NASHVILLE, Tenn. – By Sunday morning, an urban legend had begun to form around Jonny Fairplay, but then he’s the kind of guy who leads to urban legends, many of which he creates himself.
It was the second day of the first Reality TV Convention, held in Nashville early this month. On Saturday, Fairplay – real name Jon Dalton, known to “Survivor” fans as the guy who made up a story about his grandmother dying to earn sympathy from his tribe-mates – did his best to keep up his party-boy rep. He sported oversized shades, which, along with his loosely curled blond hair and much darker beard, made him look like a candidate for the Sammy Hagar Lookalike Contest. He entered a “Survivor” panel discussion late, carrying a bottle of beer, and continually signaled for another one throughout the Q&A. He and his best friend, fellow “Survivor” survivor Burton Roberts, co-emceed an “American Idol”/”Nashville Star” concert on Saturday night, but while Roberts was all earnestness, Fairplay took the mike as if he were announcing a wrestling match.
And then, as the second day of the convention got under way around 10 a.m., stories began circulating about paramedics having to haul Fairplay to the hospital early that morning.
It took a while to figure out what happened. Some people said he got into a fight. Others said he was taken away after he was found wandering the lobby of Nashville’s Airport Marriott. It took Fairplay himself – who showed up wearing his hospital gown sometime around noon – to explain what happened. He did get, as he puts it, body-slammed at a club by “The Real World’s” M.J. Garrett, but that wasn’t the reason for the hospital trip. That happened because he got his arm stuck in one of the hotel’s elevator doors when he tried to hold them open for someone.
“It took two guys, one chick, five kids and one Fairplay to open the elevator door,” he says.
That was the sort of strange event I was expecting when I attended the first Reality TV Convention. Well, to be honest, I’m not sure what I expected. When I first heard about it a couple of months ago, I was drawn to it out of pure curiosity about the “ordinary” people who become the genre’s stars and about the surreal potential of it all. But aside from Fairplay, who has developed a lasting character out of his 15 minutes of fame (on his Web site www.jonnyfairplay.com, he greets you by flipping two birds), most of the reality stars who showed up seemed less oversized than they did on TV.
Marguerite Perrin, portrayed as a wacko religious fanatic on “Trading Spouses,” was calm and sane. Ray Housteau, whom “Amazing Race” fans will recall as the ultra-competitive hothead who continually yelled at his now-wife Deana Shane, was a nice guy. “American Idol” also-rans Scott Savol, Lindsey Cardinale and Jessica Sierra, not allowed to show much personality at all on TV, were either funny and spirited (the women) or philosophical (Savol).
“There’s nobody in this world who’s loved by all,” said Savol, who placed fifth on “Idol 4.” “If everybody loves you, you’re not being yourself.”
When Cardinale lamented that at one “Idol” performance, two guys held up a sign that dissed her, Savol set her at ease: “… They actually took time out of their day to make something just for you.”
These people and many others chatted with fans, signed autographs and, on occasion, sold CDs or cheesecake/beefcake photos at the convention. Former “Survivor” players, including all-star Jerri Manthey and “Outback” winner Tina Wesson, lined the wall across from “The Biggest Loser” alumni.
In the middle of the room, former “Amazing Racers” were stationed near survivors of “The Real Gilligan’s Island.” One corner was taken up by the “Idols” and graduates of CBS’ “Big Brother.” And Chris Saroki and Josh Herman from “Beauty & the Geek” were opposite “The Surreal Life’s” Brande Roderick, a former Playboy Playmate whose past was vividly documented in the magazines and photos that covered her table.
But no Jeff Probst. No Simon Cowell. No Joe Rogan or Phil Keoghan. No producers like “Survivor’s” Mark Burnett or “Idol’s” Simon Fuller. This was, somewhat inadvertently, about the players, not the hosts or producers.
“We wanted to get producers in,” said Joe Blackmon of Reality TV Magazine, the webzine that organized the event. “It’s just that it’s our first year and the first time anybody’s tried anything like this, so the reality stars themselves were kinda the first to jump on board. . . . Hopefully, over time, it’ll be something that’ll grow and producers will come to it and attend.”
