Horizons Town Talk books Hot Lips Houlihan and an FBI profiler

by Janet I. Martineau

Lorretta Swit

Hot Lips Houlihan herself, a female FBI agent who hunted down the Unabomber, and a trainer who turns shelter dogs into Broadway stars are among the 2011-2012 Horizons Town Talk offerings.

Then toss in the memories and music of Frank Sinatra and tips on good gardening designs, and that completes the October through June programs at the Horizons Conference Center, 6200 State St. in Saginaw Township.

Hot Lips is the headliner of the pack -- as in actress Loretta Swit, who played the oversexed but comedic Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the hit television sitcom  “M*A*S*H.” She stayed with the show for its entire run, 1972 through 1983 on CBS, cast as the head nurse of a Korean War mobile surgical hospital.

Her Town Talk program,  titled “The Story of Hot Lips,” takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 15, and she joins a growing list of former “M*A*S*H” stars who have played Saginaw’s Town Talk and other area events over the years --  among them Alan Alda, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell and David Ogden Stiers.

Swit owns two Emmys, was the original Christine Cagney  in the pilot for the “Cagney and Lacey” television series, and has appeared in nearly 40  television and theatrical movies. As a stage actress her credits include “Same Time, Next Year,” “Shirley Valentine,” “Mame,” “42nd Street” and “Doubt.”

In private life, Swit is passionate about animals, serving with such organizations as Actors and Others for Animals, the Wildlife Waystation, the Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society. For five years her series “Those Incredible Animals” aired on the Discovery Channel

Tony DeSare

The rest of the Horizons Town Talk  roster is as follows:

* Tuesday, Oct. 4, “The Best Is Yet to Come,” featuring Tom, Santopietro, the author of “Sinatra in Hollywood,” and Tony DeSare singing the  songs of Frank Sinatra.

Santopietro has authored several books on Hollywood legends, including Barbra Streisand and Doris Day -- stemming from his career as first a show business lawyer and later a manager of Broadway shows starring the likes of Glenn Close, Patti LuPone, Valerie Harper and Beatrice Arthur.

DeSare is a singer/pianist with jazz club credits throughout the world as well as for corporate events.

Candice DeLong

*Tuesday, March 6, 2012, “My Life on the Front Lines As a Woman in the FBI,” featuring Candice DeLong.

For 20 years  DeLong trailed terrorists, went undercover as a gangster’s moll, caught a serial killer and was one of three agents who hunted down and captured the Unabomber, in Montana. 

Since retiring in 2000, she has authored a best-selling memoir, provided commentary on crime stories for a variety of television programs, and ranks as an internationally recognized FBI profiler and homicide expert. 

Interesting, given the fact she started her working career as a psychiatric nurse.

Gordon Hayward

*Tuesday, April 3, 2012, “Your House, Your Garden: A Foolproof Approach to Good Garden Design,” featuring Gordon Hayward.

During his 17 years as a school English teacher, on the side Hayward gardened for clients part time. In 1984, he turned to the work of garden design full time and has written nine books and more than 50 articles for Horticulture Magazine and Fine Gardening Magazine on the topic.

He and his wife tend to a nearly two-acre garden at their southern Vermont home.

His lecture in Saginaw will demonstrate how people can use the features of their houses to help them design front, side and back gardens as well as gardens between buildings, in courtyards, around outbuildings or to hide air conditioning units and propane tanks.

 

Bill Berloni

*Tuesday, June 5, 2012, “Making Stars Out of Strays,” featuring Bill Berloni.

In a live theater production starring one of his canines, Berloni is in the wings 30 feet away helping call the shots and keeping the critter calm. For the past 35 years he has trained everything from bulldogs and chihuahuas, including the famous Sandy in “Annie” and more recently two pooches in “Legally Blonde.”

His credits include dozens of stage shows as well as commercials, movies and television, and  even a horse for “Elmo.” And each and every one of those animals was a rescue. 

His farm in central Connecticut is a cross between a hotel and a retirement home for his theatrical menagerie. For his birthday one year his wife  gave him a gift certificate for two lamas.

All of the programs begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by a luncheon buffet. Season tickets are $125, and on sale currently only to renewing participants. They go on sale to the general public after June 7. Call (989) 799-4122.