'I am so connected to old Hollywood, that I'm convinced I must have been a 'B' movie actress that never made it, and that I somehow died tragically, in one of those great, Hollywood hotels,' said Chicagoan Patrick Ziegler, who, together with his partner of seven years, Reverend Mark Anthony Lord, are the first gay male couple to featured on The Learning Channel's increasingly popular make over show, While You Were Out.
Ziegler's touchingly 'dramatic' affinity for the classic Hollywood era certainly captured the attention of the show's producers, but there was something more to the Ravenswood couple's story, a kind of tragic-glamorous quality reminiscent of old Hollywood—and ideal for modern-day 'reality TV.'
'Patrick and I actually went to college together over 10 years ago, but as the famous line from When Harry Met Sally says, 'we never met!'' begins the 29-year-old Lord. 'In the spring of 1996 I decided to move to Los Angeles, literally on a whim. I had a few friends that were living there, but they were all pretty busy. A mutual friend of Patrick's and mine told me to call him and hang out with him. She had ulterior motives, I'm sure, but she kept it casual. Well, we pretty much started dating the day after we went out with a group of his friends. I remember that he wore his jeans too high, and he remembers that I had an earring. I have taught him how to wear jeans, and he insisted that I dispose of the earring. So, every relationship requires compromise, n'est pas?'
Looming in the couple's future was a compromise, that for Patrick, surpassed things like earrings and tight jeans: A move from Los Angles to Chicago, so that Lord could launch the Chicago Center for Spiritual Living, an all-inclusive spiritual organization.
'My only hesitation in leaving Hollywood for Chicago is that one of my dreams has always been to be on a sitcom,' admits Ziegler, 38, an accomplished—but relatively unknown—actor.
'I wanted to find a way to thank Patrick,' said Lord. 'The idea to make over a room with a classic Hollywood theme came to me after watching an episode of While You Were Out. After the show was over, I jumped online to see how to apply. The application was right there, so I just filled it out. After that I just really forgot about it. Then, I got a phone call saying that I was 'in the running' and that they wanted to come out and meet me and videotape the place. Camilla, one of the producers, came to my home while Patrick was away and we talked and she took photos of the place. We hit it off immediately and I found out a few days later that we were picked.
'I think being gay certainly helped us stand out from other applicants. They have done two lesbian couples, but never a gay couple. So, that was something that was in our favor, I think.
'It was very hard to keep from Patrick. I told everybody else over and over so that I felt like I was relieving the pressure. There were so many times when I just wanted to scream it to him, but I knew it would be more fun when it finally happened!'
Lord says working with the While You Were Team was largely a memorable experience.
'The cast and crew of WYWO is wonderful, but they're there to get a job done and create a SHOW! So, they were friendly, but very focused on the job at hand. It was very odd to have the crew and team come in and take over the home. It felt really weird!
'Before WYWO Patrick and I were basic Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrel gay boys. Typical!!! The designer, John Bruce, said it was his job to help us grow up. I think he did an amazing job of helping us go in a completely different direction than anything we would have ever created ourselves. He is amazing. I adore him. He's cute, funny, sweet, but a bit jaded ... in just the right amount. I gave him my original idea, which was '40s Hollywood, but that was not enough information for John, so he actually said he had a hard time creating this, because when he researched the '40s there were so many contrasting styles.'
Lord admits that there are a few design elements of the room that will be changing to better suit the couple's taste, and that some of the pieces constructed for the room aren't as solid or as finished as he would ultimately like them to be.
'I wish they would have been less ambitious and more thorough with the pieces they made. We are going to have to re-sand and repaint some stuff,' admits Lord, who readily acknowledges that the show's creative team only had 48 hours to complete the project.
As for Patrick's reaction, he says the experience was 'like being in the twilight zone.'
'I walked in and recognized the WYWO team right away,' said Ziegler. 'It was weird to see all of the producers, camera people and director in the background that you really don't think about while watching the show. The first thing I noticed were the crystals hanging over the TV—that I didn't really care for! But when they showed me the pictures of Mary Jane Croft, who is my 'adopted' grandma from I LOVE LUCY and THE LUCY SHOW, I started to cry. The room was truly overwhelming.'
The While You Were Out episode featuring Mark Anthony Lord and Patrick Ziegler premieres Friday, Dec. 19, 9 p.m.
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Photo #1 & 2: Chicagoan Patrick Ziegler, who, together with his partner of seven years, Reverend Mark Anthony Lord, are the first gay male couple to featured on The Learning Channel's increasingly popular make over show, While You Were Out.
Photo #3: Andrew Dan-Jumbo.
Photo #4: Lesie Segrete, Evan Farmer and John Bruce.
Final Photo: After the While You Were Out crew was done.
Photos by Kirk Williamson
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