Woman of IR-Episode 46 Jeanne Beker

Matt Cundill40min

Mary Anne Ivison (Voiceover)00:02

The Women Of Ill Repute with your hosts Wendy Mesley and Maureen Holloway.

Wendy Mesley00:07

Maureen, we're going to talk about fashion I think today so like, do you have a style?

Maureen Holloway00:14

I don't know if, I think it's changed over the years. I kinda was like punky in the 80s. And although I have the same hair, I think now, tailored casual jeans and sneakers, nice shirts for Zoom. Sometimes with no pants, but that's our little secret.

Wendy Mesley00:36

Don't stand up.

Maureen Holloway00:40

In terms of designers, I like Max Mara. And if I could afford it, Chanel, Celine. I love but I can't afford it. Judith and Charles Smyth but what about you? What about you?

Wendy Mesley00:54

Well, I'm sort of having flashbacks to when we first started this whole podcast thing and we were doing photos and the she wanted to know okay, what's, what's the tone? What's, what's your fashion style? What's your? And so we're thinking.

Maureen Holloway01:06

We're cowgirls.

Wendy Mesley01:08

Yeah, yeah. So we're kind of cowgirls, but she wanted more she wanted like our. So anyway, we sort of said, well, we're sort of glamorous, and we're sort of goofy with you being the glamorous person and me being the goofy person, but I liked being glamorous, like I could do glamorous on TV. And occasionally and I even had a clothing allowance for a while. But But now Now that you know, I'm wearing my fancy sweater for the-

Maureen Holloway01:34

And you look very nice and your lipstick matches and yeah-

Wendy Mesley01:37

For the podcast, but mostly it's jeans and a T shirt, but I love fashion. So-

Maureen Holloway01:41

Puts everyone even if they lose, a lot of people disdain fashion but doesn't matter that's that's a relationship with it right there. Even if you don't care about it. Some people a lot of young women spend most of their income on clothes. And others wear the same thing every day. But it's still the relationship.

Wendy Mesley01:58

Yeah it's it's sort of a means of self expression. And it's a huge industry. I think. It's like it's 2 trillion trillion thing $2 trillion yearly last year last year, was the what the industry was worth.

Maureen Holloway02:13

Does that include bags and shoes?

Wendy Mesley02:15

I think it's mostly bags.

Maureen Holloway02:17

Oh, well. That seems totally reasonable. There's just there's fast fashion, there's trendy fashion. There's old couture, there's, there's vintage, which I quite like.

Wendy Mesley02:27

Yeah there's sportswear. There's lots of uniforms for safety or there's baby wear the other day I saw someone looking at a $300 outfit for a baby that though, you know would fit for a day and a half.

Maureen Holloway02:36

For a day and a half that's crazy- they're fashion designers obviously their models, manufacturers, retailers, writers, critics, fashion journalists.

Wendy Mesley02:44

Yeah. And our guest this week is probably the best known fashion journalist in this country. Maybe even in the whole world. Jeanne Beker, she practically invented fashion as entertainment.

Maureen Holloway02:59

Fashion television, I can't remember the opening da, da, da, da, da,with all the models strike oh my god, I loved it. And there was the the show started on city in City TV in 1985. It ran until 2012. If I'm not mistaken, huge success. And it ws Jeanne who's just she would go in with your cameraman. And like literally force herself into these you know designer fashion shows and sticker Mike and the faces of people like Karl Lagerfeld, whom she became friends with but you know, everybody, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Alexander McQueen, and she would just get them to talk.

Wendy Mesley03:40

Yeah, there were so many Anna Wintour. I think somebody made a movie about Ru Paul. Robert De Niro. I didn't know he was a fashion guy, but she was a designer show and, and sometimes they'd snub her but she would get them like she's a journalist. She would get them to talk. It was great.

Maureen Holloway03:57

Absolutely. So she's still at it. JDJeanne is and writing and producing. She's got a podcast, but she has been sidetracked by our old nemesis, breast cancer. And I believe she's just finishing her treatment. We're going to ask her about that. But she's I've been following her on Instagram. She's kept in touch with all her followers. Oh, we see you. We see you Jeanne. Come on.

Jeanne Beker04:28

I can't wait anymore.

