tonya harding – saleintothe90s

345. Tonya Harding parodies

Since I, Tonya came out on DVD this week, I wanted to cover some of the many parodies of Tonya on television in the Spring of 1994 (with a couple of exceptions):

“Thin Thin Ice, The Tonya Harding Story” (Late Night With Conan O’Brien, May, 1994)

Tonya’s thighs are so thick she can smash walnuts with them!

Is that Scott Thompson playing Tonya? One of the Kids in. the Hall?

Saturday Night Live monologue with Nancy Kerrigan (March, 1994)

Nancy’s SNL episode starts with those lame q&a monologues that were popular in that era of SNL. Tonya just wants to know who’s going to host the show next week. So you know, she can base them in the knee?

Rob Schnieder is trying his best not do die laughing as Jeff Gillooly.

David Letterman’s top 10 Tonya Harding Excuses (during the Olympics, February, 1994, horrible condition)

Also, Top 10 Questions Connie Chung asked Tonya Harding, 1994. (also, terrible condition)

“Spunk – The Tonya Harding Story” (Comedy Central, 1994)

With Family Ties’ Tina Yothers, this was a skit made for Comedy Central. I seem to remember Entertainment Tonight reporting on this back then, and me being disappointed that we. didn’t have Comedy Central back then.

Tom Shillue plays Jeff. I remember when he was on The Daily Show way back in the day, back in 2000.

I found something historically inaccurate though! ! ! Tonya and Nancy were not together at the 1993 World Championships. Tonya skated poorly at nationals that year and was not named to the team.

They got Tonya’s mom right on the money, though. After the Conan bit, this is my favorite Tonya parody.

“Wounded Knee” (1994)

Directed by Julie Brown (not downtown), this 35 minute film is aabout a skater named Tonya Hardling competing against Nancy Cardigan. It was part of the Showtime movie “Attack of the 5ft 2 in. Women” .

In Living Color: Tonya Harding for ‘The Club’ (1994)

This is probably the poorest Tonya parody, right before In Living Color ended. I like In Living Color, but ooh this is. bad. They didn’t even try.

“Weird Al” Yankovic – Headline News (1994)

This is my favorite Weird Al song and video. I mean, the song and video he’s parodying is pretty mest up on its own.

(Old Cloud Meme)

What was the original video about? Did kids write stories about how they’re outcasts and then the kids put on a play about it?

The Simpsons – Spaceship to Mars and the Sun (1999 Treehouse of Horror)

During Y2K, Michelle Kwan goes to Mars, while Tonya goes to the Sun.

/edit, 4/4/18/

How did I forget this scene from “Pin Pals”?!??

338. Olympics Notebook — Reporters Lining Up For Harding’s Mail Call (February 25, 1994)

Seattle Times News Services

LILLEHAMMER, Norway – In what was described as a “stupid, foolish mistake,” perhaps as many as 100 American journalists peeked into figure skater Tonya Harding’s private electronic mailbox at the Olympics.

However, the U.S. Olympic Committee is satisfied that at least three of them never read any of the messages, said Mike Moran, USOC director of public information.

“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing after we got back from having pizza at 2 a.m.,” said Michelle Kaufman of the Detroit Free Press, one of the few who openly acknowledged looking into Harding’s mailbox. “Someone said they heard this was Tonya’s code and we wondered if it would work.”

The electronic information system is available to all members of the so-called “Olympic family” – athletes, coaches, journalists, officials. It contains routinely updated reports on sports, weather, transportation, press conferences and general news, as well as a method of sending and receiving messages.

Access to a mailbox is restricted by a code number and password. Some reporters apparently have seen Harding’s code number on an enlarged image of her credential.

“But we never opened any messages,” Kaufman said. “There were none sent under her name. We made a joke – something about her not being smart enough to figure out how to get to her mail – and closed the file and walked away. It couldn’t have lasted for more than a minute.”

Ann Killion of the San Jose Mercury News and Jere Longman of the New York Times also were in the group.

“I’m not saying it was right,” Kaufman said. “Looking back on it, I would not do it again. But we weren’t the only ones who had this number and who tried it to see if if would work. I could give you the names of 10 to 15 others who also opened Tonya’s mailbox, but now are mostly trying to cover their tracks. A lot of people had those numbers – reporters, editors, photographers and officials.”

