PLAYBOY MODEL AND SUPERMODEL: THE UNTOLD MODEL STORIES OF THE 80S

Welcome To A Life Pinball Story

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hi, I'm Kim Alexis. Today in Paris, Dr. Kelly is showing his collection of spring clothes. Hi, I'm Kim Alexis with your ticket to adventure. I'm Kim Alexis, and I'm here in New York City. Got a great show coming up for you, so stay tuned. So I have model to actress to sommelier, Sandra Taylor. Thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for having me. I'm elated to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Yeah, so you grew up in Westchester. I did. Yeah. I did in New York. What little town? Because I lived in Harrison for a little bit. Oh, Porchester. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Yeah. Yeah. Porchester, right on the brink of um where Greenwich, Connecticut. Yes. There was one street that blocked. So most of my whole family all went to St. Mary's in Greenwich, and I went to Porchester. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So we were a split family.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Yeah. So you grew up with a uh fairly normal childhood. Very. Yeah. Very. And did you have dreams when you were young of what you wanted to do?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

I just, you know, math always came so easy to me. And I really truly believe it's hereditary the way you think, the way it just came to me, like the Pythagorean theorem. And I was like, who said that? Like just watching my dad write math textbooks and solve these theorems, and he did string art and he was just so mathematical. I just always was going to take after him and be a mathematician. It was like set in stone. And we have something in common.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Oh. We have a lot in common. But one thing was that we both took calculus in high school. I did. I did too. Yeah, which was really rare. Yes, and very hard. I was taking trigonometry and calculus.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

So in the pre-algebra, trigonometry statistics algebra, I got 98 on all my regions. Because in New York it was all regions. Yes. And they hated giving hundreds. So they would always find two points to take off. But I got 98 and everything. And then in senior year did calculus and got 98.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Wow. Yeah, I flunked second half. Oh. But at that point, uh, I was swimming five hours a day. Anyways, we could always say that we I wasn't meant for me to be in to go that way, right? Right. Right. And just like you, you thought you were gonna go towards a math, some type of 100%. Right, whether it was teaching or what? Accounting.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

I thought teaching. My dad was a professor at Westchester Community College and at SUNY Purchase. And I just assumed that I would follow in his footsteps because he was very well regarded there and it would just be my life. And you loved it. I did. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

I did,

Grief Sparks Her First Big Yes

SPEAKER_00 2:50

I was all set. Yeah, and then dad died in 19.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

At 19, he was walking around the campus at SUNY Purchase. It was a three-mile radius campus. And he was taking a walk with my mom. And at 46 years old, he was gone. He was not sick. He was not anything. So there was no warning signs. Warning. No leading up to professing your love and professing I love, you know. It was just one day, boom, ripped from under me.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

You know, your whole security system, your whole you know, your dad is really a security blanket for a young girl at 19 years old. And right, you know, right. He's always gonna be there. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Your dad. Yeah. Yeah. And I had my mine just died now. So I I got 65 years with him, you know. So I I'm sorry that you lost your dad so early. Thank you. But that led you to start going more into the city. So from Westchester to New York City is a train ride.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

It is a little train ride, you know. Maybe an hour. Metro North. Yes. The blue line or the red line. Um, it's about an hour, depending on the local or whatever, right into Grand Central. And I started going into New York, and um, I met a friend who a crazy story at Chippendales of all places. What were you doing there? We were me and my girlfriends just were like, let's go to Chippendales. So we go to Chippendales.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

I have never done that.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Oh, I feel like moving in. I was like, I should my room be over there. I wound up dating like seven of them, and oh, it was crazy. But I wound up meeting this girl, Nancy, and her husband was married to this guy, Michael Rapp, who you may have known in the modeling world.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Michael Rapp, he was he was the number one Chippendale dancer in the world.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

No, I didn't know any Chippendale dancers. Well, but he was also a model.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

So yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, very chiseled, high-fashioned model. Right. And did really well. And um, I met her at Chippendale's, and we wound up exchanging numbers and we became friends. And, you know, she said, our our our swimwear line is looking for a new model. And would you be interested in coming in for a go see? So I was like, hmm. I was like, I don't know. And she's like, Well, you're five nine, you're you know, you have a swimwear body. So I went in and got it. Right. I got the part or the role or the job.

SPEAKER_00 5:16

Was that surprising to you?

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Very, yeah. I had no idea what I was doing. Right. Zero. Right. But sometimes you just gotta walk in and say yes. I did. I'm on the S train. I am, I'm still on the S train. So I I started modeling for the showroom, but in under the showroom umbrella was H2O swimwear, Pierre Cardan swimwear, and Esther Williams swimwear. And one day Esther Williams was coming in. She was looking for her synchronized swim.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Yes, and I used to synchronize swim and I bet I was terrible at it.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

I bet I mean she was it. Yes. And she was looking for a model to go to LA and be her girl, you know, be her model. And she picked me of all the girls in the showroom.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Next thing I knew, I was flying to LA. I did a showroom thing um at Spago when it was still on sunset and was modeling swimwear there. And, you know, just one thing. It was like a pinball machine. One thing led to the next, led to the next, and yes, yes, yes. And yeah, there I was.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

You know?

SPEAKER_00 6:22

And so what was your probably your biggest print? Did you do print ad or just showroom at the time?

SPEAKER_01 6:29

I did. I wound up doing a lot of live uh fashion shows.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Live in a swimsuit.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Live in a swimsuit. Yeah, on a runway.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Now, did you worry about your weight or your food?

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Yeah, but not crazy. I never got crazy about it. I did. You did?

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah. I was always I bought into the theory that I was never good enough. So I was always on some weird diet. And back then, I'm six years older than you, but there were no diets, and there weren't very many health food stores in New York City and around the area. I used to drive up into Connecticut to go like an hour away to health food stores just to stock up.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Yeah. On uh whatever it was that was more healthy or more natural or the new fad and fat-free cookies at the time, you know, thinking you were being healthy because it was from the health food store and it was fat-free, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:21

That's great. Yeah. My theory was don't eat, you know, to get skinny. My girlfriend was so skinny, Nancy, and she just was like, Yeah, if you want to get thinner, don't eat. And I was like, that's so simple.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

Okay. But did you get dizzy? See, I I would get like, because they're looking, you know, you a lot of mine were close up and my eyes would get dull.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Yeah. I got kicked offset once because I was fasting for the day. Right. And the photographer, when it came around after lunch, they all ate and I stood there like an idiot and didn't eat because I felt fat.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

As if you're gonna lose weight when you're right, not eating for five seconds. Anyways, he looks through the camera, he looks up at me, looks back through the camera. It was Irving Penn, who was one of the most famous photographers at the time. Yeah, and he it was for Vogue, and he says, I can't work with her. And he kicked me out of the studio.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Because your eyes?

