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.