Wendy Mesley04:35

Hi, Jeanne. So nice to see you. Yeah.

Jeanne Beker04:39

Thank you for all those great words. You know, listening to that. It's kind of surreal, you know, because you live your life and you're just you know, you're just doing stuff. You're in the moment and you're just doing what you do. And then one day you sit back and start looking back, you know objectively at all that stuff that you did and it's like, whoa, okay. Yeah, I've been around.

Wendy Mesley05:03

Yeah you started a lot of things. I mean, like you were a journal journalist, and then you were a fashion journalist. And then, and now you're still you're still going, like you're not a spring chicken anymore and you're still doing fashion TV.

Jeanne Beker05:20

No, I still feel like I'm you know, I'm the old rock chick that, you know, that I was when I was doing the new music back in the day, you know, like, back in the 70s I definitely was very blessed to be at the right time, in the right place with the right personal attitude to blaze a lot of trails. You know, I hooked up with a very progressive little cable TV station City TV, it was run by this madman genius. The very, very idiosyncratic and eccentric maybe, but brilliant Moses Kniver. And he was of the philosophy that you just take the ball and run with it, you know, yeah, you want to do that knock yourself out. So well, we got to make it up as we went along. And I got to do a lot of really cool stuff and really record fashion as entertainment in a way that it hadn't been really recorded before. And that that was really incredible, because I think it really helped change the whole industry, maybe not necessarily in such a good way because it ended up turning it into a media monster and a big business giant that just suck the the artistry out of the industry to some degree, but-

Wendy Mesley06:34

We can probably get back to that in just a sec. But I think, Maureen and I are just we've just been so touched by what's happened to you the last year or so. So are you okay, now, like you went through the whole breast cancer thing?

Maureen Holloway06:46

Have you rung the bell yet?

Jeanne Beker06:48

I run a few bells. I mean, I rang them, you know, a dozen chemo sessions were over. And that was in, like, in early September. And then at the end of October, I had surgery and then I went for radiation. And then that was finished by January and I got to ring a gong bang have gone a Princess Margaret, follow these fun, sound effects. And then just recently, I've been on Herceptin, which is his miracle drug and her two positive actually triple positive. And because of that there's this incredible targeted therapy drug called Herceptin that was invented about 22 years ago, that has saved 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of lives. So I was on that every three weeks for a year. And I just finished my last dose of that like when it was last week or something.

Wendy Mesley07:34

Yeah, I'm hurt or I was I am. I was her to positive and I was one of the first people to get Herceptin, a friend of mine was actually, like, drove to Buffalo. She had lots of money. And she went her fancy car and the Globe and Mail covered her and they it's a Canadian discovery, right? The Herceptin for the her two positive people. So it's pretty remarkable.

Jeanne Beker07:55

There's an incredible film that I don't know if you've seen it called Living Proof starring Harry Connick Jr. All about how Herceptin was discovered by this California doctor who was funded by Revlon. So Revlon cosmetics when Ron Perlman was running Revlon he gave $2 million to Lilly Tartikoff, who is a very good friend of this particular scientist who was just about to run out of funds because the drug company he was working under decided to pull out of the research, and he was so close that incredibly, Revlon dished out $2 million, and he finished the research and it got approved and blah, blah, blah. I mean, it's just it's a great little movie get on Apple TV, so called Living Proof. And Bernadette Peters is in it and Trudie styler is in it, and it's really cool people but Harry Connick Jr. plays the doctor.

Maureen Holloway08:51

Cool. That's so cool. It's not a club anybody wants to join. But here we are. And and I mean, it's a different situation that was in our, you know, our, the last generation then and yeah, it's, uh, your journey, as they call it is not one that has a there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and you've been navigating it. You've you've done a fair amount of traveling in the last little bit haven't you.