SPEAKER_00 8:15

Because I was so uh there he says there's no life in your eyes.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Wow. Yeah, wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

So I learned a lesson from that.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Right, I bet. Yeah. I think we just dabbled in fruit and and you know, just ate light and just didn't eat, but I never I never did that whole thing. Yeah, never got into cocaine, never got into anything.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

I I don't know how I you were just naturally made for it. Yeah. And some girls are and some girls are not.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Yeah. That was never my worry. It really wasn't. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

So what was your worry as you were working?

SPEAKER_01 8:50

I think just always what's the next job? Because it's so um once you're done. But the great thing about a swimwork contract in a showroom is there's four seasons. You know, there's the cruise, there's holiday, there's um winter and summer, I guess. Yeah, there's four. So I was booked all four seasons for them. Right. But the craziest, like in the in the elevator, I met the Gaetano guy and he was like, Oh, are you modeling at 1411 Broadway? And he's like, Come to our studio. So I wound up modeling for Gitano, and I wound up meeting this one and meeting that one.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

And do you think it's because you were open to it, or it was just supposed to be, or what?

SPEAKER_01 9:34

I think it was supposed to be, but I'm also in an elevator, friendly, and open to meeting and chatting. Whereas some models look down, have their hat on, whatever. I think it was because I was engaging and and maybe, you know, my friends call me Sandy Sunshine. Like maybe there was a, you know, I was approachable. That's what Steven Segal said when I auditioned for Under Siege 2. Yeah. He said, You're beautiful, but you're approachable. Right. And you're not, and and Ray Leota said, you know, it's really underrated. You really make people feel good about themselves, you know. That's a good life compliment, right? I loved Ray so much. He was my neighbor in the Palisades. And he was like, It's really underrated. You really make people feel good.

SPEAKER_00 10:19

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Okay, so you now you meet Guitano and Gitano. Did you have an agency?

SPEAKER_01 10:26

I wound up getting one after that. I was with Click. Okay. Francine Grill or Francis Grill was my agent. She was fantastic. Yeah. And I wound up getting one post that. And then I wound up doing a lot of lingerie for Felina, and then getting a bridal contract where I would fly to Dallas and do the bridals. So I had all the markets cornered. Right. So it was really

MTV Pageants And Learning To Network

SPEAKER_01 10:50

good.

SPEAKER_00 10:50

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So then you ended up. How did you get from modeling and swimsuits to Club MTV?

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Which was probably just it was um, it was almost simultaneous. Club MTV came from my agency sent me on a go see for a video for Def Leopard. Hysteria.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

And I got it. I mean, again, I was just like, really? You sure? I didn't know what I was doing. I was like, fucking her, me. I was like, yeah. So I'm in that hysteria video. And my dance partner, Hans, said, You'd be so good on this show. I dance for Club MTV. And I was like, okay. And he said, We shoot at the palladium. You got to come down and meet this guy, Rob Fox, and Ken Ken Ober something at MTV. So I went down and they were like, Oh, we love you. Sure. If Hans says you're great, you're great. Were you a dancer? No. No. But I mean, I definitely had rhythm and I definitely had, you know, I'd like to have fun. And, you know, I was the right age and the right everything.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

And so how did you feel walking in where maybe everyone else was dancers?

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Were you intimidated? Maybe a little.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

But again, I think a lot of it went right over my head. Because I was like, I could do this. I was, I was quite the dancer in the club scene. China Club. Remember China Club? I don't think I went to China Club. I was at Studio 54 and Limelight. Oh, I missed those. Darn it. Yeah. That's a big darn it. I would have loved. You never went. Oh. It was a little before my time.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

That six years makes a difference, huh?

SPEAKER_01 12:37

It does. I miss the Studio 54 train. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Yeah. Oh, wow. So I just find it fascinating that you just kept jumping into new things. I did.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Yeah. I literally did. And I really describe it as a pinball, a life pinball machine. Right. And it just and and just one thing leading to another with having no sense of direction.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Interesting. And so you started to trust that at some point and just knew if you went to a party, if you went to this, that this might lead to this. It always did.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

I don't know one time it didn't lead to something.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

I don't. That's I mean, I could write 10 books on the art of networking.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

Right. Mm-hmm. So it was your attitude and that willingness to show up and that willingness to try new things. And I mean sometimes when you try new things, you've got this right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

This but again, I had just lost my dad and I I was in survival mode.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

But there can be survival mode that leads to bad decisions. Yeah. And yours did not. Thank God. For the most part, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Yeah. Thank God.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Yeah. I often think about that.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

But you know, being in New York, it wasn't like I was in Cleveland where this happened. No. New York is the opportunity capital of the world. You know, they always say there's New York and then there's the rest of the world.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

For good and bad. Opportunity for good and bad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

And just so many things happened there. And I met Francesco Scavulo, wound up shooting with him, which I'm sure you did a bit. Yes. I would lived right down the street. That beautiful townhouse. Yeah. Did you love how yes? And Candy Singer? Remember Candy Singer? I probably did she. She worked the desk and she kind of ran the show.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

Oh, I would have, yeah, I would have known her then.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

Yeah, but Sean and and um how he had that one light.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Yes. One light with a string on it. Yeah. And so you would be sitting on set with the white background behind. And they would take the string and put it to your nose to measure if you were in focus or not. At least for my covers. Wow. I did like the Cosmo covers and a bunch of different. Yeah. Yep. Wow. Yep. He was the guy for the Cosmo covers.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

But then I did like Snap on Tools, which I took it upon myself to write Snap on Tools in the commercial? No, the calendar. I was like, I wrote a letter, literally wrote a letter. What made you do that? Um, a lot of my friends were in the Snap-on Tools calendar, and I really wanted to be in it. And I was like, you know, I'm just gonna write a letter. And I did, and I was like, I've done this, and then I'm Aster Williams swimwear model. And next thing I knew, you know, I laugh about Skevulo's one light because Snap on Tools had a light for every tool. I would say there was a thousand lights on a snap on tools calendar set. Oh, wow. The craziest thing. Wow. Because every tool had to be lit just so. Right. But with Scavulo, it was like one light. Just the the irony. Yes, yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

I know they all had their ways of doing things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

And you learn to just kind of zip it and watch and learn.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Yeah. Yeah. I go, that's interesting. And when I went to shoot Snap on Tools, it was right after they caught Jeffrey Dahmer. It was in his hometown. It was like that week of the whole Jeffrey Dahmer thing timeline. You were protected. Yeah, I really was. I was just going around life. What is that? Like Mr. McGoo, who like crosses the street and all the all the cars just miss him. I'm I'm Mrs. McGoo. That's what I should call myself.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

With a little side of sunshine. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Mrs. McGoo's side of sunshine. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Oh funny. All right. So from dancing, then you somehow got on Penthouse. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

