5 Minutes With: Lynda Erkiletian

WaPo.com:

Lynda Erkiletian, who has the distinction of starring in the only U.S. “Real Housewives” franchise not to make it past Season 1, still thinks Washington could make it to the big time. Although some argue that Washington will never be more than a political town, Erkiletian isn’t buying it. Thirty-three years after opening the Artist Agency, her D.C.-based talent firm, the onetime reality star continues to push Washington into the limelight.

What was your experience like on “Housewives”?

When I started doing the show, I had already been in business 26 years, so I had my tribe of industry people who knew who I was. But it was wonderful to have the platform of Bravo and be able to showcase our industry across the nation and, in some cases, across the world.

Overall, was the experience a positive or a negative?

I won’t say it was all a bed of roses. It certainly was not. As you probably know, we had our White House crashers, and the FBI — which [“Housewives” executive producer] Andy Cohen just recently talked about — came in and seized all the film and footage. It was very uncomfortable. We were the first “Housewives” show that didn’t go forward for a second season. We knew that [before they told us] because they stopped filming, and we knew the FBI requested all the footage because they had to make sure that Bravo didn’t have anything to do with it. That’s a monster breathing down your back when you’re trying to do a reality show.

Did you have any idea that was going to happen?

Oh, no. I didn’t really film with the Salahis with the exception of being at other people’s parties, because that was part of my contract. I had done business with them in the past, and I didn’t want the association. We had done her [Michaele’s] polo event before for the fashion show, and, unfortunately, it wasn’t a very good business arrangement. We had to sue them to get our money. So, I really didn’t want to pretend that I liked who they were. But I think the “Housewives of D.C.” was certainly worth doing it. I have no regrets as far as that goes.

How do you feel about “The Real Housewives of Potomac”?

I haven’t seen this season, but I do have favorites. I think it’s great to have a reality show in D.C. I used to live in Potomac. It’s a fantastic city. It’s wonderful that they’re doing it. We need something to showcase our city on a national level. If that’s what it takes, I’m all for it.

RELATED:  ‘Real Housewives Of DC’ Where Are They Now?

Ex-Real Housewives: Where Are They Now

Glamour.com:

Mary Schmidt-Amons
Mary "I don't make money, I spend money" Schmidt-Amons divorced her husband, Rich, about a year ago. The Labels for Love founder also recently launched bodybymaryamons.com, a website that scarily knows where you're clicking in from and appears to have something to do with diet supplements.

Lynda Erkiletian
Lynda's company, The Artists Agency, actually celebrates its 29th anniversary today. That's the good news. The bad news is that she's no longer with Ebong. Boo.

Stacie Scott Turner
I'll admit to falling in love with Stacie's search for her biological father--and I'm sad to say that she and husband Jason, who went on the quest with her, have since gone their separate ways. She's still running her real estate business.

Catherine Ommannen
Cat has written her autobiography and a sequel to her autobiography since the show aired. Let's disregard the fact that many world leaders have been captured in a single volume and just focus on how good she looks. (She also recently had a baby girl!)

Michaele Salahi
Michaele and her rocker bf Neal Schon are reportedly considering getting married on TV, while the rest of us are reportedly going "nah, we're good."

Now let's travel back to the origin story that was Real Housewives of Orange County and catch up with some of the first women to hold up fruit on television ever.

Jo De La Rosa
Jo's LinkedIn profile lists her as director of sales for the media company Optimal Fusion. I say: any position other than "Slade Smiley's television in" is a major step in the right direction.

Jeana Keough
The fact that Jeana rarely smiled at anything made her one of my favorites on the first season of RHOC. But I had to grin at this: Jeana recently took daughter Kara, who got engaged last year, to find a dress at Kleinfeld's in New York! PLEASE let this be an ep of Say Yes to the Dress.

DeShawn Snow
Well hey, DeShawn wrote a series of kids' books called Lil' Shawnee aimed at empowering young girls. I can't say anything snarky because I'd be lying if I said this cover, with all its preteen awesomeness wouldn't have brought me to a screeching, captivated halt in the library's YA section back in the day.

Danielle Staub
One-woman drama machine Staub won VH1's Famous Food (I know, I didn't see it either) in 2011--but her restaurant, The Lemon Basket, has since closed. There have been rumors of her returning to RHONJ, but no official word.

RELATED:  Divorced 'Real Housewives': More Than Half Of All Current Cast Members Are Divorced

Real Housewives of D.C. Mary Amons, Lynda Erkiletian, Stacie Turner and Catherine Ommanney Reunite With Andy Cohen

WaPo.com:

The Real Housewives of D.C. — minus Michaele Salahi or any made-for-TV meltdowns — reunited Friday thanks to one man: Andy Cohen.