Jeanne Beker09:15

Well, yeah, I've tried to make up for lost time, of course, but worried I just have to get back on that. And because I feel very, very strongly about this. I don't for me, anyway, I mean, everyone's experience is so unique with this. And as you both know, nobody's cases the same for me. I guess I had a serious kind of breast cancer. And, you know, and thankfully, so far, so good, you know, but it's only been a year now. It wasn't as a matter of the journey being, you know, a long dark tunnel and then there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I found an incredible amount of light all along the journey, more than I could ever have dreamed of. My journey was absolutely rife with brilliant silver linings, and I made up I bind at the beginning that I was going to leave fear on the table. Because you know, when you first get diagnosed, it's the scariest thing, and how am I gonna get through this and I'm even going to get through this, I just decided I wanted to live in the light, I didn't want to live in a dark hole. I didn't you know, and even if I only had six months left to live, I was going to, you know, live my best life and try to see the positives and what I was going through and I was confident because I've been through a lot of bad stuff in my life to know that these are lessons and usually, you know, doesn't kill you make you makes you stronger. And you do usually come out of the darkness as a new kind of person with new realizations. And that's exactly what happened. You know, I thought, You know what, this journey is gonna make me a bigger, better, stronger braver wiser person. And, and I think it did. I really, it definitely did.

Wendy Mesley10:54

Well, you're you're a better person than me and Maureen, because I was a very, I don't know, I was I was I was surprised by how big the club was. And and it made me made me angry. And, and I and I thought, like screw cancer, and yet you've embraced it. And I think people want to be embraced and so, so good on you.

Maureen Holloway11:14

So no, you're not a better person than Wendy and me. Because Wendy and I had different experiences and different attitudes. I was more like you were I was blown away. But I call them strange gifts. That came out of the whole process where there was so much love and support in response from not just my family, but from listeners. Remember, my friend, Dan is saying to me, you know, that was a good career move.

Wendy Mesley11:45

And the short hair looks great.

Maureen Holloway11:47

Is that yeah, or bald. And so no, like you I came out of it with renewed, I went through it with a renewed sense of and I felt like you had a you know, not to say mine's worse than anybody's, but I haven't I still have no prep notes. And it's 15 years, but they couldn't tell me. So I mean, to me, but when you came out of an angry and true journalistic investigative style, she went on to say, well, listen, this is not I shouldn't accept this. I shouldn't for a second think that this is, you know, one out of three women get it? Why is that? Okay? So we had different attitudes. I think both are valid. But we did have different attitudes.

Wendy Mesley12:28

Yeah, I felt I felt loved. But I but I also felt a lot of my the people who love me and by the people who watch me, and were like, Oh, my God, I hope you don't die. And I was like, yeah, I hope I don't either. But I was I was also angry that we're not doing more about prevention. So I, I, you know, I put my little journalistic hat on, which is probably another form of denial, which I think is something that we all go through with, with this stupid disease, but, but I was shocked by how many people had it and how little that we're doing to stop it. But that doesn't mean that I wasn't like, Eugenie. Yeah, that I that I wasn't aware of, of how fleeting life is. And I, you know, I was 47 when it hit so I was a little bit younger. But But still, I think when it hits you, when it hits hits you later in life, it's like, holy moly. I've only got so much time left, I better embrace this, which is what you did.

Jeanne Beker13:24

Yeah, I know. You know, anger is something I try never to host or entertain or, you know, I just don't, no matter what I mean, a lot of crappy things have happened to me. And you know, like my marriage breakup and the way my you know, my husband ditched out. And, you know, that was like, many, many occasions to that angry, but I guess I learned from my parents too, who were Holocaust survivors. Anger, you know, certainly, you know, was was there maybe at the root of it, but they they were all about letting people know that there still is cause to celebrate the human spirit. And there is there's a more of a reason for us to share our stories and tell our stories and inform people and let people know, you someone told me very early on in the diagnosis and right actually a few days, or oh, I went on an Alaskan cruise first. And then I told everyone that I had breast cancer. Like just before I started my team, okay, we have this cruise booked and it was like, Can I still go on the cruise and was like, Yes, go on the cruise. So I went on the cruise and came back announced it within two days, my Instagram following doubled. So I thought whoa, that was pretty good. And then somebody wrote to me who had also just been diagnosed a follower and said, I'm choosing to see this as an opportunity disguised as an inconvenience. And I thought that is a cool thing. And that's really how I saw Yes, it was terribly inconvenient to have breast cancer. When you have a very busy life and all of a sudden things have to change. You have all these appointments. Gotta go For all this horrible physical stuff, and but wow, what a platform it gave me to try and touch people, share my story, have them share their stories with me. And let people know that there's a lot we can do to try and stave this beast off. And early detection is absolutely paramount importance and most breast cancers were detected early are not only treatable, they're curable. So there's a lot of hope in that. And we just have to tell everyone, and we've got, you know, the three of us here, you know, I think we've got pretty loud voices, you know, we've all been around for a long time, we just have to scream about it.

