Larry Muzzy Pays Tribute to Bill Fahey

Former Home Shopping Club host, Larry Muzzy, remembers the man who showed him that ropes of the brand new home shopping business twenty five years ago:

I met Bill Fahey my first day as a newbee show host to the Home Shopping Club in 1985.  He greeted me with a strong handshake and a warm smile.  In the few weeks that followed I was taken under his wing.  He was extremely professional, funny, and loved what he did.  Although this industry was in its infancy, America responded to Bill with open arms and that love followed him throughout his career.

After he left to join upstart CVN, I knew I had big shoes to fill.  Before he departed he pulled me aside to fill me with encouragement and kicked me out of the nest to fly on my own . . . which I did for nearly 20-years within this electronic retailing industry.  I thank Bill Fahey for showing me the way.  As we know he will be missed on Earth . . . Heaven will now be blessed with that smile that lights up a room.

-Larry Muzzy

Bill Fahey's obituary and guest book can be viewed at the Star Tribune here.

Wendi Russo Remembers Bill Fahey

ShopNBC host Wendi Russo, who co-hosted the morning show with Bill, wanted to share her memories of her friend and mentor:

I have so many memories about Bill after working with him for 18 months on the Daybreak morning show. I remember how excited I was to work with him. He was always so much fun, brought a smile to my face and knew how to make everyone around him feel special.

I'll never forget how he broke down when I told him that all of my dogs puppies had died. He felt my pain and it surprised me how compassionate he was. Behind his jovial exterior, Bill was a deeply sensitive man. Bill was also methodical, arriving early, equipped with historical commentary, stories about a product's background that were just stored in his memory bank from years of experience.

Bill loved counting down the days' til Christmas, starting in October and did it off the top of his head. He loved to challenge himself to come up with phrases that played on the item...if it was a panther.."You'd spot this one a mile away" or "it's a purrrfect addition.." His mind was always moving...It was a little game...I remember playing this game with him with a star necklace, we bantered back phrases that had to do with stars, and when I came up with "And it wouldn't be a 'constellation' prize to wear this necklace"--he laughed so hard and said "that was a good one!"

Bill loved his fans on the set...and I mean wind fans. Because of the hot lights, he would always need every fan in the studio on to make him cool down and very often my hair would be flying all over the place like a Vogue cover shoot because they were tilted too far in my direction. The first 5 minutes of every show would be about the crew getting the right tilt of the fans on him--it became a joke every morning because he wouldn't join in on the conversation until his fans were just right. Sometimes the visuals said that he would often reach for the shammy cloth used to clean the jewelry to mop his brow during the show and occasionally they would mistakenly use it on a piece of jewelry!

When Bill and I started working together in the morning show, it took a little time adjusting to the camraderie of a co-hosted versus solo show--we started noticing that the other tended to have a few catch phrases-- those used a little too often. I kept a running tally of his "Aaaabsoluuutely Beautiful's" and he kept a tally of my "fabulous's" ---although we would rib eachother on and off set, we respected and cared for one another and looked out for each other.

His corny humor drove me crazy at first...he reminded me of my dad's humor, but over time, I loved it. I waited for his carefully planted play on words, his catch phrases and eventually tried to slide my own in before he did. Some of the phrases I remember most are "Sometimes even a blind pig finds a truffle" (if he said something that was very astute or appropriate); variations on that theme were: "Sometimes even a blind squirrel finds a nut" and "The train is leaving for sell out city!"

Shawn Wilsie Tribute to Bill Fahey

Former host and home shopping pioneer Bill Fahey recently and unexpectedly passed away. His close friend and former coworker, Shawn Wilsie, wrote a touching tribute to Bill that I am honored to pass along.

Honestly I'm so shocked words are really hard to come by.

I've told anyone and everyone for years that Bill was one of the three all time greats I've ever known in this industry. A select group of individuals that on a personal and professional level I could never say one bad word about. Bill was the biggest sports fan you ever know so I best recall him as the originator of the sports shows both on ValueVision and on CVN. Name a sport and he could talk it with you. He loved playing just as much and I know it was tough for him as he got older and couldn't play anymore. He had hip issues that in later life you could tell were a nearly constant bother to him but he NEVER let on that he was having a problem or if he was in any pain.

There was a constant Bill Fahey smile that everyone will tell you they remember and it was NEVER "about him.” He was that rare personality where he couldn't care less if you gave him any attention, whether you were a friend, co-worker or guest on a show it was all about you.

Remembering Bill Fahey

Here's a clip of Bill Fahey back in his CVN days "pulling a Fahey" as he was well known to do!




And here's a clip of some of his greatest hits:

Bill Fahey Demo from Heather Musil on Vimeo.

Read the announcement of his passing here.

Condolences

Condolences to Mary Beth Roe and family upon the recent passing of her mother.

You can read what Mary Beth has to say about this on her "My Time with Mary Beth" blog here and here.

~

In Memory of Murphy the QVC Dog

Dan Hugh's dog, Murphy, recently passed away from cancer.

My heart goes out to Dan and his family. Losing a beloved pet is never easy. In honor of Murphy, please take a moment to click the link below. You don't have to donate any money, simply by clicking on the "Click to Give" button on The Animal Rescue Site, money is donated by sponsors.

Here's a cute video of Dan Hughes that includes a funny little cameo form Murphy at about the 45-second mark: