretty cute, not a common opinion around here.

Ha

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha One thing about Martha- while not exactly young, she is not half-bad looking. Of course, I also think Suzi is pretty cute, not a common opinion around here. Ha

Here's Martha at 15:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kiwm9vizM8

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever Here's Martha at 15:

That is her, isn't it? I didn't see it until she smiled at the end of the clip.

Why is that lecher putting his hands on a 15 year old's bottom? Arrest him! if he isn't already dead.

Ha

[mickeyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Why is that lecher putting his hands on a 15 year old's bottom? Arrest him! if he isn't already dead. Ha

I believe that was acceptable behavior back in the day. I failed to pick that up the first time I saw it but that hand is making a move. Could be used as part of a Viagra commercial today could it not?

[Leonidas]

Did you see the kids running around in the background? Don't you love how the advertising industry just screw with our minds? Sure, you can look like this 15-year-old after pushing out a couple of kids. In fact, if you don't look like this it's no wonder your hubby is diddling his secretary!

She also did a cigarette commercial back then, but I can't find the video.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords I guess the good news is that she's enriched herself through a lifetime of anal-retentive obsessive compulsiveness, so she won't become a lifetime ward of the government's prison system...

Some folks are driven differently - or wired strangely. I've never understood the desire of people to be public figures, and those that I have had to deal personally with have often been folks who find lies and deception too easy.

Martha was interviewed recently by NPR's Food Podcast, and during that she talked about a nativity scene she handmade - while in prison. To hear those words roll out of her perfect little self" "...while I was incarcerated at Alderson Federal Prison...", just like she was saying, "...while vacationing in Mallorca...", was a little strange. But, after reflecting for a moment I remembered one of the great rules of being a celeb: No publicity is bad as long as they spell your name right.

Martha does get some credit from me, because it was one of her cookbooks that inspired me to view cooking as something creative rather than just following a formula to create something edible. It didn't take long to move past her helped by discovering real chefs, and growing tired of her anal retentive personality.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leonidas ... rather than just following a formula to create something edible.

I'm still stuck there.

I want to be the guy who gets the deliveries of leftovers from all the TV cooking shows after they finish shooting the episode. We already have a neighbor who uses us as taste testers for her culinary experiments. She buys curry powder in five-pound bags, so we've never been disappointed!