Notes

– When figure skater Nancy Kerrigan joined David Letterman’s mom, Dorothy, for an interview, the most probing questions concerned cocoa. “Do you like cocoa?” asked Dorothy. “Would you like a cup?” The skater replied: “No thanks.” After Kerrigan described a triple lutz, Dorothy hit her with the follow-up question: “Are you sure you wouldn’t like some cocoa?” Again, the skater declined.

“Olympics Notebook – Reporters Lining Up For Harding’s Mail Call,” Seattle Times, February 25, 1994. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940225&slug=1897136

328. Tonya Harding Fashion Show (1985-1994, 1999)

1985 Olympic Festival

1986 Skate America Exhibition (to 99 Luft Balloons!)

1986 Skate America Long Program

1987 NHK Short Program

1987 Nationals (no video?) (source: The Oregonian)

1989 Skate America exhibition to the Dirty Dancing song, I’ve Had The Time of My Life. She won Skate America that year wearing her 1986 dress, and skating to the Batman soundtrack.

1990 NHK Trophy , long program

1990 NHK Trophy, short program.

GIRL. This is my favorite dress so far. It is rainbows.

She also wore it in a 1991 commercial for the Olympics on CBS.

1990 U.S. Nationals, long program.

1990 U.S. Nationals, short program ( I think this is slightly different from her 1989 dress?)

1990 U.S. Olympic Festival

1991 U.S Nationals

To me, this is THE Tonya Harding dress. It’s the one she wore when she did her Triple Axel. She beat Kristi Yamaguchi at her peak!

1991 Skate America short program I also think this is around the time she debuted the gold blades.

1991? Texaco commercial

1992 Olympics, short program.

Also, her practicing in this amazing outfit:

1992 Olympics, long program.

1992 Worlds, short program.

1992 Pro-Am Figure Skating Challenge, short program

Yup, this was around the time her stupid husband made her tack Gillooly onto her last name. I feel like, if Tonya didn’t get involved with Jeff, things would’ve been different. Her skating began to suffer after she married him.

1992 Pro-Am Figure Skating Challenge, long program.

1993 Skate America, excuse me SUDAFED Skate America, short program.

1993 Sudafed Skate America, exhibition.

I believe she wore this in the long program too. This was the infamous dress that broke in a middle of a performance.

1994 Nationals, long program.

Her Jurassic Park performance, probably her most well known dress as well.

So, this lady in a town near me designed a dress for Tonya and sent it to her shortly before the 1994 Olympics, free of charge:

Local bridal designer Cindy Winn had long awaited Wednesday’s Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya Harding skating matchup – but for different reasons than most of the television viewing audience.

Winn, who lives in Smithfield, was hoping Harding would wear the outfit she had custom-made for her. Winn rushed to finish the outfit in 48 hours because a producer from the TV show “American Journal” told her Harding wanted to wear the outfit for Wednesday’s technical program.

Instead, the skater wore the same red sequined costume she did at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit – where Kerrigan was attacked.

Winn was disappointed to hear Harding chose not to wear her dress, which Winn values at $6,600, on Wednesday night.

“I hope this means she’ll wear it on Friday for the long program,” Winn said. “I know Tonya received the dress and she liked it.”

Sally Bracks, assignment editor for “Inside Edition” and “American Journal,” said Wednesday that Harding received Winn’s outfit late Tuesday night.

“She thinks the dress is very nice, but we don’t know if she’s going to wear it,” Bracks said.

Winn’s outfit was picked up by a courier service at 1:30 p.m. on Monday and was flown out of Norfolk International Airport to New York’s LaGuardia Airport and then on to Norway.

Winn, after watching an “American Journal” segment contrasting Kerrigan’s and Harding’s skating outfits, made an offer to the skater on Friday to make her a skating outfit free of charge.

Winn was able to reach Harding in Norway on Friday with the help of “Inside Edition” and “American Journal,” two tabloid TV shows owned by KingWorld Productions. The skater told “American Journal” that she wanted Winn to make her a white costume with “a touch of gold.”

Winn spoke with Harding on Saturday and said the skater seemed touched by her offer.

“She was really gracious and thankful,” Winn said after talking to the skater. “She sounded very genuine.” 1

If memory serves me correct, the dress was white? Very poufy. There’s no photo of it online, and I couldn’t find the American Journal interview.

As we know, Tonya didn’t wear the outfit, she wore her red dress from 1993 for the short program, and this burgundy number for the long program at the Olympics where her skate lace broke:

Obviously, this was the last time she skated in a competition.

in 1999, Tonya tried to get into the pro field, and skated in one pro competition.