The Bravo network executive behind the “Housewives” franchises and other guilty pleasures has become a pop culture phenom himself; in something like the Dick Cheney veep search, Cohen cast himself as the network’s nightly talk-show host and on-air pundit of his own programs.


Which made him the star attraction of Bethesda Row’s three-day fashion event last weekend. The line of fans Friday night stretched around the block, clutching copies of his new memoir, “Most Talkative”; groupies gave him custom t-shirts, flowers and even original artwork. “It’s mazel mayhem!” proclaimed Lynn Blitzer, who sat with husband Wolf and Cohen during the runway show.


Also in the front row: Four of D.C.’s erstwhile Housewives — Mary Amons, Stacie Turner, Lynda Erkiletian and Catherine Ommanney — who said they showed up out of affection for Cohen.


“Oh, we love Andy,” Amons told us. “He’s a really likeable guy. He’s very smart, and he knows how smart we are as a group. I think he really appreciates that.”


“And what he’s done with the network and how he’s extending himself is exactly what we’re looking to do,” said Turner.


No hard feelings, in other words — despite the fact Cohen canceled their show after one season. Forget that playful exterior, he’s first and foremost a shrewd TV programmer. What happen, Andy — was Washington just too boring for your fans?


“Every reporter in D.C. says to me, ‘Why is D.C. bad for reality shows?’ And it’s not,” he claimed. The local version was one of the most successful first seasons for the network; he believes it was derailed by the Salahis’ White House State Dinner crash.


“It hurt it because it sucked up all the attention about the show,” he said. Plus, the Miami and Beverly Hills franchises were launching and there were concerns about “Housewives” overkill. No regrets: “We set out to do a show about proximity to power, about race in a city with its first black president.” They got some provocative discussions about race, he said, and “we certainly got the story of what people will do for proximity to power.”


What about the ’Wives — would they do it all over again? None of them got rich off the show; and all four stars married at the time of production have since split from their husbands.


“Absolutely!” said Amons. “It was just a great opportunity for me to get into the entertainment business that I’ve loved and longed for for so long.”


Turner hesitated for a moment. “I think so,” she said. “I’m not sure.”

Stacie Turner's DC Pad for Sale for $1.95 Million

WaPo.com:

From Chinese consulate to church and finally, the home of one of the stars of “The Real Housewives of D.C.,” this week’s featured home has had an illustrious 86 years.

Stacie Turner, a real estate agent who was featured in the Bravo television show, is selling the16th Street Heights house she bought in 1999.

“When we bought the house, people were living in it but I would not have called it habitable,” Turner said. “There were holes in the floor, you could see through the ceilings.”

The 4,800-square foot home has since been renovated. It has four bedrooms, including a nanny’s suite in the basement, and three fireplaces. The home’s living room, once a church sanctuary, features 19-foot-high ceilings. 

“I just can’t imagine a grander room,” Turner said.

The house, which has been on the market for two weeks, is being sold for $1,195,000.

RELATED:  'Real Housewives' Stacie and Jason Turner Separate

Stacie Turner & Husband Jason Announce Separation

WashingtonPost.com:

Stacie Scott Turner, 44, and Jason Turner, 42, one of the better-liked couple on the short-lived “Real Housewives of D.C.,” where the real-estate agent and the business consultant often served as good-humored foils to their drama-prone co-stars. Married 14 years, they have two children.


“We remain friends,” she told us in an email, “committed to our family and focused on our children.”


It’s the third RHODC marriage to dissolve since the reality show was filmed: Catherine and Charles Ommanney split in 2010, before the Bravo series aired; and Tareq and Michaele Salahi broke up last fall, when she ran off with Journey guitarist Neal Schon .

Damn, another one of my favorite "Housewives" couples bite the dust.

RELATED: Real Housewives of DC’s Stacie Turner & Husband Jason Have Separated

Stacie Turner Speaks Out Against Non-Stop Drama On Reality TV; Questions It’s Realness

Woah, haven't heard from this former 'Housewife' in a while:

Stacie Turner, star of ghost of reality shows past, Real Housewives of DC, is speaking out about fabricated reality TV drama and is really fed up!


The classy, articulate, and extremely refreshing Stacie, who says she initially turned down a spot on Housewives fearing it would be too “intrusive,” has always presented herself as the type of person that would not engage in catty, famewhoring behavior. Now she is commenting on the constant altercations and misbehavior happening on reality shows and wondering just how much of it is actually real!