So what was I doing? I was at a club and they said, oh, Penthouse is here and they're looking for a center fold. I was like, oh, that's fun. And um I entered the bikini contest and won. Right. And next thing I knew, I was, you know, flying to Hawaii to shoot with this great photographer. Um, and did that. And then, but even back to the showroom of swimwear, it was called Bear Assets. Okay, yes. They were the um sponsor for this beauty pageant in Las Vegas. And they said, you know, we're sponsoring and we're sending all this swimwear to Las Vegas for this American dream calendar girl. And uh I think, you know, the girl said, You would be so great in a beauty pageant. And I was like, Oh no, I've never done a beauty pageant. And she goes, but you know, if you'd like to, we we're gonna, you know, we can sponsor you on behalf of bearess. So I wind up going to Vegas and I would say So you said yes again. I said yes again. Next thing I know, I'm on a uh flight to Vegas. But this was the intimidating when you say you walk in and you're kind of all these girls with all these tricks and like the hairspray on the butt to hold this bathing suit in place.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

I never heard that one.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

Yeah, they sprayed their butt cheek, and then the bathing suit would like kind of stick to.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

I was like, okay. So it didn't ride up? Yeah. This was P4 thongs. Yes. Now there is no no coverage.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

Now they want it to ride up, but this was pre-wanting it to ride up. Right. And so I go, and there were all these John Bonnet Ramsey plus ten years, you know. They were like, you know, going up to the microphone and my name is Gina Joe Alessio, and I want to save the world. And I was like, oh, okay, that's what they're looking for. You know, and this next girl went up and she they were all so polished for pageantry.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

Right. But you're watching and listening and what did you want to blend in or did you want to stick out?

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Well, somewhere right in the sweet spot, right in the middle there. I just wanted to say something prophetic and and cool. And, you know, I was like, what am I gonna say?

SPEAKER_00 18:41

So you're thinking this while you're on stage.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Yeah. Well, as the other girls are going up, because there were 50 or 52 of us, and I was like, what am I gonna say? And um I just was like, I'm born the day after Christmas, and it really stinks. I know it's just the worst because you really get gypped. So, you know, and and I decided to disclose that information. And um, I won that beauty pageant. The whole audience roared with laughter and could not believe my, I guess, candidness or whatever. And maybe they were just so tired of the bullshit of everyone wanting to save the world and do a better and world peace. World peace. Yeah, world peace again, you know. And and here I am, like the only one who was not groomed for pageantry. And I wound up winning this American Dream Court. Was your talent dancing because you'd had so much? No, no, we didn't even have a talent um uh category. Okay. It was really about swimwear and about shooting and so you were confident there because you'd done so much swim work. Yeah, but I had never gone on stage and done an interview, I don't think, other than downtown Julie Brown, because Club MTV, she does interview you. And I see those clips now of my past. Yes. Um, this this Instagram guy has Club MTV clips where they can bring up your past interviews.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

It's strange to see if only everyone in every profession could see what you were like and how you I used to talk like this and like an airhead when I was 20. I was living in Florida, so I thought I should have North Florida. I thought I should have this little southern accent.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

Oh, that's cute. Gosh, I would try that. You can try that.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Yeah, go for it.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

That's good.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Um, yeah, so I did it. And and that was that. And I was Miss December. I actually won Miss July for the calendar, but I talked to Miss July and said, Listen, I'm born in December. As you know, would you switch months with me? Right. So I wound up doing the December month. I mean, I was like this little negotiator at 24 years old.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

So your agent, I had my agent do all that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

No, I was very hands-on my own career and without even knowing it. Right. Right. Yeah. But I was always on time. Yes. I was always a pleasure to work with. I was never a pain in the ass. I was never late. I was never complaining. Um, and I think work begets work.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Yes, yes. I do. I remember my first two years just being very quiet because I was like you, trying to like, okay, they're doing this. And they said that this is beautiful and this hairdo and this makeup, and they put that earring with this shirt, and like, so I was really quiet because I did not, I came from tomboy swimming to all of a sudden high fashion. I mean, like, yeah, I knew nothing.

SPEAKER_01 21:35

Yeah, and we as models are quiet, you know, they're like talking amongst themselves, pinning and doing, and you're just like, you know, and I was always curious and want to ask questions and do things, but I was pretty quiet in that regard too, while I was being pinned and tucked and pulled and well, they didn't necessarily talk to us care about our opinion on anything.

SPEAKER_00 21:59

We were canvas. Right. We have blank canvas for them to create and art and we're like a little doll.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

And then they'd push us on set and then we'd do our little thing and they would direct us, right?

SPEAKER_01 22:13

Yeah. But I don't want to talk about it. I was like, ooh, ooh, I like that. Yeah, I was very curious. But yeah, they weren't really interested.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

Well, and they would also let you know, I mean, they didn't mind hurting your feelings, like, oh, there's a bulge sticking out, or they're, you know, you're not wearing that outfit well, or yeah, you need bigger boobs, or whatever it was, or your eyebrows or something. I'm like, you could have developed so many complexes. Yeah. Right? Yeah. And you had to kind of let all that roll off your back and maybe take something to learn from it. But for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

For sure. But would you ever come in and your outfits were pinned to what and it's this like Sandy and she's wearing this, this. And I would always hope it was like the pink and fluffy and girly and cute. And I never got the cute pink fluffy girly. Where you tweed and pinstripes, and you know, I was just like, hmm, never sexy business woman. I guess. I always wanted the fluff. You never gave me the fluff. I'm making up for it now, Kim. I've got so much fluff. So much fluff.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Yeah. Yeah. Well, it helps teach you, I think, modeling because you get so many um opinions and you try so many different clothes on that you decide, oh, I like that. I wouldn't wear that. Right. Right. And you have to stay quiet because they're raving over this. And you're like, really?

SPEAKER_01 23:36

Oh yeah. Right. I'm like, hmm, maybe they see something I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

Right.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Yeah. Right. Because I was like, yeah, that's not good.

SPEAKER_00 23:43

Right. Right. But you just have to hush up and make it look good, which sometimes was tough because you didn't feel it.

SPEAKER_01 23:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

And I can still see when I look at print and you see a girl and you're like, she does not like that outfit.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Right. Or it's a motion. Great. And like there's just something about a woman when she feels really good and confident in an outfit.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

100%.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

And I never thought I looked good in jeans. You know, I always thought, oh, I look, I don't know, just it just didn't look good on me.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

I felt did anyone say anything or you just had your own opinion?

SPEAKER_01 24:18

I just thought that of myself. You know, I just thought, oh, jeans just aren't my thing. And, you know, just went to Gitano and wore them for them because I was getting paid and doing it, but I never thought I looked very good in them. Right. You know, I really didn't. And then I wound up getting a guest jeans ad. But it in my ad, I'm not in jeans at all. I'm in a I'm in a beautiful boustier, and um, I wasn't in jeans, so interesting. That was a blessing. Yeah, my my guest jeans ad is no jeans. Isn't that funny?

