***News on BB3 Houseguests Once they've left the house***
TV ClubHouse: Archive: ARCHIVE ONE:
ARCHIVE ONE:
***News on BB3 Houseguests Once they've left the house***
Junifer | Monday, August 26, 2002 - 08:13 pm     I just found this article on Lori and I figured this would be a good place to put articles found on other evicted houseguests from Big Brother 3.. Lori's back home 'Big Brother 3' contestant unchanged by national celebrity status afforded by show Finley Stalvig The Daily Telegram Last Updated: Friday, August 23rd, 2002 09:19:16 AM The life of a Superior area woman has been totally chaotic for the past five months, but the taste of national celebrity status has not changed Lori Olson. “It’s been great fun, but I’m still me,” Lori said this week after returning to the area from her stint on the national CBS reality game show “Big Brother 3.” She returned home early last Saturday. Lori was one of 12 people selected from thousands of applicants for the popular reality television show. In early July, she and 11 other total strangers from across the country entered the “Big Brother” house on the CBS lot in Los Angeles. The house guests must live together for a period of 12 weeks, confined to the house and grounds 24 hours a day without any television or telephones. Each week there are competitions for food and the privilege of being Head of Household, offering a private bedroom and the right to nominate two house guests for eviction from the house. Cameras throughout the house monitor every move the contestants make. Each week, the two people nominated for eviction face their peers who cast the deciding votes. Millions of people across the United States act as voyeurs, watching film clips of the house guests during the week. Each of the house guests are known to Americans on a first name basis as Lori found out after she was evicted from the house after the first 12 days. Instant recognition Wherever she goes, people stop her and call her by name, whether it be in the Twin Ports, Los Angeles or Cancun, Mexico. People frequently stop her for autographs. The 37-year-old divorced mother of three children is more petite and vibrant than she looked on the show. She now sports a deep tan from her three week isolation in Cancun, Mexico. Following her eviction from the house after 12 days, the other house guests assumed Lori had been sent back home. “After my live interview with Julie Chen, the producers took me to a small office and told me they had a surprise for me,” Lori recalled. “They told me they were sending me to Cancun for some R&R and that there would be a possibility I could go back into the house.” She and a CBS traveling companion were flown to Club Med Resort in Cancun where they remained for three weeks. Although there were numerous opportunities for such activities as snorkeling, waterskiing and other activities, Lori said she spent a great deal of time alone. “It was different being so far away from home....I spent a lot of time thinking about my family,” she said. She said while she was sequestered in Cancun, she remained under contract with CBS and was forbidden from talking to anyone about the show. During her Mexican stay she had no telephone or television. She was allowed to watch DVD movies whenever she wanted. Three weeks of fun and sun Lori was in Cancun from July 19 to Aug. 12, at which time she was brought back to Los Angeles for an Aug. 15 appearance on the show and the opportunity as one of the four evicted house guests to go back into the house. Lori was eliminated in the competition to return to the house and she flew back home on Aug. 16. But she remains under contract with CBS and will return to Los Angeles for a few days for the Sept. 25 finale of the show and a cast party. The vibrant, animated young woman said American television viewers see very little of what actually goes on inside the house. She said the contestants are confined to the house 24 hours per day and have all the time in the world to strategize their next moves to survive in the house and the chance to win the $500,000 grand prize. “When I was asked recently what it was like in the house, I said in an interview the best analogy I can give is it’s the world in close proximity. Twelve different personalities are forced to interact and iron out their wrinkles and differences and see how they can work out their problems,” Lori said. She also eluded to the fact that the CBS crew is responsible how each of the houseguests is perceived by viewers. During the early shows, Lori was shown many times wearing denim bib overall shorts when, in fact, she said she wore the outfit only one day. Fashion remarks It was that outfit that drew candid remarks from Marcellas, an African American black man in the house, who publicly ridiculed Lori’s fashion sense. She has since seen all the tapes of the show and found the negative comments by Marcellas amusing. “When you are in that house you have to learn to laugh at yourself,” she said. She said at the time Marcellas made the comments about her clothing, he was still concealing his homosexuality. He was frightened and defensive and would lash out at other people, she said, “But once he revealed his sexual preference, we became best friends.” Lori said the game changes so rapidly each week that she would not try to guess who will be the eventual winner. She said she would like to see Marcellas win the