Blackmon said the convention took place in Nashville partly because the magazine is based there and partly because many reality-TV stars live in the Nashville area. (Sierra and Cardinale have both been working on records there.) He was inspired to mount the event by fans who contacted him, asking how they could meet reality stars. Mark Ballard, a Nashville resident with a background in convention organizing, had a similar idea, so he and Blackmon worked in tandem.
The turnout, however, appeared small. You didn’t exactly have to fight crowds, and attendance at the first night’s “American Idol”/”Nashville Star” concert appeared to be around 200, with much of the audience made up of reality stars themselves. But Blackmon said he wasn’t disappointed. (It might, however, have been an unfortunate coincidence that a “Dukes of Hazzard” fest was drawing bigger crowds across town.)
Blackmon says that the convention could move to other cities in the future. (Although he didn’t mention Dallas-Fort Worth, it seems a natural, with the nearly ubiquitous presence of Texas residents on reality shows.) Not that distance mattered to some fans. Racheal Rickman, a 21-year-old who just graduated from a community college not far from Los Angeles, flew from California to attend the convention. The trip was a graduation gift from her mom.
“This is exciting,” Rickman said. “I got to meet some really cool people, like Jehan (Huleisy) from “The Bachelor” and the cast of “Survivor” and “The Biggest Loser” – Friday night I went out and partied with them. That was really fun.”
Not surprisingly, Rickman would like to be on a reality-TV show someday. She auditioned for “The Real World” last year, but was turned down. She’s still angling for “The Bachelor” and “Big Brother” – but not “Survivor.” She’s not an outdoors person.
“This may sound stupid to some people, but it’s the truth,” Rickman said. “(Reality stars aren’t) celebrities, but you find yourself idolizing them anyway, because they’re real people who you relate to.”
The organizers kept things modest, both days of the convention ran only six hours apiece. Aside from the meet-and-greets, the convention included several panel discussions, and often stars from one show would hang out at another’s panel and ask questions.
A few of the highlights:
Wanda Shirk began a “Survivor” panel the same way she left “Survivor: Palau” – singing. “I realize we haven’t started yet,” she said to the crowd. “But you’re just sitting here bored.” Shirk might be the best known of “Survivor’s” first-episode evictees, simply because of her tendency to belt one out. Her Broadway-quality voice sounds better in person than it did on TV, but she wasn’t trying to compete with a loud boat engine.
After the panel, Shirk passed out lyric sheets of her “Survivor” songs. Sample lines, from the 20-stanza “The Ballad of Palau,” set to “Oh Susannah!” include: “We’re Survivors! We faced and passed the test! And in history, all the world will see that “Survivor 10′ was best!”
Apparently, getting evicted early from a competition show isn’t all that bad.
“That’s when the fun begins,” said Dennis Hyde, eliminated quickly from “The Amazing Race 3.”
Hyde and co-panelist Susan Vaughn said that after their eliminations, they were sequestered, but in a very nice place. Hyde and his son Andrew, for example, were shuffled off to Lisbon. The rule of thumb for those who get the perk-filled heave-ho: Have a good time, but don’t use your real name, and avoid talking to people.
During a typical romp on “Amazing Race” (for the uninitiated, a race around the world, usually involving often-bickering teams of two), contestants are allowed to ask locals for help, but they can’t say what show they’re on.
“We had a lot of people say, “Are you on “The Amazing Race?””‘ Vaughn remembers. “No matter where you are in the world, (you have to) say, “No, we’re doing a travel documentary.”‘
In response to a question about whether “American Idol” contestants room together away from the show, Jessica Sierra said, “I was Carrie’s roommate,” referring to “Idol 4” winner Carrie Underwood. “Then I had this other lady who worshipped the devil and thought Lucifer was sitting at the end of her bed.”
Apparently, some people will sell their souls to be on reality TV.
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