SPEAKER_00 24:50

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:51

I was like, good choice, Paul Marciano. Because I had no good jeans. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

So yeah, well, you were kind of the the bathing suit girl and the lingerie girl.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Yeah, it's re do you know trashy lingerie in LA? Yes, yeah. They make beautiful, it's anything but trashy. I mean, it's Madonna shops there, Cher shops there. It's like very couture, it's bespoke, everything's pretty much fitted to you. And um, I was wearing a trashy Oustier. Oh, okay. From there. Yeah. Yeah. So what did that lead to? Gas jeans led to a lot of things. We wound up shooting a commercial from that. Harry Dean Stanton was in that commercial with me and Juliet Lewis. Um, I wonder what did who knows? Yeah, I'm sure something, because really everything led to something.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Well, and then you did romance novel covers.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

Yeah, that was back in New York with Fabio, who I was dating. And I mean, I met him at the vertical club working out.

SPEAKER_00 25:49

Yes, that was a big health club in New York City. Big health club. I worked out there.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Isn't that great? It was so great. All the floors, and I met Fabio and we dated, and he was shooting a romance novel cover and asked me to, you know, would you ever want to do one with me? And I was like, sure. Did you ever say no? No, no. And next thing I knew, I think we shot 30 or 40 romance novel covers together.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

Do you still run into them? I see him every once in a while. The covers. Oh, the covers? No, I had them. Yeah. I had a I had I saved everyone, I saved everything. My snap on tools, I had saved everything. They gave you snap-on tools? A calendar? No, the calendar. Okay. The calendar.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

You didn't get tools though.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

No tools. No tools. No. But that was an interesting trip. I will never forget that with the whole Jeffrey Dahmer thing.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

I made them, I made the locals drive me by his apartment. I don't know why.

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SPEAKER_00 26:46

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SPEAKER_01 27:25

Interesting. Yeah. Can you imagine being his neighbor? Oh God. Did you watch the the series? No. It's crazy. Put it down on my list. Things to watch. I'm on Dexter right now. I'm watching Dexter. I'm I'm obsessed. Did you ever watch that?

SPEAKER_00 27:40

No.

SPEAKER_01 27:41

It's right that Dexter and the Jeffrey Dahmer little, I think it's eight. Oof. Yeah. Crazy.

SPEAKER_00 27:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

But for some reason, I was like, you have to take me by his apartment.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Right. Well, thank God we avoided all of that. And then you feel bad for people that didn't know, and I mean there were victims. Oh a lot of victims in our business and life at that time, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:05

It's crazy. Yeah. And I think with social now and all the stuff, it's brought to light. I think all the stuff that was going on when we were growing up and in the city was happening, we just didn't know about it. Right. I think.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

Right. Did you ever run into some of these people like uh Jeffrey Epstein? Right in Weinstein?

SPEAKER_01 28:24

No. Well, Harvey, yes. I met Harvey. He was actually very nice to me.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

Right.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

I met him at the um Toronto film. How nice was he? Not that, not that nice. Um at the Tribeca Film Fest. Not Tribeca, uh Toronto in Canada. Okay. My girlfriend had a movie in the festival, and I went with her and he was there and he was just, yeah, he was normal, nothing burger. Like nothing. Right. Yeah. A big old nothing burger. I wanted to talk to him, but he was kind of like cremudgity. But Jeffrey Epstein, I think I was too old. I had moved into New York when I was 19 and I was past his expiration date. He was 13, 14, 15.

unknown 29:05

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 29:06

Right? I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:07

I just know I missed it all.

SPEAKER_01 29:09

19 is way past his uh due date. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

I was like, well, because you've learned.

SPEAKER_01 29:17

Yes. You're too smart. You're gonna go. Even though I was, I mean, I wasn't street smart. I was book smart, but I wasn't street smart.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

Well, in a way, I think we were, or at least it's either that uh we didn't get ourselves in certain certain situations, or we knew enough. I I I don't I don't know because I I feel bad for people who were uh sucked into these situations and I would never accuse them of of making a wrong choice. But um yeah, I mean there was just this either our guardian angels were working overtime or we just were blessed to not be at that place at that time.

SPEAKER_01 29:58

Yeah. Yeah. It just wasn't our path. Right.

unknown 30:02

Right.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

Blessed. I really feel blessed.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

I mean, the things you probably had. I mean, I had situations where I had to walk out of bookings and I had to walk out from bad situations, and I just wasn't gonna go certain places. So I would draw a line. I'm like, nope, I'm out of here. I did that. Good. Yeah, I'm glad that even sometimes against the agency saying, Oh, but this would be good for your career. I'm like, I don't see how, and I'm out of here. Yeah, no, it's not good for me. Yeah, but to learn that at a young age, you and I had to somehow develop, we did develop street smarts at some point very much who was a good person to to trust and who to maybe to avoid, or oh, I don't I don't that's something's not right with that.

SPEAKER_01 30:49

Yeah. Well, our intuition where we know before we know. Yes, right.

SPEAKER_00 30:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

Um, I think as a woman too, we have that sixth sense that God gives us.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

Um, just anyway. But when you're young and naive as I was, I just navigated. I had my little circle of friends. I didn't stray too far from home, you know. I lived on the upper west side. And uh, I just was living life. I just thought I was so cool, you know. I really did. I was so cool. And I remember when I moved to California for the first time, I thought I lost

LA Acting Breaks And Playboy Covers

SPEAKER_01 31:25

all my New York cool.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

How old were you when you moved from New York to LA?

SPEAKER_01 31:29

Um, what year was 1993? So I was like, you know, uh, I don't know. 33, 23? Yeah, I was, yeah. See, my I'm not like a calculator. I'm good, I can prove calculus, but I can't, you know, do the calculator thing. But when I moved, I just felt like New Yorkers are so cool, they have such an edge over LA. Right. There's such an edge of, you know, just that. So what made you move?

SPEAKER_00 31:59

Modeling. So the agency you decided to know.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

I just was flying back and forth so much to the showroom for the California Mart with swimwear.

SPEAKER_00 32:08

Okay, so there's more swimwear in LA than there is in New York.

SPEAKER_01 32:12

Way, way, way more. And I just was much more the California type model, whereas New York was tall and skinny skinny. And I was doing yeah, tall.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

I was tall, but I don't I wasn't skinny skinny.

SPEAKER_01 32:25

Well, they just yeah, you know, they were very serious models and like hangar models. Yeah, you know, and I was the more curvy. Oh, so I was doing Dallas, and LA was only two hours to Dallas as opposed to. So I just moved to LA and you know, again, I hit my I wound up in a Tikate beer dress in a parade for Cinco de Mayo because I met someone at a party. I'm waving on the back of like a gold Cadillac. I don't know. I was just like, do all these random things.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

Right. That's why your bio is like my bio is like all over the place.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

I know, I know.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

So I'm like trying to keep track here. All right. So, oh, you did a New York magazine cover. I did.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

Yeah, I did their swimwear issue, and um, oh, it was so great.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

Were they competing with Sports Illustrated at the time? Was it like in February? It was in June. Oh, interesting. It was in June.

SPEAKER_01 33:18

It was a June swimwear issue. I was on the cover of the magazine, and uh Were you surprised you got the cover? No.