Maureen Holloway15:40

That being said, Wendy and I, amongst all the weird coincidences in our lives, were diagnosed within a year of each other, and treated a Princess Margaret as you have been. But you don't want to be and you're fresh out of it your year. And so it'll be interesting to see how you deal with that. The last thing I wanted was to be the poster child for breast cancer, about a year after I got out of it. And that's a scary time, I have a lot of people approaching me, asking me to host events, from local barbecues, to big events with that idea that you're a survivor, you Oh, and I have never felt that something I didn't like was like, Well wait a second, now that I've been through, and I'm still recovering from treatment, that I'm supposed to now devote my energies. And I mean, I've never felt that way. I've felt fortunate lucky. But I've never felt obligated. And after a while, I started to feel a little resentful that I was expected to do these things to do PSAs like you're doing and to show up and host events and not be paid. Because somehow I had a debt to society.

Jeanne Beker16:46

Wow. Okay. That's an that's an interesting perspective. I'd like to say, I don't know, I'm just so grateful. For all the love and support that's come my way from, from the community. It's so many different, not only the breast cancer community, but you know, just from, from everyone from, you know, fans and followers and, and people in my life that I could never possibly imagine feeling resentful, being asked to do a PSA or, I mean, if I can, a lot of times I can I'm not going to kill myself. And I love to also I love. I love posting things I love and I love give me a stage, you know, it's like, wow, I really enjoy it. It's not if I you know, no, it's not like, Oh, good. I gotta do this thing again. No, I do really like it. If I can, I'm not gonna I also know, balance is absolutely the key. You know, that's absolutely the most important thing, you can kill yourself and do too much work, especially at this stage of my life. But know if I'm available if I can do it, you know, it's funny, I've just got a book deal with Simon Schuster, which is really nice. Because they I wanted to write another book, I was due for one and the last one came out like 2011. So really was due for one. And I wanted to write a kind of memoir, I didn't really know how to approach it. And I got approached by Simon and Schuster, hey, do you want to if you feel like writing a book, you know, let us know. It's like, wow, okay. And I, of course, immediately thought, and they probably want me to write a book about the cancer journey. And Kevin Hansen, who's so brilliant. He's the President Simon Schuster, Canada said, no, no, no, no, no, we don't want you to write about the cancer. You know, he said, the book is gonna come out in a couple of years. And like, you still want to be, you know, talking about it in that way. And so I said, Yes, great, because I got so many books from people who had written about their cancer journeys. And it was like, that's very nice and great for you. But I don't want to hear about the minutiae of your journey, because it's so different than mine.

Wendy Mesley18:43

Yeah, that was, that was kind of my thing. Like, like Maureen and like you the first year, you're still only a year post. So we'll see whether you become like marine two or three years from now, when you're still getting 1000 requests a week. angry and bitter. But yeah, no, but I too, I for the first year, I was like, I'm just so happy to be alive. And I'm so happy for the other for, you know, people to like, I remember my kitchen looked like a florist. It was just so full of flowers of, you know, expressions of love and so on. But at some point, I I didn't want to be the cancer girl. I didn't want to have my life ruled by cancer. And so at some point, I just stopped. Well, there was actually somebody who approached me was a producer of some famous music group, I probably shouldn't identify who said, Hey, Wendy, hey, cancer girl, do you want to do a song and I'm like, Have you ever heard me sing? There's probably a reason why you've never heard me sing. I was like, No, I'm not cancer girl. But we'll see. Well, we'll check back in and in 10 years, okay. Let's see whether you're-

Jeanne Beker19:47

I would be very disappointed with myself with what you're sort of, you know, saying who could happen happens I mean, it could happen I don't deny it. But I would be there'd be no, I don't know. I thought my whole life to be generous. Have spirit and to be grateful. So I can't, I think it would be a real change in my nature. But that happen. I know stuff like that happens.

