Lorianne Crook

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Lorianne's sky dive with the
U.S. Army Golden Knights



 

Birthdate: February 19

Hometown: Wichita, Kansas. Moved to Nashville with family at age 5.

Family: Father is a chemist, mother is an elementary school teacher. One older sister and one younger brother. Married television producer Jim Owens in 1985. No children, but they have three beautiful cats!

Education: McGavock High School, Nashville. Magna cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University, Nashville. Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian and Chinese languages. Graduate of Indiana University, Slavic Language School. Recently, Lorianne has earned a Bachelor of Science, Holistic Nutrition.  She's currently earning a Master of Science, Holistic Nutrition.

Previous Jobs: In junior high and high school: babysitting, taking in neighbor's laundry. During college: waitressing, Hawaiian dance team, cheerleader for Nashville Sounds Baseball Team (she says 'don't laugh'...it helped put her through college!) 

Extracurricular Activities: High School: Class President, Cheerleading Captain, Homecoming Queen, Russian Club, Gymnastics Team. College: Top Ten Finalist, Miss Nashville Pageant (country star, Lorrie Morgan was 1st runner up!), Dobro Slovo Russian Language Club. 

Most Unusual College Experience: On the day of a difficult and scary Russian exam, only three students showed up in class...Lorianne and two other female language majors. The professor, Dr. Richard Porter, was so disappointed in the rest of the class that he automatically gave Lorianne and the other two ladies an A, then took them to a fancy lunch at the professor's club instead of giving them the test. During that lunch, he dubbed them "Dickie's Angels" for being brave enough to show up and face his most difficult exam.

Beginnings in Television: Lorianne was "discovered" during her college days while working as a Nashville Soundette for the Nashville Sounds baseball team. The girls did local television commercials for the team and even appeared in People Magazine with then-owner, Conway Twitty.

First Television Jobs: News reporter for KAUZ-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas. Then hired as the PM Magazine co-host for the same station, 1980-81. In1982, Lorianne was hired as PM Magazine co-host for WKRN-TV, Nashville. There, Lorianne co-wrote and co-produced two national award winning specials and was named Outstanding Feature Reporter of the Year by the AWRT (American Women in Radio and Television).

Crook & Chase: Lorianne and Charlie first teamed up in 1983 to host the nationally syndicated This Week In Country Music. It was later seen every weekend on TNN, The Nashville Network . Soon, Lorianne and Charlie were hosting the daily Crook & Chase show, which was named Best Entertainment News Program by Cable Guide magazine, in 1988. In 1992, that same magazine named Lorianne one of the "Ten Most Beautiful Women on Cable Television". Crook & Chase later hosted TNN's flagship prime time live show, Music City Tonight. In 1996 and 1997, Crook & Chase again went into national syndication, doing their unique daily show for Universal Studios in Los Angeles, while continuing to host two shows a week for TNN. Crook & Chase remained with TNN until its demise as a country network in 2000.

Other Television Credits: Through the years, Lorianne has produced and hosted many award winning television specials, including Celebrities Offstage, as well as the annual This Year In Country Music, and CMA Preview. In 1997, she co-hosted Candid Camera with Alan Funt's son, Peter, for CBS. In recent years, Lorianne has served as host of Off Stage with Lorianne Crook and Lorianne Crook's Celebrity Kitchen, (the latter now airs on RFD-TV).  And of course, she has once agained teamed up with Charlie for the weekly Crook & Chase show on RFD-TV.

Radio: Lorianne and Charlie host a long-running weekly radio show called The Crook and Chase Countdown, as well as the weekday country news features Crook and Chase Updates, and a number of holiday specials.

Books: In 1995, Lorianne and Charlie published their first literary work, Crook and Chase: Our Lives, the Music, and the Stars. The book shares their insider's view of the industry, its stars, and themselves.

Hobbies: Lorianne is a big fan of Martha Stewart, and now spends her free time cooking, gardening, and decorating the house. In recent years, Lorianne has returned to college to study nutrition. She is also an avid reader, favoring autobiographies and inspirational books of all kinds. She and her husband also make time to relax at their 4-story chalet in the Smoky Mountains with a spectacular view of Mount LeConte.