competition. “If I could venture a guess, I would, but I know nothing. I think Danielle is playing a very sharp game. She is quite a strategist,” she said. Very Good Friends “I have made some very good friends in that house. Amy is very dynamic and she has a beautiful singing voice. She is a very good person. Danielle’s incredible, very funny. And Jason is a really wonderful person. But I think I got out at a good time,” Lori confessed. “I couldn’t have done the back stabbing that goes on in there. As I’ve gotten older, I have become a confrontational woman. If I have a problem with someone, I approach it and then it’s done. Let’s move on to the next thing,” she said. Early on she criticized some house guests for nominating Marcellas for eviction based only on their first impressions of him. Later she and Danielle clashed over concern that Jerry, another houseguest, does not always wash his hands when he leaves the bathroom. “I had no idea I was on the chopping block from the start, so I am really glad I took the stand I did and voiced my opinon rather than be meek and mild. I said what I believed,” Lori said with pride. She said CBS has provided a stipend for each of the house guests to take care of their financial obligations while they are away from their jobs. Motivated by co-worker Lori is a customer service representative at Community Bank in downtown Superior and credits her co-worker, Jill Austin, with motivating her to apply for the show. She had a brief interview with CBS officials in Duluth at the end of March and was then called for a second interview in Minneapolis on May 9. She then was invited to Los Angeles on May 28 for an eight-day stay. She received a phone call two days before her 37th birthday that she had been selected for the show. On June 28, CBS officials showed up on her doorstep at her Pattison Park residence and asked her to pack her bags immediately. She had a brief period to visit with her children and family before being whisked away to Los Angeles. Her children, ages 9, 10 and 14, stayed with her parents while she was away. “My kids think it’s awesome. My kids grew me up. I was a wild and crazy girl and now I’m a wild and crazy mom. They think mom’s pretty cool,” she said proudly. Career changes? Lori said she is amazed at the notoriety the show has brought into her life. Does she see any career changes? Lori said Community Bank is a wonderful company to work for and she has such respect for Robert Hall, her boss. She has not had any offers at this point, but said she would be open to such things as advertisements or endorsements. But only if she can stay in the area. “I am thinking about my family’s financial future. Anything that comes my way, I would consider it,” she said. She stressed how important family is to her and that she really wants to remain in this area. “I’m hometown proud,” she said. “Nobody really know’s I’m home yet,” she said. She requested that CBS not divulge her whereabouts to allow her time with her family. “My kids think it’s awesome. The entire experience was such a high, but now that it’s over, I’m still the same person.” Lori was born in International Falls and her family moved to Billings Park when she was eight years old. She went to Cooper School and graduated from Superior Senior High School in 1983. She was the only girl in a family of six children. She had high praise for the professionalism of all the people at CBS. “The treatment I received was phenomenal, absolutely pheonomenal.” |
Moondance | Monday, August 26, 2002 - 08:18 pm     Thanks Junifer! |
Junifer | Monday, August 26, 2002 - 08:27 pm     No problem! I'm craving Chiara news and found this instead lol! |
Muse | Monday, August 26, 2002 - 09:53 pm     Someone here posted a summary of Josh being interviewed on a radio station. |
Junifer | Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 06:49 am     And another on Eric from a CT paper website... `Big Brother' Loser Accepting August 17, 2002 By ROGER CATLIN, Courant Rock Critic He almost made it back into the house on "Big Brother 3." But the residents voted to re-admit Southern belle Amy Crews instead. So Connecticut's Eric Ouellette ended his stint with the CBS reality show Thursday. And instead of bunking with strangers in the sequestered California house, he'll be bunking with his fellow firefighters at the Poquonnock Bridge Fire Department in Groton. "There are mixed feelings," said Ouellette, 27, the most recent of the four evicted from the "Big Brother" house. "I would have loved to be part of it," he said Friday from California. "I feel somewhat flattered. I believe one of the reasons I was not chosen to go back in was that I was seen as a strong player and a threat." The shocking part for viewers may have come when bartender Lisa Donahue, who became his girlfriend in the house, also voted against his coming back. "I was definitely surprised," said Ouellette of his girlfriend's vote. But he's convinced her choice was based on strategy. Couples are seen as a threat to the household, he said, and it doesn't bode well for the remaining twosome. "Chiara [Berti] and Roddy [Mancuso] will probably be next," he said. It wasn't easy courting someone under the glare of 38 cameras, 62 microphones, a 24-hour cable feed and three weekly telecasts. "The first thing I'm thinking is: My mom's watching this," Ouellette said. And though he and Donahue shared a