Mary Anne Ivison (Voiceover)20:14

The Women Of Ill Repute.

Maureen Holloway20:17

Let me let me grab the steering wheel here for a second, I want to so how is your relationship? This is bringing it back to clothing and fashion has has your last year affected how you feel about it? I mean, has it changed your perspective or is it's just as lovely and as important and interesting as it ever was?

Jeanne Beker20:37

Yeah, it's as lovely and as important and interesting as it ever was, it was never the be all and end all to me. I always saw fashion as stuff. You know, I mean, fashion and style are two different things. And your fashion is the schmatta business, you know, they say, fashion is what you're offered style is what you choose. So I've always, you know, prided myself on my editorial capabilities, just just like, because I know myself, I know my tastes, I know what I like, I do have an open mind to stuff, I'm willing to try stuff. I've had an interesting relationship with style all through my life. And actually, that's what the book, the new book is about different pieces of my wardrobe and the stories that they ended up telling and work, how they, they helped me through different situations. So I think that kind of clothes and accessories are incredibly powerful tools, not only for transformation, making us feel differently about ourselves, perhaps, or seeing ourselves in new ways, but also as a, as a means of communication. You know, I mean, that's the first thing people see when they see us as oh, what you wearing, you know, like, you know, what does it really say about her? What was it say about her mood? Or what is it or his mood, or their mood? You know, so I think it's just an incredible tool in our lives. And it's one chance the people, everybody has to be creative every single day of their lives. I mean, you know, some people don't choose to exercise it in that way or think of it that way. But everybody has to put, unless you're living in a nudist colony, put something on and go out there and face the world. And you know, you can be as creative about it as you want. But I just think it's it's a remarkable-

Wendy Mesley22:25

So how many closets do you have? You must have like so much stuff.

Jeanne Beker22:29

I lost count, because I do live in a big house in Toronto with lots of closets that I happily took over when my husband left. That's the one good thing about that. And I also have my partner and I have a wonderful house in the country, where I've sort of tried to hog as many closets as I can. But he has a very impressive wardrobe too. So he's got a few and yeah, I just I get the problem is not that I go out and buy a lot of stuff. Not bad at all. Yes, people have sent me stuff, you know, gifted me with stuff over the years. I mean, that's the business I'm in and I get very sentimentally attached to clothing and I I just sometimes can't let them go because they're so filled with wonderful memories and stories. So I have a collection.

Maureen Holloway23:18

Out of the top of your head. Could you tell us say your three favorite pieces? What are they where they come from? I know. It's tough. It's like picking your children.

Jeanne Beker23:32

There's so many because this is exactly what I'm writing about now, but I just thought off the top my head up this wonderful Wayne Clark gown that taller Cranston gifted me with a very early on in my career when I befriended him and we became very, very close friends. He was like confidant and style mentor. So roundabout 1981 invited me go to the genie awards with him. That's what they used to call the Screen Awards. And he bought me an amazing Wayne Clark gown that made me feel like some kind of fairy queen, you know, petals of organza and little crystals. relished and it's just anyway, it's a great dress, so I still have that dress. The Velvet anus. We be huge bell bottoms that I wore when I interviewed Madonna, and this was probably in the 90s and it was funny because I got these great bell bottoms and I have an interview with Madonna. I was so excited that I walked into the room and she was wearing the exact same pants. I love it when you see another woman wearing what you're wearing for me it's not like oh my god what she tried to upstage me I you know, I thought yes, this is gonna bond and she was not impressed. No. She had a rough night though because of a film that she had done the body of evidence and just screened the night before to call Was it so she wasn't in a good mood. But anyway, and for that one and oh, boy, it just there's so many. You know, I mean, clothes or accessories, we're talking about clothes or accessories.

Maureen Holloway25:11

You decide. Anything.

Jeanne Beker25:15

Baby, this is a ring this, the signet ring with the initials BR on it. That's my mom brought Rhonda Ratiner. And this ring was given to my mother in 1939. On the day the war broke out by her brother who was working for a jeweler and at the spring made for her. And it's the only thing besides the humans that were that survived the Holocaust. I mean, this was on her finger the entire time, she was on the run the entire time. So this and she weren't, you know, on her pinky. And you know, the day she died, I took it off mine. So this is my constant reminder that I'm a survivor. It's in my DNA.

