Continuing on in our look back at 2010, below is a wall of this blog’s animated gifs that moved us…and themselves.
We’ll be looking back at the year that was 2010 on VH1 all week, and to start things off easily is a group of screen shots amassed from various recaps over the past year from shows like Basketball Wives, You’re Cut Off!, Frank the Entertainer in A Basement Affair, What Chilli Wants and more. If you pay close attention, you may see an abstract story unfolding. Or maybe not! Enjoy the images…
Incredibly, devastatingly horrible news: after a battle with pancreatic cancer, Gary Maresca died yesterday at the age of 62. Gary is best known for his time on Frank the Entertainer in A Basement Affair, on which he advised his son alongside his wife, Susan. Gary leaves behind Susan and five children, including Frank and Sal, who were also on the show. We’ll be hearing more from the Maresca family in the coming days. In the meantime, the family requests that those interested in sending flowers instead donate money to the Lustgarten Foundation, which is devoted research of and finding a cure for pancreatic cancer.
I only spoke to Gary briefly, but way before that even, his love for his wife and children was evident. He really rooted for Frank, and I could tell that he got a kick out of Frank’s time on reality TV. Gary was sick for a while, but it always struck me as special that he was able to see Frank get his own show, and participate in it. I know that he was proud.
Here’s what he told me in March when I asked him about filming a show while sick:
“I always would have liked to have been in this kind of atmosphere and get a chance to get on television, and because of Frank I got my chance. Even as a kid, it was something that I dreamed to do, but when the time came, I was thinking of not even doing it and just letting my wife go. She didn’t want to leave me home alone because I really wasn’t in shape to stay here alone. The producers were really nice to me, but I still felt obligated there. I’m not sorry I did it, though. For my children, all my children, my wife and I have sacrificed. The only thing in my legacy when I’m gone is that I’ve always been a good family man. I love Frankie.”
People love to talk about all the germs and diseases you can catch from reality dating shows (to a played out extent — if I have to read one more person exclaim, “I caught herpes just from watching that!” I’m leaving the Internet and never coming back). Putting a new, entirely disgusting spin on an old cliche, A Basement Affair‘s “winner” Kerry Schwartz caught a bug, all right — or rather, a nest of them. Kerry told TMZ that after a bump on her leg grew to the size of a handball (!), she went to the emergency room on Sunday, where doctors found that a nest of insect eggs (!!!) had been embedded under her skin. A two-hour surgery removed the invaders. No word on why or what the hell this is all about, really, but you can check out pictures of Kerry’s post-op leg at TMZ. In addition to the reality-TV-gives-you-cooties trope, this is also very similar to that urban legend about a girl hosting a cockroach’s nest in her tongue. All the good stories are coming together in one woman. [TMZ]
Related content
Frank The Entertainer…In A Basement Affair – Cast Reveal
Frank The Entertainer…In A Basement Affair show page
Frank The Entertainer…In A Basement Affair videos and extras
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And so, we come to the last of our A Basement Affair interviews. Below, Felicia talks about why she eliminated herself, what she thinks of Frank now, her brush with breast cancer and how someone pursuing a serious career in business got mixed up with reality TV.
When Frank’s mother, Susan, rang me up to discuss the Dana situation, I also heard from Frank’s father, Gary. Below, Gary rings in with his take on Dana and her mother, as well as other girls on A Basement Affair. More importantly, he shares what filming was like while he was feeling the effects of pancreatic cancer, and he gives us an update on his health.
“If somebody else had done that before I did, I would have never been like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll take their sloppy seconds.’ But I got in there first, so whatever!” A Basement Affair‘s first-runner-up tells us on her much-discussed tryst with Frank. Below “chatty” Cathy, lives up to her name, dishing the dirt on her portrayal, Frank’s bedside manner and her relationship with Kerry.
We’ve heard from Kerry about her break-up with the man she won the heart of (at least, as far as the show was concerned), and below is Frank’s take on the situation. Frank also gives an overview of the show, commenting on many specific girls and their eliminations, he talks about his portrayal and he explains why he still isn’t out of the basement….
Kerry takes it all! Or, at least, more than anyone. Below, Kerry talks about her connection with Frank today, if she sees any hope for their future, the effect this show had on her friendship with Cathy and her flawless portrayal.