bed, he said they did not consummate their relationship as the cameras whirred. Oullette said he hopes to see her when the show's over. "It's going to be 180 degrees different to be going out to dinner with her with no one listening." As he said when he left the house, even though he won't win the half-million-dollar prize, "I still won" by meeting Donahue. He said he hopes to maintain contact with other housemates, too, particularly Mancuso. "He's my type of people." Those he won't likely be looking up: Josh Feinberg, the brash New York waiter evicted Thursday, and Gerry Lancaster, the California teacher who nominated Ouellette for eviction and cast the deciding vote. "In real life, I don't associate with people I don't like being with," Ouellette said. And the hardest part of "Big Brother" was the daily duplicity required of those who intend to win. By contrast, he said, "The guys in the firehouse, I trust them with my life." "It's fun to be in that [`Big Brother'] house. But I came from a good life. I love my job. Life was good before. "I'm relieved I can behave like a normal human being now. I have family back, and my friends and everyday things: my watch, my cellphone. Things you don't think you'll miss." |
Lancecrossfire | Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 09:18 am     Great to know he doesn'tw ant a thing to do with Gerry. As Eric said when he talked to Julie, Gerry disappointed him the most for voting him out. It's a game...what was he supposed to do? Turn around and bend over? |
Sonia | Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 03:07 pm     Thank you Muse for Josh's radio interview. |
Junifer | Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 09:16 pm     Chiara Berti: Big Brother In Her Rear-View Mirror August 28, 2002 By ROGER CATLIN, The Hartford Courant Avon native Chiara Berti has been spending the last few days adjusting to life outside the "Big Brother 3" house. Evicted amid tears on what may have been the most somber episode of the CBS reality series, she says, "I have my ups and downs about it." Reached by phone from California Tuesday, Berti said: "I definitely enjoyed it and definitely had a great time." But, she added, "It's hard to know that there's people out there judging you constantly." The raven-haired New York marketing executive made her name in the house with her sly sense of humor and sometimes jarring frankness. "I will do insane things. I'm not scared like that," says Berti, 25, who was nicknamed Kiki in the house. "Some people perceive [it] as trashy. Some people perceive that as free-spirited. "A lot of comedians make their money that way. There are Eddie Murphys and Howard Sterns out there for a reason. And that's just how I am," she says. "I also like to break down double standards. And I felt that a lot of the time, if a guy was doing the stuff I was doing, no one would make a big deal of it," she said. Among those things was recounting past relationships, in great detail. "Because I was doing it and I was this innocent little girl,"she says, "all of a sudden I'm a or a ." Indeed, Amy Crews, who finally put her up for eviction and campaigned for her ouster, called her Chi-Whora and acted as if her eviction was a moral imperative. But the way her personality came across on national TV may have been due to all the editing, Berti says. "A lot of that stuff was good old-fashioned fun. And they didn't show everyone else showing the same exact stories." Berti's free-spiritedness made her stand out in Avon, where she was raised and graduated high school in 1995. "I made a lot of heads turn," she says. "I was viewed by a lot of parents [as] ... out of control." And talking to her father, who still lives in Avon, "I don't think he's exactly thrilled" about how she was portrayed in the series. But, she added, "If I'm so like that, why did the virgin love me so much?" referring to Jason. Berti's exodus was about the saddest thing on "Big Brother 3" so far, which she calls "obviously a huge compliment to me. "Probably the best compliment I received was to be able to watch Saturday and them doing a whole segment on how the whole house is quiet and crying." The waterworks returned when Roddy Mancuso discovered she had left him her childhood security blanket. The two had been perceived as a romantic couple - as were Lisa Donahue and Connecticut fireman Eric Ouellette (now evicted). But that, too, was a result of editing, Berti says. "They made it seem like it was very like a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. When really it was true, true friendship. And it was a friendship just like Marcelle's and Amy's - the only difference was, he's not gay. "We are not the type of people ready to form relationships like Lisa and Eric did. If we were going to start a relationship, it was going to be on our turf. "The last thing I wanted, and the last thing he wanted was some random person in Idaho starting up a chat room about what they felt about Roddy and I's relationship." In the beginning, she says, "There was obviously physical attraction, there was flirtation. We're human beings. But you can't take it to the next level, so it plateaus off." And it might have had to do with the 38 cameras and 64 microphones and 24-hour live Internet feed. Berti says she left her beloved blanket because the house atmosphere was so insecure and "I wanted him to have a piece of me, a