Wendy Mesley25:57

Well, that explains so much about you, right? I mean, kid of parents who survived the Holocaust and you you're just like, you're gonna make the best of the world as it is, in spite of the pain. You're just going to push ahead. Yeah, you look like you're about to cry.

Jeanne Beker26:15

Yeah, no. And it's wonderful that you articulated it that way and that you can see it that way. And yeah, that's, I think, yeah. Our own personal truths. Do touch us when we hear them, you know, expressed publicly. Yeah, yeah, that's very that's right on Wednesday. That's exactly the way I see it the way I saw the situation, that's exactly what got me through this past year that and the, the 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of well wishers out there that you know, I would sit in my chemo chair some days you know, feeling pretty sorry for myself that I wore one of those wretched I say wretched but probably helped me with my hair situation, ice helmets, you know, that they have now that supposedly help you keep your hair and maybe-

Wendy Mesley27:00

So you kept your hair? Because Maureen and I were both like bold.

Jeanne Beker27:04

I kept 40% of my hair. 40% of my hair. I wore a very chic little cap for the year, which was kind of fun. But now it's growing pack with a vengeance, which is great. But I would sit in that chemo chair with this god awful thing on my head because that was probably the worst part of it. For me it was very highly uncomfortable. And I would start feeling sorry for myself and I would just scroll through my Instagram comments. And I thought complete strangers are praying for me like what? What who does it? How does that happen? So

Wendy Mesley27:36

you just have to turn the fashion cap into a fashion or the the cool cap into a fashion.

Jeanne Beker27:42

My sister coined it space age chic, you know, the first first day I put it on, I thought Yeah, ground control to Major Tom. It looked funny, I was kind of little courage if you know that look from the 60s. Anyway,

Maureen Holloway27:57

I want to ask you, we want to ask you about your clothing and fashion. So in the last few years with the advent of fast fashion, and you know retailers like H&M and Zara and so on, mainly on the positive side, they've made fashion available and affordable to to people who otherwise wouldn't. But by the same token, I'm not going to name names, but they're I know a number of young women. If they're listening know who they are, who buy in bulk and literally wear something once and then it goes off to-

Jeanne Beker28:30

How uncool.

Maureen Holloway28:32

I know is uncool.

Jeanne Beker28:33

you know young women who are still doing that? Yeah, I mean, I know there are-

Maureen Holloway28:37

Well these retailers depend on them? That's that's what they depend on cheap, fast fashion that doesn't hold up. So what can we do about that?

Jeanne Beker28:45

Well, we can just not do it. I mean, I you know, we can't shut these places down. And a lot of these places do employ, you know, many, many people and, you know, that's something that we need, but we've got to come up with some solution and it's already starting. It's the biggest conversation in fashion is that of sustainability. Um, luckily, my two daughters will only wear vintage. I mean, they only wear vintage. And wow, how cool is that? The thrift stores are just filled with fabulous finds. If you really want to get creative and make your own style statement. Wow, isn't that great?

Wendy Mesley29:20

Yeah, I wish I'd kept more stuff because when I look at shops, it was all, I had that.

Maureen Holloway29:27

Yes, I know. I've actually seen stuff that I've given to VSP and gone, which is a big consignment store in Toronto and I've pulled stuff out because that's, that's mine.

Jeanne Beker29:37

I think shopping ones now listen, I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me. I of course not happily work for TFC or the shopping channel. Rogers owns and it's a great place and it's a great place to shop. But over the past few years, we've really adopted that sensibility to a large degree. I mean, it's it's not always in play on four gently, just, logistically, I suppose can't be. But more and more were like less is more, spend a little bit more for better quality things that will last you longer that have a design sensibility to them that it's just not, you know, trendy, but that really has a classic kind of feel perhaps or that you will not get tired of. So that's something that I tried to impart on, you know, the people that tune into, to our show style matters every week, it's, it's a problem, like, it's really a huge, terrible problem, I don't know if we're ever going to be able to, you know, put the genie back in the bottle. Because I so celebrated the democratization of fashion, you know, when advance fashion, television is partly responsible for it, because we got the fashion word out there, and everybody now wants to dress up and everybody can dress up because it doesn't have to cost a lot just, you know, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, and I think we just have to pull back a little bit, you know, and yes, we we want to buy we want, especially by local, especially to support our own industry here in Canada, clothes that are not only designed in Canada, I mean, that's important. But made in Canada, you have to you know, labels now can be very tricky. They say, you know, designed in Canada that made in the People's Republic of China, because you have, you know, like look at what you're buying, you know, educate yourself as a consumer. And, and if you buy something, you're gonna love it and love it, and wear it as much as you can until you don't feel like wearing it anymore, and then pass it on to someone else is really going to appreciate it. That's something that's really important.