Speaking to Sister2Sister, Stacie expresses her displeasure at the extreme behavior exhibited to generate ratings and C-List celebrity. “I just think that at this point, people have flipped tables. They’ve had fights… that now, it’s almost a competition to see how outrageous you can make the show,” Stacie laments, echoing what many fans are starting to suspect.


“I think in the first or second season it really is real because the people are real people. They’re not actors; they don’t know what to expect. By season four, you’ve got to outdo for ratings. And it becomes, you know, it’s all about entertainment.” Here’s looking at you, Real Housewives of Atlanta!


Stacie believes the decorous behavior (save for those Sahalis) displayed on RHODC, which “lacked the typical catfighting and hair-pulling seen on the other ‘Housewives’ shows” is one of the reasons Bravo issued a cancellation notice! Except Stacie feels that was a mistake as not all viewers want to watch the non-stop arguing!


“I think based on the tons of fan mail that we’ve gotten, there was a segment of viewers that were really happy to see something that was a little different, but for whatever reason the powers that be decided to cancel,” Stacie explains of how a little too much realness may have discouraged the network from continuing the series.


Regardless, she has no regrets! “I’m proud of the way that we portrayed ourselves on ["RHODC"], and relieved that the overall takeaway that I’ve gotten is that other women could identify with me, and see a woman who was doing positive things.”

The Real Housewives of DC: Where Are They Now?

Zimbio.com:

The Real Housewives of DC was canceled after only one season, but the ladies haven't been forgotten. Check out what all of your favorite housewives from our nation's capital have been up to now that they're not bickering and backstabbing on your TV screens.


Mary Schmidt Amons
Before she was a Housewife, Mary Schmidt Amons founded a charity called Labels for Love, which aims to help women and children in need. DC's Fashion's Night Out 2011 recently helped raise funds for the non-profit. Mary also co-founded the District Sample Sale, which donated ticket proceeds and silent auction earnings to the WEAVE charity this year.


Lynda Erkiletian
According to her Twitter, Lynda is still a mother of four, President of The Artist Agency, and Executive Director of the James & Paula Coburn Foundation. Based on her tweets, she also seems to be supporting Chaz Bono on this season of Dancing With the Stars.


Stacie Scott Turner
Stacie was profiled in June in emPOWER magazine about her Extra-Ordinary Life foundation, which helps DC foster care teens. She also visited Nigeria in January 2011 to meet her biological father and half-siblings for the very first time.


Catherine "Cat" Ommanney
Cat recently broke up with her boyfriend, Ricky Martino after she said no to his marriage proposal. She kept her sense of humor about things, though, tweeting: "“OK two rumors I need to address…Firstly I am not engaged. Secondly I do not have Michaele Salahi.”


Michaele Salahi
We've all heard about Michaele Salahi's recent "journey" by now. In September 2011 her husband reported her missing, but it turned out that the Housewife (and White House crasher) had merely run away with Journey guitarist Neal Schon.

It's Official: Real Housewives of D.C.' Is Cancelled

WaPo.com:

Ta-ta self-edit-gene-lacking Cat Ommanney!


Bye-bye, modeling agency matron Lynda Erkiletian!


So long, mom-of-five/Arthur Godfrey granddaughter Mary Amons!


See you ‘round, real estate agent Stacie Turner!


And, we think we’ll miss you most of all Michaele Salahi!


“The Real Housewives of D.C.” has been cancelled.


Though Cat confidently told The Post in late February that the deafening silence since the show’s October 2010 finale, “has made people think there won’t be one, but I’m quite confident that there will be a second season,” the fat lady sang for the show on Thursday afternoon.


Bethesda-based Half Yard Productions contacted the cast to let them know Washington’s contribution to Bravo’s hot docu-soap franchise would not be picked up for a second season.


It marks the first time in “Housewives” history that an iteration has not moved forward for a second season. The franchise got its start 2006 at the height of ABC network’s “Desperate Housewives” mania.


“We had an amazing season and we told stories that were unique to any other in the franchise. I wish all our DC Wives the best and hope to work with them again in another capacity,” Andy Cohen, Bravo’s executive vice president of original programming and development, said in a an e-mail exchange with the TV Column in response to our query on Thursday.


“In fact, Cat is booked on our April 28th ‘Watch What Happens Live Royal Wedding Spectacular’,” added Cohen – ever the showman.