secure piece of me that he can kind of grasp on to." Living in a house with strangers 24 hours a day for three months can get stressful, she says. It showed on her when Crews nominated Berti for eviction. Her anger had to do "to the fact I didn't have a chance to compete against [Amy Crews]." At the time Crews had returned to the house, Chiara was head of household and unable to compete with her in the next head of household contest. "I'm a competitive person. And the fact I didn't get to compete against the girl who put me up, I felt a little taken advantage of," she says. Berti says that Crews - whom she had previously put up for eviction and described as someone "I don't like ... at all" - proposed her eviction as revenge. "Anyone who thinks it wasn't is fooling themselves. She did that out of complete revenge, absolutely," Berti said. Who does she think will survive on the show to win the $500,000 prize? "I hope Jason and Roddy make it to the end," she says. "They're two amazing people. And a good person should win." |
Car54 | Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 09:27 pm     Yep, those all girl showers and peanut butter bikinis are well known good old fashioned fun. |
Alegria | Monday, September 02, 2002 - 09:13 am     great articles. Sooo, what's Gerry's take on everything? I wonder what he thought about his former roomates after he got out. |
Costacat | Monday, September 02, 2002 - 09:42 am     From Chiara's article: "... raven-haired New York marketing executive..." Uh, don't you have to be employed to be an executive? And I truly love how she thinks it was the "editing" that made her look so bad. Actually, it was the live feeds -- the editing was such that she didn't look too trashy at all. I can't wait to read Gerry's. I'm hoping he's gonna take all the trashing of him in good humor!~ |
Costacat | Monday, September 02, 2002 - 09:42 am     From Chiara's article: "... raven-haired New York marketing executive..." Uh, don't you have to be employed to be an executive? And I truly love how she thinks it was the "editing" that made her look so bad. Actually, it was the live feeds -- the editing was such that she didn't look too trashy at all. I can't wait to read Gerry's. I'm hoping he's gonna take all the trashing of him in good humor! |
Alegria | Monday, September 02, 2002 - 09:52 am     do you think they meant to write "...ravin' hared?" |
Ddr1135 | Monday, September 02, 2002 - 01:56 pm     ARTICLE: ERIC SUSPENDED FOR TWO WEEKS Celebrity firefighter suspended in Groton 'Big Brother 3' star 'surprised' By Joe Wojtas - More Articles Published on 09/02/2002 Groton — “Big Brother 3” star Eric Ouellette has been suspended from his job as a Poquonnock Bridge firefighter for two weeks. Ouellette said he received a letter from Poquonnock Bridge Chief Todd Paige informing him of the suspension Saturday. “I was surprised but at the same time I had heard rumors of possible disciplinary action against me, so it was a bit of a nonsurprise,” he said Sunday night. Ouellette said he does not believe the suspension is fair. “I believe I was entitled to the opportunity based on the contract. I'm not the type of person that wants to go against authority, but I believe I'm entitled to the opportunities that are governed by our contract,” he said. Ouellette, 27, said he would appeal the suspension. He is this department's newest firefighter. Union president Tom Eldredge said the Board of Fire Commissioners would set a date for the hearing and then decide whether to uphold, modify or repeal Paige's suspension. Eldredge said that until Saturday there had only been rumors of disciplinary action against Ouellette. Over the past few weeks, television shows such as CBS's “The Early Show” have done stories about possible disciplinary action against Ouellette for his appearance on Big Brother. “I was outraged that they followed through with the suspension,” Eldredge said. “The kid didn't do anything wrong to deserve this suspension. It's the interpretation of the contract that the chief had, which he then imposed arbitrarily.” Paige could not be reached for comment Sunday night but has said that Ouellette didn't follow department procedures when he swapped shifts with other firefighters so he would have time off to appear on the show. Paige has said he is concerned that his firefighters would be tired because they are filling in for Ouellette. Big Brother puts a group of people into a Los Angeles house for six weeks. Their activities are filmed and each week cast members vote one person out of the house. The person who remains at the end wins $500,000. Ouellette was voted off the show last month. Union members have maintained that Ouellette has not violated their contract because he got fellow firefighters to cover his shifts while he was gone. They say the union contract does not limit the number of days that a firefighter can swap shifts. Paige has charged Ouellette with insubordination for disregarding his directive to limit his absence to no more than 30 days. He has also charged Ouellette with willful use of his position as a firefighter for personal gain, disrupting the daily activities of the fire department, and failure to inform him of his whereabouts and availability. A hearing was held but then continued last month because Ouellette was still on the show in Los Angeles. |
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