SPEAKER_00 33:27

Did they promise you the cover?

SPEAKER_01 33:28

Yeah, I was promised the cover. Oh, interesting. Yeah, I was promised the cover. Yeah, yeah. And that was fun. I remember it was this great pink bikini, and I was, I think the shoot was actually done in California though. Right. Yeah. Stan Melanowski. Yes, I loved him. Wasn't he great? Oh, yes, from Chicago, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:47

Uh well, I worked with him in New York City.

SPEAKER_01 33:50

Oh, okay. Yeah, but I think he was based in Chicago. We flew to LA, did the photo shoot for the New York magazine.

SPEAKER_00 33:57

But we used to fly all over to do everything.

SPEAKER_01 33:59

Yeah. And I remember part of it, we were out on a boat, Ron Popeel on his boat. And none of those pictures came out good because I was so seasick from from the motion of the ocean that I was no sunshine. There was no love in that film for that shoot. I was like, that was bad. Yeah. So we were on land, I think, where they shot Planet of the Apes up in um Point Doom. Oh, okay. And that was the cover, the Swimmore cover. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Which was so good.

SPEAKER_00 34:32

Yeah. And that led to all sorts of other things too.

SPEAKER_01 34:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:35

And then you did a Playboy Stars and Stripes cover.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

Yeah. Years later. Years later, okay. In LA, 1995, when I moved to LA, I wound up Anna Nicole Smith was a dear friend of mine, who I always thought you resembled a bit, or she resembled you. Yeah. Did you ever get that? Or did she? No, I didn't get that.

SPEAKER_00 34:53

I got more the Grace Kelly or Definitely Deborah Harry.

SPEAKER_01 34:57

Yes. The the elegance of them. But something about Anna, I don't know. She just in her heyday.

SPEAKER_02 35:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:04

Oh, she was there was she was so beautiful. Yeah. But a knucklehead, a beautiful knucklehead.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Well, she did make some good decisions, right?

SPEAKER_01 35:12

Right. But I went to visit her on the set of Naked Gun, 33 and a third. With Leslie Nielsen. Yes. Yeah. I did a um Saturday Night Live with him. Wasn't he something? He was funny.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:26

Did he have a whoopee cushion all the time?

SPEAKER_00 35:29

You'd sit down and it would go.

SPEAKER_01 35:31

I know. And he would just think that was the greatest thing.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

Yes. So Cheryl Teagues was with me on set and he kept doing it to her, and she's like, Dear God, stop it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:39

Like maybe once, but like all day. All day. It's like less farts all day. Relax. Yes. Yeah. I know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:45

He thought it was funny each time.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

Everyone just look at him. It's like maybe he just forgets. Maybe he has, you know.

SPEAKER_00 35:53

Well, I don't know. He, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

I don't know. So Anna Nicole was there, and her makeup artist, Alexis Vogel, said, Oh my God, she's like, You're so cute. Did you ever think about doing Playboy? And I was like, No. And she said, You know, I would love to bring you in to meet Marilyn Grabowski. And, you know, we're looking for our 40th anniversary. So I went in and met Marilyn. Next thing I know, I'm shooting with this 40-year-old Rolls Royce for the 40th anniversary for Playboy. Right. But at that same time, I had a movie Under Siege 2 coming out with Steven Segal because I had gotten into acting, living in LA. Did you have an acting agent? I did, William Morris. Okay. Yeah, little old William Morris. I was with William Morris in New York City. Wonderful agency. One of the best. Yes. Truly. And um Hef said, I think we want to wait and do a celebrity layout with you. It's more money. You get to pick where you go to shoot. And you know, you get your cover. You're guaranteed your cover. So I wound up doing a celebrity Playboy layout. And it did really, really well. It was the number one selling issue of that year. So he put me on another cover the next year. So I was on February with Leslie Nielsen. Okay. I bet you he loved that. He was great. That's where he did his whoopee cushion thing. But so I met him with Anna on the set. The makeup artist took me to Playboy, and then I wind up shooting with him for the February '96 cover. Right. So I wound up having two covers for Playboy, and that was just no little cotton tail. No, no, I would have loved that. Oh, you would have? Yeah. Okay. I would have. Maybe you can anything fluffy, I love. Anything. Even if it's like a fluffy. I didn't get a tail. Now I'm like, hmm.

SPEAKER_00 37:39

You missed out on the tail.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

I did.

SPEAKER_00 37:41

Yeah. Darn it. Yeah. So how did you get a poster? Okay, we're going back to New York. Sorry. I you're, it was all over New York. It was all over.

SPEAKER_01 37:50

We're back in New York. We are doing Club MTV with downtown Julie Brown. Nancy's husband, Michael Rapp, had a poster out. And I said, Wow, that's really cool. I would love to do a poster. And he goes, Oh, well, it's this company called Stormakers, and they're writing Queens. You know, maybe I can show Eileen Miller your picture or whatever. Showed her my picture. I didn't, I wish I would have. I would have written her a letter. My letters are good. And um, he I wound up going in and meeting her. I was on a plane to LA. I did a photo shoot with Sam Maxwell. My poster, which I have to show you, this poster, I just put it on Instagram for a flashback Friday. Like the most liked picture in all my Instagram pictures. Wow. Ever. Maybe even more than my Playboy cover. And you had all your clothes on. Oh, you're thinking of it. No, it was a shirt. I was in a shirt in front of a refrigerator, and the refrigerator was open. I'm holding an Evian bottle and it's pink, and it was called Too Hot. And it hit number one in the country. Interesting. And I wound up touring with Fabio and the Barbie twins and Michael Rapp doing poster signings all over the country in all the malls across America. Oh, yes. Which I loved.

SPEAKER_00 39:10

I opened one of those. Spencer Gifts or when it first opened in Minnesota. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:17

Yeah. 23 miles long, they said it was. Yeah. Yeah. The biggest mall in America.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

I remember going up there. I loved doing those and meeting people and you know, in those poster signings where there's like lines of guys, and you've got like a minute to pull out what do we have in common? I'm like, where are you from? What do you do? And oh, I like your tie. Or and if we had nothing in common, I would just sign. Pick something about them and make it up and sign. But I just loved the art of meeting new people.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

Oh, I think you do. I do.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Yeah. I really do. Yeah. That's why, too, what I do current day is so perfect. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 39:56

So we'll get there. Are are we out of all the other stuff with the acting, the modeling?

SPEAKER_01 40:02

The poster was amazing. The beauty pageant was shocking, more shocking to me than anything. Um, Club MTV, the music video, New York, move to LA. Um, I just always laugh at the Ticate. I I just, but the girl who was the Tacate beer girl with me on Cinco de Mayo was reading for Gary Marshall for a movie. And she was like, Oh, I'm reading for this movie Exit to Eden. Everyone wants to do this movie. And I'm like, Oh, yeah, I don't want to be an actress, model actress. I was like, no. And so she needed a ride. So I brought her to meet Gary Marshall, and he was casting for this movie. And he's like, his son knew me from Howard Stern, because I was on Howard Stern all the time in New York. And his son, Scotty, was like, is that Sandy Korn? And I was like, Oh, yeah, hey. And Gary was like, We love how you handle Howard. You're so good on that. And my poor girlfriend who was there to read for the movie role, she didn't get the movie. I got the movie. And I wound up getting a role in Exit to Eden, this role of Reba.