This news is sad to say the least and really surprising considering that RHODC did really well in the ratings. But then maybe what with Andy Cohen's recent announcement that there wouldn't be any more 'Housewife' series', could it be that the 'Housewives' franchise has become too much of a good thing? Not that that makes any sense either considering that the survival of a TV show usually depends on ratings. Then too, what about the talk that Cohen seems to be trying to make himself bigger than the 'Housewives' himself what with all the promotion surrounding the oft-lame "Watch What Happens Live"? I don't know. But I do know that I'll miss seeing Mary, Stacie, Cat, Lynda and Michaele on TV and enjoyed watching their stories for the short while they lasted anyway. Farewell ladies, tho you can trust that I'll be keeping track of your journey here, after all, once a 'Housewife', always a 'Housewife'.

Stacie Turner Reunites With Nigerian Father After 42 Years

Nigerianbulletin.com:

Arik Air, West Africa’s largest commercial carrier, on Tuesday ensured the American TV star, Stacie Turner of Real Housewives of DC’s will reunite with her Nigerian birth father. Stacie and her husband, in company with a large entourage, touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos Tuesday afternoon aboard Arik Air’s nonstop flight from New York JFK.


On her experience aboard Arik Air flight from New York to Lagos, Stacie said: “Arik Air is my new favourite airline! I’ve never seen a cabin like that, it’s wonderful”.


Stacie, the only African-American woman cast on the runaway hit reality TV series in Washington DC, recently discovered that her birth parents are Caucasian and Nigerian. It was only after discovering her medical history that she embarked on a journey to find her biological parents. Speaking about her family Stacie said, “I am overwhelmed and thrilled to find a welcoming family in Nigeria–my birthfather, 10 siblings and a huge extended family — who I plan to meet now.”


The Real Housewives of DC star who arrived Murtala Muhammed International Airport with a large entourage including an official of the Nigerian Embassy in USA was all smiles on arrival in her native country and could not hide her appreciation to Arik Air for making the historic trip possible.


“I’m really excited about the prospect of meeting my birth father for the first time and it’s going to be an exciting time when I get to Mbaitoli (near Owerri) where he resides,” Stacie stated as she walked her way down to the arrival hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos this afternoon.

Mara Davis Interviews Stacie Turner

Stacie Turner Keeps It Real, Founding Program To Aid Girls

WaPo.com:

There's the "Real Housewives of D.C.," and then there's real life. 

When it comes to real life, "Housewives" star Stacie Turner knows that her good fortune began long before she was picked to appear in the popular reality show's D.C. incarnation. 

Put up for adoption as an infant, Turner was taken in before she was a year old and never had to endure the hardship and uncertainty that confronts many young people who languish in foster care for years. 

So amid the life of a busy mom, intrepid businesswoman and TV personality, Turner has been trying to help young women in the District's foster-care system through an organization she created last year. 

Over the summer, after raising tens of thousands of dollars, Turner's Extra-Ordinary Life took eight teenagers on the trip of a lifetime, flying to South Africa for an 11-day excursion captured on film for a new BET documentary being shown on the channel's international arm. 

For many of the teens, it was their first trip abroad. For all of them, it was an eye-opening journey into the joys and hardships of girls living halfway around the globe in a country of deep economic inequality. 

"It made me grateful for what I have," said Zefer Tesfamariyam, 18, "because there are people that don't have what I have." 

From a visit to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg to a safari in KwaZulu-Natal to a festive dinner with girls in South Africa's child-welfare system, the D.C. teens saw a world open up to them.

Stacie Turner Has The Same Views On Gay Marriage That Barack Obama Has

So what is Paul Wharton not going to vote for Obama unless he changes his mind about gay marriage too? I hate it when people try to impose their personal beliefs on others, so count me in the group that says that Paul Wharton and Lynda Erkiletian are big hypocrites for coming down on Stacie, her husband, clueless Mary and anyone else who believes that marriage is between a man and a woman. If there's one thing people should know about Christians, esp. Black Christians, is that when it comes to the Bible, they have strict interpretations of it. For Black Christians the Bible is the authoritative word of God. So put word's God's word vs. the words of gay activists and 99% of the time God is going to win. Listen, I get that Bravo is pro-gay, but honestly I don't care because I don't watch "Housewives" for that. I watch it for the women, the drama, bickering, fights and feel-good stories. I watch it because it's fun. If Bravo wants to get serious sometimes that's fine too, but when you're dealing with politics or other issues of importance I think that Bravo needs to do a better job at presenting both sides of the issue, instead of trying to make good people like Stacie Turner (who is clearly a very tolerant person) out to be something she's not.

