CINDY W. MORRISON DEBUTS AT YERBA BUENA

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CINDY W. MORRISON CELEBRATES
THE SPIRIT OF RE INVENTION
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William Schill With Roger Chasteen And, Robert Funaro

Cindy W. Morrison With Chris Gilman

Cindy W. Morrison And Robert Funaro

Tuesday night brought the official media launch for author Cindy W. Morrison’s Girlfriends 2.0 book at Chris Gilman’s Yerba Buena Perry in NY’s West Village. As we entered the beautiful venue, we immediately spied several friends, including casting wunderkind William Schill; writer and soon-to-be book agent Bob Grossweiner; Robert Funaro from The Sopranos and American Gangster; actor Gordon Silva; indie-promoter Melissa Daniels; Yorkshire Publishing prexy Roger Chasteen (who flew in from home base in Tulsa for the event); Lauren Gerber from New York Magazine; Tito Lo Bianco from AM New York; and, author Morrison with her NY-press rep David Salidor. The event was hosted by Editor Keith Girard and his burgeoning online infotainment site The Improper (www.TheImproper.com). The book documents Morrison’s story of being downsized from her on-air TV anchor spot at Tulsa’s ABC-affiliate KTUL; receiving a cancer diagnosis; and, having her home hit by lightening … all in the same week! The book details how she pieced her life back together. “I was a TV personality for so long, that I got used to it and when everything changed, there were feelings that crept up, from shame, to embarrassment. Only with a close-knit circle of girlfriends, was I able to re-focus my career. I got very used to getting that regular paycheck from a corporation and when that changed … everything changed.” She had also brought her parents in for the event and they were simply charming and joined in conversation with all. Funaro (who so beautifully essayed The Sopranos-character of Eugene Pontecorvo for so many seasons) mentioned several projects … not yet ready for public notification, but I think it’s safe to say that when they all ignite, he’ll be hotter than ever on the screen. He’ll also appear in the next cycle of F/X’s Rescue Me. Schill, who also doubles as the casting director for NY’s Abingdon Theatre, is a show business veteran having work with the legendary producer Robert Stigwood earlier in his career. Schill said Morrison’s book was a terrific inspiration to everyone’s who has gone through similar struggles, but it’s clear that her perseverance and personality immediately set her miles ahead. Her book sold more copies in the first month (a special pre-release edition) than most first time authors ever sell. Her online fan base of nearly 25,000 is a testament to the winning ways detailed in the book, most certainly for persons who had to reinvent themselves after the recession. A rare-last minute addition to the festivities was the grande dame of all things gossip Cindy Adams. Adams and Morrison had a lengthy chat, and then the author and her crew hustled over to tape a segment of the new Joey Reynolds Show on NBC Non-Stop. The book is available through Yorkshire Publishing, check them out here: www.yorkshirepublishing.com.

Photos By: James Edstrom