SPEAKER_02 41:10

Right.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

Which was like this role that everyone in town wanted. I had no idea. Did people hate you? I don't know. I hope not. But I remember I was at the time hip pocketed for a minute by Jack Gillardi at ICM because I didn't have an acting agent. So he called me after because I had gone in to read for Gary like six times. And then Jack called me and said, You got the role. And I go, Oh, okay. And he goes, Aren't you excited? And I was like, What does that entail? Like I knew nothing. Right. Gary Marshall, pretty woman. I knew that was probably a good thing. Again, like it was really a good thing. Right? No pressure. He goes, I thought you would be driving off the road with excitement. I'm like, Do you want me to? I was like, I can if you want me to. But uh, no. Um, what does that mean? You know, and he goes, Well, you're flying to Hawaii with Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Aykroyd and Dana Delaney. And I was like, Who? Okay. And he was like, Um, it's gonna be really great. And Gary thinks you're perfect for the role. And I was like, okay. And I think that's when I got hit by the acting bug because I really enjoyed speaking. And Dan Aykroyd was so great to work with, and Rosie O'Donnell was so great. You know, we were kind of sequestered on this island of Lanai, where there were only two hotels. It was in nothing like Honolulu or Maui or anything. It was on Lanai, which was like pretty much undiscovered yet. And um, we shot there and it was just it was just great to speak after modeling and and not speaking.

SPEAKER_00 42:50

Yes, because modeling you just had to zip it and you never had a voice.

SPEAKER_01 42:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:54

So that's what people say on social media. They're like, oh my gosh, now I can put a voice with your face. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Because there were so many years of us just yes.

SPEAKER_01 43:03

And here I was in Exit to Eden, like speaking on camera as opposed to just posing.

SPEAKER_00 43:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 43:09

And it was such a concept. I was like, wow, this is great. And I really loved it. And I had a lot of beginner's luck. I wound up getting a few movies right after.

SPEAKER_02 43:19

Right.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

And that's when I was no longer hip pocketed by Jack Gillardi. I signed with William Morris with Fred Westheimer.

SPEAKER_00 43:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 43:27

Who then sent me in for Under Siege 2. And I didn't, I was like, I don't even know why I'm here. Like every, you know, Vendela? Yes. She was there. Um, all these Talesa Soto was there, all these really famous girls. And I'm like, oh God, I'm never gonna get this.

SPEAKER_00 43:45

So were you intimidated, or you just didn't expect it?

SPEAKER_01 43:49

I was there, but I had my lucky suit on. I had a very lucky suit on.

SPEAKER_00 43:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:53

I wound up getting three movies with this lucky suit. It was a pink Chanel little um physical suit.

SPEAKER_00 44:00

It was just a mindset.

SPEAKER_01 44:01

No, no, no. It was this cute little pink Chanel suit that I bought and a pleated skirt. And I shortened it. I remember it was like here. And I was like, Oh, can you shorten it at Chanel? And you know how they are there. Yeah. And she goes like this. I go, more. And she's oh, and we go here. I go, more. And she's like, oh miss. Oh, miss. I go, no, I know what I want. So um it was my lucky suit. And I remember reading for Under Siege 2, and Steven Segal had come out and he he like literally stopped in his tracks and he goes, My wife has that suit. And I was like, Oh Kelly LeBrock at the time. Kelly LeBrock. And I went in and read, and and again I had to go back six or seven times. And every time I went in, the room was full of more and more beautiful women going for the role. Everyone in town. And I was like, ugh. And that's when he had said, you know, you're beautiful, but you're approachable. And it would be believable that you might be a bartender on a train. You know, um, we're gonna do it. We're gonna give you that shot. Yeah. And uh I got that role. Did you start studying bartenders? That's I absolutely did. Yeah. And how they're always busy. Yes. That was the one thing they said. Always look busy, even if you're just mopping up the countertop or you know rag over your shoulder, right?

SPEAKER_00 45:19

Just pretend to be busy. So I was always like, okay. There's always something to clean in a bar, right? Polish and buff.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

I would like change the glasses, the formation of the glasses.

SPEAKER_00 45:30

And that could be like eight hours, right?

SPEAKER_01 45:32

I'm keeping busy.

SPEAKER_00 45:33

Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

unknown 45:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 45:36

So then at some point, did you feel like you needed to give up the acting and modeling, or on the side, did you start studying wine? When did you fall in love with model?

SPEAKER_01 45:48

So in 2016, Gary Marshall passed away. And um that was bad. Because at that point, I think I had done 12 movies with him. Oh, wow. And acted

Piedmont Wine Awakening And Sommelier Training

SPEAKER_01 46:00

alongside him in two, so 14 total. And he was like my angel. If he really liked you, Gary Marshall, like Hector Elizondo, was in every one of his movies. He he would know what he was getting and he would want to hire people he knew would be on time and would know their lines and would not be a pain in the ass. And you know, he always he said, I always put Sandy in a scene where if two people didn't get along, I'm gonna put Sandy in the scene because you're the glue. You know, you'll make everybody get along.

SPEAKER_00 46:29

Right. So um that's a sweet thing to have, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:34

Yeah. I loved him like family. So I went to see him the day he died.

SPEAKER_00 46:40

Oh, you did?

SPEAKER_01 46:41

Okay. Yeah, July 16th. And um, yeah. So at that point, you know, he had said he was giving me advice and different things and always have a plan B, he said, you know, always have a plan B. And I remember I had one at a charity auction that I was at, one of these fancy things. Um, I won a wine tasting trip in Piedmont, Italy. And I was like, oh, that's fun. And I went with my girlfriend and had no, you know, no idea what was gonna happen in Piedmont. You know, we fly into Milan, had a ball, went to that the Duomo and all that fun stuff, and um stayed at the Mandarin Oriental. It was so beautiful. And next thing we know, we're we drive to Piedmont, a little north Italy, and we go on this wine tasting tour, this week of wine tasting, and we get to Barolo Barbaresco, this little village of Barbaresco, and there's all these vines, and it was about to be harvest. So the grapes were just about to burst. So there's the most beautiful cluster of grapes. And I remember I made them stop the truck so I can get out and take a picture because these were like grapes that were about to bust. I was like, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen. They're so beautiful, right? And then I fell in love with Barbaresco, this tiny little village. I climbed the Barbaresco tower and I looked out at the rolling hills of Barolo and I was like, I love this. Had you been drinking wine all not really, right?

SPEAKER_00 48:16

No, so you didn't really know much about wine at all?