Stacie Turner Talks 'Housewives,' Being Adopted & The Salahi's

BVbuzz.com:

She's the sole African-American cast member on a series set in a place often called Chocolate City. Regardless, Stacie Turner is no table-tossing, neck-rolling, Ebonics-speaking, stereotypical character one would come to expect from a 'Real Housewives' cast member; but instead she offers sophisticated sass while showcasing her business acumen on the debut season of the 'Real Housewives of DC.'


A real estate executive with a heart for philanthropy, Turner received an undergraduate degree in Finance from Howard University and her Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business.


The happily married mother of two not only talked about life as a one of the nation's capital's 'Real Housewives;' but she shared with BV Buzz during our lunch at the Eurasian restaurant Oya her thoughts on the infamous White House crashers!


You are the only Black woman on a series set in a predominantly Black city. Is that a lot of pressure?


Heck yeah! All women are different so to think that I can represent every lifestyle of every African-American woman in DC is like insane. To the extent that I can show what my reality is and reflect some of what I think African-American women can relate to is all that I can try to do. I definitely feel pressure!


Do you hold back on the show? Is there ever a time you feel your inner "sister girl" coming out, but tuck her away because of the cameras?


I'm always thinking that I have a little daughter and she can not see her mama show her behind on camera. In past episodes, they show how this whole topic of things related to race that comes up innocently and it's this expectation that you'll let it roll off and not go there with it. Meanwhile, it's like why does this even come up? We are sitting here having dinner so just because me and Ted Gibson are the only Black people there why does there need to be a connection about race? All it does is create a situation. And when it is brought up, why does the neck roll and the dialect change? It's just interesting.

Michael Eric Dyson Interviews Stacie Turner

Teresa Giudice And Stacie Turner On "Watch What's Happening Live" After Show

Catherine Ommanney Quits US After Claims Of Racism On Reality TV

ThisIsLondon.com:

She is a 38-year-old London socialite who once claimed to have shared a passionate kiss with Prince Harry.

But after moving to Washington DC to build a new life with her award-winning White HouseUS after falling foul of reality TV. photographer husband, Catherine Ommanney has found herself a figure of hate in the

The interior designer signed up to appear in The Real Housewives Of DC, the fifth instalment of a series which follows the lives of affluent housewives and professional women in America.

It was filmed last year and went on air this month, but Ms Ommanney complains she has been made to look like a “stuck-up cow” and a racist.

I hate it when 'Housewives' blame the camera's for the way they're portrayed. I don't believe for a second that Catherine is racist, but does she do some inappropriate things? Yeah, like leaving Stacie's Aunt Frances' home without saying goodbye to Stacie was far worse than her comments on Tyra Banks (which I didn't have a problem with at all). And is she now gonna blame Bravo for her marriage breaking up too? 'Housewives' who blame "reality TV" for peopel not liking them really need to spend some time in the mirror.

Stacie Scott Turner Juggles Being a Businesswoman, a Parent, and a Player in DC Society.

Cast Of The Real Housewives Of DC @ KLG and Hoda

Do these idiot hosts not realize how much they're ignoring the other DC 'Housewives' for Michaela?

Real Housewives of D.C. On "The View"

Damn, Joy and Sherri really got in Michaele's ass.

Stacie Turner Talks RHODC Being "Sophisticated"

EOnline.com:

When Stacie Scott Turner was first asked to be on The Real Housewives of Washington, D.C., she balked.

"I was like, 'Isn't that crazy? Who would do that?' " says Turner, a Harvard-educated real estate agent. "I like to watch it but I don't like to be the subject of it."

But, after thinking about it, she decided to join the latest installment of Bravo's Real Housewives franchise…

"What was really compelling is that [producers] talked about how this series was going to be a little more sophisticated than the others and that they were looking to have the drama come from things other than table-tossing and the other stuff that you've grown to expect on the other series," Turner says.

So, no New Jersey-esque hair-pulling either?

"No, I don't do that," Turner laughs.

Turners costars include stay-at-home mom Mary Schmidt Amons, resident cougar and modeling agency founder Lynda Erkiletian, snooty British import Catherine Ommanney and infamous White House party-crasher Michaele Salahi.

With the show built in and around the Beltway, expect some politics to pop up. And we're not just talking about Salahi and her husband Tareq's unwelcome presence at that state dinner.

In the premiere episode, airing Thursday night, Turner isn't too pleased when Ommanney not only ridicules Tyra Banks but also implies that she admires George W. Bush more than Barack Obama.

I've seen a clip of the Tyra Banks conversation in the premiere and I didn't think Catherine was being racist at all (and that's coming from a Black guy), a bit stereotypical maybe, but black people diss Tyra Banks all the time, why does a white chick have to like her?