(short program).

As far as I know, that’s the last time she skated.

1. Finnegan, Tara, “Area Designer’s Blue That Tonya Wore Red,” Daily Press, FEbruary 24, 1994. http://articles.dailypress.com/1994-02-24/news/9402240055_1_wednesday-s-technical-program-tonya-harding-long-program

119. The Oregonian’s Tonya Harding photo essay

She only ranked at #22 on Sports Illustrated’s end of century list of the greatest Oregon sports figures, but Tonya Harding is with little doubt the state’s most widely known athlete. Twenty years after the attack on fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, we look at the arc of Harding’s career and the media frenzy that followed her, ex-husband Jeff Gillooly (now Stone) and other co-conspirators in the scandal.

(67 total photos)

Here on Tumblr, we always joke that certain celebrities are our “queens”. Well, Tonya is my ~~**Queen of the 1990s**~~.

(2014 repost) “29. The 1994 Women’s National Figure Skating Championships (the week of January 6, 1994)”

In this photo, taken Jan. 12, 1992, Tonya Harding, left, and Nancy Kerrigan appear at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Orlando, Fla.

29. The 1994 Women’s National Figure Skating Championships (the week of January 6, 1994)

Felt it was fitting to repost this entry, because of the new USA Today article about what Tonya & Nancy are doing these days.

29. The 1994 Women’s National Figure Skating Championships (the week of January 6, 1994)

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Perhaps my choice for the most shocking news story from my childhood happened 18 years ago this week: when Nancy Kerrigan was attacked while training for the 1994 National Figure Skating championships.

I was a pretty half rear-ended Nancy Kerrigan fan. I think the only reason why I migrated to her was because she was US skating’s only hope for the 1994 Olympics after Kristi Yamaguchi retired after winning the Olympics and the World Championship in 1992.

I was way more into Tonya Harding, but she had fallen on hard times since the 1992 Olympics where was was in 4th place. In 1993, her dress became undone during a performance, also in the same year, her blade became wobbily. It was at the point where I didn’t even see her skating on tv at all in 1993.

Also, DEM BANGS:

I thought those bangs were high class growing up. I wanted my bangs to be like Tonya Harding’s.

By 1994, however, Tonya got rid of her bangs:

{btw, doesn’t her hair look like Pam’s in the Office episode “Valentines Day”?}

It always bugged me however, the way she would just half ass pull her back for performances though. Not very classy.

Nancy also had a tough 1993. Remember when she fell on her butt about every 1.5 seconds in the 1993 Worlds Long program? I cried about that for days. Cut me some slack, I was 9. It was so hyped up that she was going to win, I remember even staying up late with mom to watch it that Saturday evening, and it was just over within the first few seconds.

(Total sidenote, in that fluff piece, at 2:21, you see Nancy’s car, which is just a simple Acura Integra. I thought that was a high luxury car when I saw this segment as a 9 year old. I guess not very many people were driving Acura’s in Hampton Virginia in 1993).

I remember where I was when I found out about the attack. I was in my room getting ready to go to baton class, and mom was downstairs watching the news. Back then, I always kept my bedroom door open so naturally, I could always hear the tv. When I was at baton class later that evening, I thought about the chances of someone coming up to me and either stabbing me Monica Seles style, or hitting me with something hard, Nancy Kerrigan style.

A couple of days later, the women’s competition started, and since Nancy could not skate because of the bruised up knee, I remember her sitting in practically the nosebleed section of Cobo Arena watching everybody else skate.

During all this is going on, nobody even notices Michelle Kwan who was 13 years old, skating in an adult competition, who qualified for the Olympics, but due to Nancy getting injured, becoming a write in qualifier, wasn’t able to skate in the Olympics.

Tonya won the Nationals skating to … the music from Jurassic Park. yup.

Before ABC aired her performance, Tonya’s horoscope was shown:

Hmm.

Tonya skated a pretty alright performance, Dick Button and Peggy Fleming seemed surprised, almost belittling Tonya, giving how poorly she’d skated in the past at these sorts of events.

Buttons also gives some belittling to Michelle, showing a clip of “little Michelle” watching Tonya’s performance. “WOW”

You know who the real loser of this competition was?

Clear Choice Mouth Wash. I’ve never heard of the stuff, wasn’t even around long enough to make a real dent in a Google search.