Friday, October 29, 2004

If you've ever seen the musical or film "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas", or heard ZZ Top's hit "La Grange", one wouldn't believe that they were based on a true story...but it is!

I lived in the Houston suburb of Pasadena --- made famous by Gilley's nightclub in the movie "Urban Cowboy" --- when this all happened back in 1973, and it has much to do with a flamboyant consumer reporter with the local ABC affiliate KTRK-TV 13 named Marvin Zindler. Zindler, who had joined Eyewitness News only a couple of years earlier after working for the Harris County Sheriff's Department, received a tip about two bordellos in rural central Texas that were operating openly. Check out the entire story from KTRK's Web site.

Zindler, who is the first person to sign a lifetime contract with KTRK and owner ABC/Capital Cities, Inc., is still at it today in his 80s, helping the thousands of viewers who write yearly asking for aid with a wide variety of problems. His flamboyant style helped establish television consumer reporting at a time when the genre was just becoming popular nationwide. He is also quite open about his several cosmetic surgeries, including four facelifts. It's great to see such a fine fellow still going strong in an industry that tosses out talent on a whim.

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