Wendy Mesley31:34

We're gonna have to go in, in, in a few minutes. But I, I just wanted to go back to the old days, like because I so remember you as a rock and roll star. And I want to know, what was it like behind the scenes? So there must be some story. I don't know, whether it's about JD Roberts or staying or whoever it's about, but like, who? Who was hot, who's not what can you tell us? It was a long time ago, but what were-

Jeanne Beker32:02

You know, and the story of my life for those decades that I was really just consumed by that scene. You know, it's really hard there are you know, I've written about some of the stories are my adventure with, you know, Andy Summers, the guitarist of the police in the bathtub, I interviewed him, you know, first in the bathtub, like probably he was in the bathtub, I'm just sitting on the edge of let's be clear. 20 years later, he came up with a photography book and I was only doing fashion television by that point. So he said, You know, I asked for an interview because we covered a lot of photographers. I thought that'd be cool because I interviewed him 20 years ago on the side of a time when he was wild crazy let's you know let's do something else with them. And and you know, manager goes Oh, yeah, we remember that. Okay, yeah, yeah, sure we'll do that. And and then it was like you know, but this time Why don't you get into the tub with Andy with it it was like I know something year old mother of two like how my mother was mortified that I was even considering ACA with a rock star. But I did dammit put on a little string bikini sucked in my gut. It was a very subconsciously covering in a little sweet Windsor arms hotel. And you know, my, my cameraman was there. And I had another photographer there because I was editing a magazine at the time. So wanted some great stills and got into the tub. He was wearing little, you know, funky swimming trunks too. So wet. And we put a ton of Mr. Bumble in there. He ordered us and Cosmo's from greeting service. You know, they arrived, he lit up a big joint and he starts you know, sitting back and waxing poetic about life and the meaning of it all and little votives all along the side of the tub for some extra, you know, atmosphere. That's hilarious. And at one point, he just sort of threw his head back and laughter and his hair caught on fire and oh my god. I just threw the microphone down. I get you know, I was electrocuted. It was it was a moment. It was great. And actually you can see it on YouTube. Yeah, I think Andy Summers hair on fire. Yeah. Great. I hope I never lose touch with that inner team that told me to do that, you know, that's the thing. That's what so that's what I love having those stories as a frame of reference to constantly remind myself that yes, I must always leave myself open to these wild and crazy opportunities and just go with it. Because Wow likes a much richer experience for it.

Wendy Mesley34:37

Well, you've started so many things, you know, back at back at City and then Fashion TV and now you're still writing books and you had cancer and yes, slated. And we hope everyone says so. You're fine now right? It's all gonna Yeah, till I die of something else. You never know.

Maureen Holloway34:52

As much as anybody is, right?

Jeanne Beker34:55

That's is Maureen, as much as anybody is because you know, it's like, we're gonna live in fear. But what might happen to every single person you see out there? Who knows what the hell is growing inside of them like nobody does? You know you don't get an MRI you know every six months of your life forever. I mean, maybe some people do but you just don't know. So you just got to you know, do your best to to be careful and adopt a healthy lifestyle and you know, do a lot of praying have faith and and just don't let fears stop you from from loving your life and living in the light

Wendy Mesley35:28

Well and you fell in love and your 60s right so you're you got you got a new man new life you've got-

Jeanne Beker35:34

We've celebrated our what is it, oh, I've lost track already. That's a good night. Yeah. Eight years, wow. Eight years. Yes. Ian McInnes, and he's absolutely wonderful. And that was like, my mother met him two weeks after my mum died. So I'm sure my mum, you know, sent him to me. She definitely you know, gave him image and that image, Michael gallery moonlight Gala. Very romantic. And it was absolutely love at first sight.