SPEAKER_01 48:18

Nothing. I knew nothing. Really knew nothing, right? And fell in love with the little village of Barbaresco. I loved the grape Nebbiolo, which is their in, you know, that is their grape. Um, it's a almost like a black thick skin grape, and it's just beautiful. And I said, you know, after the tour and tastings and going to all these Gaia, which is the best Barolo Barbaresco you can buy, um, in my book. Uh, then there's La Spineta and all these different, and then we went truffle hunting, and I was like, this is so cool. I love this whole vibe. And it was the time the whole Me Too movement was happening back at home. Right. And I was just, that was real. That was so real. I was like, I've I've experienced that, or I've experienced that. Um, and I said, you know, I'm gonna go home and throw myself into wine classes. And I took all the entrance classes. I took UCLA, I took W set, I took the court, and I took this one called NASA, North American Sommelier Association. And it was really evident that I loved the style of teaching at NASA. The professor was from Piedmonthe. I was like, what a what a coincidence. Right. And he was so passionate about wine. And so even though I took all the introductory courses, when they completed, I continued with NASA.

SPEAKER_00 49:46

I mean, you can take a million courses, but if you can't taste 100% and understand and identify things, you're never going to become a sommelier, correct?

SPEAKER_01 49:55

Correct. But that was the fun of it. But you had a gift. I had a gift that I it was so clear because we would swirl our glass, and sometimes it's funny. Like I judge wine competitions now. I just got back from Central Coast, and I'm like, I smell the wine, I go, new car smell, or this smells like Christmas morning or leather belt or wet dog in a foam booth, or but it is forest floor. Wet dog in a foam booth is a really musty kind of smell. When you no, I know it doesn't, it doesn't, you're not thinking that doesn't taste good. I'll take that one. But um the things I come up with when I smell wine, they were just the whole class was looking at me. The professor was just like, you not only have a good nose, but you have quite an imagination. Right. He said, I bet you're a great storyteller. And um I just can smell things for days, but you also learn the descriptors. You go to farmers markets and you smell things, you close your eyes and you smell and you go, Okay, this is a blueberry, or this is a strawberry, or this is a raspberry, and you can detect the notes. Right. So a lot of times a stewed tomato, a black or green pepper, or um, we'll tell you a terroir, you know, okay, I'm I'm in the region of Italy, I'm in the region of Burgundy, or I'm in Bordeaux, or it's very uh methodical. There's no mistake as to why you smell certain things. Right. And um, I just loved it. And it was because I was good at it and I had a gift, but didn't know. Right. So I just continued and continued and continued, and I wound up getting a job at a restaurant in downtown LA called Miro. And I had just finished Gary's movie. It was called Mother's Day, where I played Jason Sudekis' girlfriend for a minute and um went to Italy. But by the time the movie was edited and out in theaters, I was now working at Miro. Right. And I'm in a stock room and I'm sweating, and I'm like, did I make this right decision? Like a year ago, I was on the set with Kate Hudson and Jason, you know, what am I doing? No, so I was like, this isn't glamorous. But you know, on the certification, service was a big part. Service was five points, and in that test, which some say, not me, that it's as hard to pass as the bar. Oh, it's that difficult to become a sommelier to get certified. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 52:19

I mean, you have to be able to identify the world.

SPEAKER_01 52:22

It's not even just Napa or Tuscany or Burgundy, and it's the world. Yeah. And to have these descriptors, yeah. Yeah, South Africa or Australia or Marlboro, New Zealand, or all these places that have, you know, a really big wine presence in their in their space. And um, so I really enjoyed it because I was good, but taking this job, which turned out to be one of the greatest times of my life, because I met all the servers and the dishwashers and they all became my friends. Yeah. And and I think Anthony Bourdain had said it like, we're all just a bunch of misfits working in a kitchen. And I was like, but they're beautiful broken toys. Yes. You know, they are. It's just a big, I didn't use misfit, but I said, you know, they're all broken toys living check to check. But I loved them and I felt like I was very maternal toward them. And I was like, now, Max, you're not gonna go drinking tonight with your check because you have to pay rent next week, you know. And they'd all be, I'm still in touch with so many from Miro to this day. It was one of the greatest things. But I noticed, you know, wearing heels, it was very difficult because you're an eight-hour shift. And so my professor at UCLA, because I wound up taking Sommelier night courses, I loved it so much. Um, Paul Sherman said, You're not gonna be able to wear heels as a sommelier. I go, oh yes, I am. And a little short skirt. Yeah, and my and uh he goes, you're not gonna be able to wear heels. So I defied and I bought, you know, the the I think it was 90 millimeter, the Lumbuchan things, but they kept getting stuck. You know, the kitchen has those rubber mats. Yes. I was like, this isn't working. And my I would go home and my feet would have a pulse. And I was like, maybe I ought to do a Chanel ballet flat or something. Right. You know, so I brought a little glamour to the position, which I started loving, is really upping me ante on the Sommelier attire. Right. Like I that's I brought my whole modeling acting career to what I wear. I mean, at the stadium now, every I I for weeks I plan out my outfits and what I'm gonna wear and and how I'm going to dress to impress.

SPEAKER_00 54:39

So you're jumping ahead. So you're you're working in this restaurant, but how did you get to become the sommelier for the Raiders, which no other NFL team has a sommelier?

SPEAKER_01 54:48

No. So after Miro, uh COVID came and we kind of shut down and everything shut down.

Building A Stadium Wine Experience

SPEAKER_01 54:55

And I thought to myself, as I crafted all during COVID, and you know, I was just painting at home and I painted my swing out front pink. Um, and I'm like, how do I bring glamour to this position? What are what are we gonna do? Because I can't stand eight hours in high heels and this is a travesty. What am I gonna do? And my dad always taught me create if you see something that needs to be invented, you know, if you see something that's missing, create it. So I was dear, dear friends with Mark Davis, who owns the Raiders. And um, that was a whole nother job I had working for the Super Bowl every year. I was the um sort of Vanna White spokesmodel at the Super Bowl for the NFL charities. So everything kind of accumulated. Everything accumulated and grew together. And but that was one very important part of my puzzle was working for this guy in Jersey, Nick, who ran the NFL charities. And every year I went to Super Bowl. I didn't miss a Super Bowl in 31 years.

SPEAKER_00 55:56

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 55:57

And I would go and do the charity function and I would give away the prizes and ride the golf cart while the guys are golfing and bring them sandwiches and beer and you know, met all the guys, met everybody. And um, I met Mark Davis maybe 20 years ago, and we became really, really good friends. And he was a fan. He had a lot of my artwork, a lot of my posters. He had um this drawing, this artist drew me, like a Varga type painting. And he drew me, and he was a fan before he met me, and we had a mutual friend, right? And he was like, Oh, my friend Sandy Taylor. And Mark was like, You know Sandy Taylor, I just bought a painting of her. Right. So we met about 20 something years ago. So you changed your name from Sandy Korn to Sandy. Back in New York. Yes, yep, I did. Yeah, corn wasn't a star name, right? And uh, so I had to change that, which was a good wound up being a great bit of advice. Yes, actually. I did. Um, so when Mark during COVID was building um the Allegiance Stadium now in Las Vegas, I said to him, you know, because I've been studying the Sommelier stuff, and Mark laughed and, you know, he was always supportive. I said, I think we should put in a premium wine program at the stadium. I mean, it is Vegas, it's the entertainment capital of the world. Um, why don't we razzle dazzle our fan base and the sweet levels and really elevate the game day experience and put in as if they're entertaining in their own living room. And, you know, so Mark's so smart. Oh my God. For someone who doesn't drink, he knows a lot about wine. He knew a lot about so what are you gonna do with that? And how are you gonna focus? How are you gonna? He's so genius. And you had answers. I had answers for almost everything. And if I didn't, he was like, get the answer. Right. And um we tried it out during COVID. They had just completed the stadium in 2020 or 2021 season, and uh, it was an away game because they weren't allowed to have the whole full stadium at the time. So we had configured it where we would sign up like 10 people at a time, and I picked a theme champagne versus Prosecco because I thought, well, that was something I didn't know. So maybe other people don't know. Right. Let me just give it a whirl. It was such a hit. Right. I had people signed up every half hour, every for the whole day from nine in the morning till three in the afternoon. Like take taste testings with a little bit of teaching, blind tasting, champagne and prosecco. What is the difference? Why is the price point of champagne 45 minimum a bottle and prosecco 15 a bottle? Right. Why? Why is that? And the difference of grapes and the you know, and and and and the bottom line, what do you like better and why? And would you believe Prosecco won? Almost every single woman preferred the prosecco. Right. The bubbles are bigger, it was lighter, it was fruitier, um, not really sweet. Some have residual sugar, but it was more about the the fruitiness and about Sunday morning. And champagne is a little sophisticated. If you drink a bottle of Dom and you're smelling, you're gonna smell Lee's, which is the yeast, which, as a uh, you know, someone who knows wine, that's a good thing. But like a blue cheese yeast to the regular, you know, Susie on the street, she wants a fruity bubbly thing on Sunday morning. Right. So champagne is a little bit sophisticated for the average drinker when compared side by side with a prosecco. Right. And the champagne, the different methods of how you know you get the carbonation in the bottle and how, and just you know, from the first presentation to the last one, I had it down and I was just like, this is fantastic. Right. This is great. So you loved what you were doing. Yeah. I get to perform. Yes, I get to be the actress Sandy to an audience that is really interested. They signed up.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:01

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:02

And they're like, this is great at a football stadium. So we just went with it. So every home game after, you know, Mark had them get a sommelier station on the east and the west side. So I have two stations of the stadium. And every morning on game day, I show up three hours early. I will pair with our celebrity chef, which is from like top chef, or, you know, they'll fly in a very famous chef, and I'll pair a red and a white with whatever cuisine he's cooking, whether it be, you know, Mexican food or Greek food or barbecue. Or and so we did that. And then a few years in, I said, you know, we have to get a good rose. We don't have a good rose. And loving pink as much as I do, that was a dream of mine.

Raider Rosé Blend And Final Lessons

SPEAKER_01 1:00:47

So I went to Mark again and I was like, I think we need to do a Raider rose. And he was like, Well, you're the sommelier. You know, that's always you're the sommelier. So I said, okay. So I Googled who's the best rose maker in the world. Where are the best roses from now? You know, not like five years ago, because wine is always changing. What you see today isn't tomorrow. You will never know everything there is to know about wine. Right. Because it's ever changing. So who is the best rose maker? Where are the best roses from this year? Where should I? So I found this guy, Girard Bertrand, who won the number one rose maker of the world. And of course, everyone's like, he's never gonna do it. He just turned down, you know, Ritz-Carlton Cruise line. He doesn't want to do private labels, you know. And I was like, okay, well, I wrote a letter. Dear Girard, my name is Sandra Taylor, and I'm the Sommelier at Allegiance Stadium in Las Vegas. And um, I sent him photos of my Sommelier station and what we do in Las Vegas is a hot climate city. We need a good rose because rose all day. It's light, it's crisp, it's got minerality. You could drink it all day at a at a football game. Whereas a Bordeaux or something, you're gonna be like tired and get smashed, and and you know, you're not gonna want to watch a football game. But rose is a perfect, delightful drink. So we hear back and Gerard's interested being a former um rugby player that he was. Wow. He's you know, the sports kind of got him, and I knew we'd get a hook. I just didn't know which one. And he was he was interested. And so next thing I know, I'm on a flight over to Narbonne to blend with Girard Bertrand.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:43

Oh, how fun.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:43

Yeah, there was a little bit of time in between because I had to jump through a lot of hoops that were fire hoops and get this done and and get the Raiders on board. And and you never know at a stadium how many cooks are in the kitchen there and how many things you have to get through. But you know, Mark just said, just keep running down the field with the ball until someone tackles you, just keep going. And I was like, good analogy. Okay, I'm gonna go all the way to France. And there I am, blending with Girard, and we each did a blend um of all the grapes from his different vineyards. It were the five grapes that he had were Syrah, Saint-Sault, Muvedre, Viognier, and Syrah. And I, you know, that was a perfect blend for me. So I said, let's, you know, so we start pouring literally in test tubes and testing and testing. And we tasted blind. He did a blend, I did a blend. And we both picked my blend.

unknown 1:03:40

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:41

He picked my blend. Wow. And he was like, Well, this is interesting, you know, the student teaching the teacher. Right. And uh, so we wound up going with that blend. Do you know? I've never heard a bad thing about my rose. It is the most beautiful. I should have brought you a bottle. I'll send you a bottle.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:59

No, it's okay. I don't drink. Oh, you don't drink, okay. No. This is the best rose.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:05

It is so good. And it is just, we bought a thousand cases for the first order, sold out. I had to go back to France again and blend again. I made a few changes, put a little more violnier in it because I think that's my secret sauce is violent and a little floral nose, little spicy notes, and it's just got this creamy finish, and um, it's perfect. And that really is the most exciting thing I feel I've ever done in my whole career.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:37

After all of everything you've done.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:39

Everything I've done, cover of Playboy, Guest Jeans, Gary Marshall. Oh, although I love Gary to no end. But doing the rose was a personal achievement that I just um I just it is just the greatest thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:53

Yeah. For me. Well, amazing story. I'm sure that you're not done with your story, and who knows what else you'll do. But I just keep writing letters. Yes, I love it. Well, hopefully you've helped inspire some of the younger kids. I hope so. Yeah, yeah. I hope so. Thank you, Sandy, for your story.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:12

Oh, thank you for having me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:14

You are definitely unexpired.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:17

Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:20

Pass that too.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:21

I have so much to do. I can't be expired.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:23

Thanks for watching the show. If you have any questions for me or you want any more information, go to Kim Alexis.com.