Maureen Holloway36:01

Oh, wow. Wow.

Wendy Mesley36:03

Let's all keep dancing. Yeah, thanks, Jeanne, it's been wonderful to talk to you.

Maureen Holloway36:09

Jeanne, you, you exude joy. And that's a real gift to not only yourself, but to the rest of us. And thank you so much for talking to us not only about your recent journey, but just giving us a glimpse of some of the things that you have experienced and good luck to you. God, love you was really nice talking to you.

Jeanne Beker36:31

Thanks. Back at you gals. Thank you so much just for being the bright light that you are, gorgeous, and still dancing as fast as you can. And I love seeing that.

Maureen Holloway36:43

I'm a little worried I came off as this really sort of bitter cancer survivor. No, I think you're the you're the you were the one that was the angry one.

Wendy Mesley36:54

Yeah no, I am I am angry. And I think everybody it's totally justified to have whatever reaction that you have. And I was, like, I feel guilty that I wasn't more. I was angry about being put in the position. I was angry about all kinds of things, mostly about how big the club was, and why aren't we doing more to prevent everybody from, you know, it's almost 50% of people gonna get cancer as genie and everybody says there's so much better treatment for it now that most people like survive it, they might get it but they survive it. But I did feel guilty about not doing enough of what Jeanne does, which is you guys are amazing. You like the people who treat you and like I didn't ring the bell because I didn't want to draw attention to myself and I was the bell was when you finish treatment and she made a big deal on Instagram, Amanda my treatment and everyone's so great. You wouldn't you wouldn't ring it. And yeah, and I didn't. I didn't want people looking at me and I didn't want to be the cancer girl and it was also so emotional and your resentment like and I had a resentment after a year of basically doing almost everything that was asked of me or was allowed by CBC at the time as cancer girl of just saying no I gotta move on. There are other things in life than if you're still alive than cancer and and you had the same reaction it was just oh yeah, it was just a little bit different but you were probably more gracious at the time so I anyway, I just think everybody has a everybody has a different reaction and they're all justified I think.

Maureen Holloway38:27

Yeah, I was grateful to this hell of the caregivers and I think my resentment maybe came a little bit from guilt because I was saying no there I was exhausted too. It took me years to to recover really from the treatment. It does take its toll on you and Jeanne is just up the hill. She's a ball of fire. I mean, I don't think she takes-

Wendy Mesley38:46

Well she has an outfit for every event.

Maureen Holloway38:51

Closet upon closet upon closet of clothes.

Wendy Mesley38:55

I love the stories.

Maureen Holloway38:57

She must have a catalog system, but the way she talks about her clothes, it's so meaningful. If you were to ask me I could tell you have two or three items of clothing or jewelry. That mean an awful lot like I have a one of my mother died. My mother was a real clothes pony. She had an Armani cape that she'd had from the 70s My sisters and I were like we wanted it not just because it's beautiful cape but because it was it was my mother. It embodied her it still smelled to her when I gave it to my sister. But yeah, we all have stories about that.

Wendy Mesley39:29

yeah, I just gave Qaeda dress my my mother was I mean when she died there was the same packet of mascara in her drawer that when I lived with her so that's fashion where she was not my grandmother, I I never knew my dad's side of the family but my on the other side, my grandmother, I think she was fashion forward at some point that never had any money. But she had a dress which I always thought was going to fit and it fit as long as I didn't sit down so it was just a little tiny waist. I gave it to To my daughter who's now 24 And she was like, Mom, it's so weird like we're all big boobs, small waist same height. We're all like there's something about genetics like she's a little bit different. But my mom was the same size. I'm the same size. Our daughter's the same size. It's it's weird and it is like I treasure that dress because I imagined that that was her going out fancy dress.

Maureen Holloway40:25

Yeah it meant something. All right, well, big boobs small waist everybody hates that.

Wendy Mesley40:35

Well, they're a little lower than, and I don't mean waist.

Mary Anne Ivison (Voiceover)40:41

Women Of Ill Repute was written and produced by Maureen Holloway and Wendy Mesley, with the help from the team at the Sound Off Media Company and producer Jet Belgraver.

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