Whereas a few of her early TV breakout roles embrace enjoying Pamela Williams in Past Westworld and Pam Davidson on The Best American Hero, Connie Sellecca might be finest recognized for taking part in Christine Francis on the primetime cleaning soap Lodge. The collection, which additionally starred James Brolin, premiered in 1983 on ABC—airing proper after Dynasty—and ran for 5 seasons.
Lodge revolved across the workers of the St. Gregory Lodge in San Francisco and featured dozens of visitor stars because the resort’s patrons. Because the cleaning soap went on, Sellecca’s character finally ended up operating the resort herself. At this time, it has been virtually 40 years since Lodge and Christine Francis made their debut. And Sellecca, 66, has lengthy since taken a step again from Hollywood. Learn on to search out out what she’s doing as we speak.
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After Lodge, Sellecca continued to behave onscreen for an additional 20 years. Most notably, she starred within the TV collection P.S.I Luv U, in addition to many TV films, together with A Harmful Affair and The Surrogate. Her closing position was in 2012, showing within the TV film All About Christmas Eve alongside Haylie Duff and Stephen Colletti.
Within the 10 years since, Sellecca has targeted on different enterprise ventures and her household. She began her personal now-defunct skincare line known as The Sellecca Answer, which was as soon as accessible for buy by QVC. In 1992, she married musician and TV persona John Tesh, and so they’ve been collectively ever since. (Her first husband was Gil Gerard, who she was married to from 1979 to 1987.)
It was Sellecca’s religion that inspired Tesh to develop into a born-again Christian, as he wrote in his Bible studying plan, Relentless. The subject got here up on their first date.
“Connie steered I’d like her church. She instructed me that this was how she spent her Sundays, so if we needed to spend what little free time every of us had collectively, I’d need to take into account giving it a attempt,” Tesh stated. “I favored Connie, so after all, I used to be considering her church. Because it turned out, I might fall in love with Connie and her church.”
After Sellecca’s profession in TV ended, her profession in radio started. Her present, Intelligence For Your Well being, is syndicated on radio stations everywhere in the nation and covers wellness subjects together with skincare, weight-reduction plan, and health. She additionally hosts Intelligence For Your Life TV with Tesh and her son, Gib Gerard, from her first marriage.
With Tesh and Sellecca married and dealing in radio collectively, it is no shock that she was chosen to introduce him when he was inducted into the Radio Corridor of Fame in 2019. However after Sellecca was performed off stage early, manufacturing chopping off her microphone and the lights within the room earlier than she was completed along with her speech, Tesh despatched his award again.
“What occurred the evening of the Radio Corridor of Fame to Connie Sellecca was a horrible mistake and I couldn’t apologize extra,” Susy Schultz, the chief director of the museum, stated in an announcement to Robert Feder. “Hers is a powerful and vital voice that shouldn’t be silenced. She is a girl with a profitable multi-faceted profession and a eager enterprise sense who has navigated the worlds of performing, modeling, tv, producing and digital broadcasting.”
Tesh and Sellecca additionally based the the Sellecca-Tesh Basis collectively. The group gives sufferers with dementia and different neurological issues with entry to music remedy. Sellecca has been a spokesperson for Moms In opposition to Drunk Driving, as properly.
In 2015, Tesh was recognized with prostate most cancers, and although he initially struggled along with his prognosis, he credited Sellecca for serving to him proceed on.
“My spouse knew how a lot I favored being by the ocean,” he instructed the San Diego Union Tribune in 2020. “Water is an enormous factor for me. So after each chemo remedy, we keep on the [Hotel del Coronado]. I frolicked within the water and watched the Navy Seals undergo [in training].”
In 2021, Tesh instructed Individuals that his most cancers had returned in October 2020, and he was in a position to beat it once more. As soon as once more, he stated that Sellecca performed an enormous position in his combat.
“If she hadn’t been my advocate and such an excellent examine of prostate most cancers, I would not have made it,” he stated. “We might go in and meet new medical doctors, and after a couple of half hour of speaking they might flip to her and say, ‘Are you within the medical area?'”
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As of late, Sellecca resides a way more personal life than she did when she was a cleaning soap star. Her solely social media presence is her her official Fb web page, the place she states she is a mom and a grandmother. The 28-year-old daughter she shares with Tesh, Prima Tesh, is a pilates teacher and dancer and infrequently shares snaps of her household on her Instagram.
Sellecca hardly ever does interviews lately. However means again in 1990, she did communicate fondly of her time on Lodge whereas speaking to Orange Coast journal.
“I merely beloved doing Lodge. I beloved the individuals—[producer] Aaron Spelling was fantastic to work with—I beloved the forged and crew,” she stated. “And our views had been very revered and valued on the present. I additionally had a possibility—not each week—however many occasions, to do fascinating work, and I obtained a Golden Globe nomination for Greatest Actress in a Collection for a few of it. Over the 5 years the collection ran, all of us did numerous [growing] collectively. It turned a big household, and like a household, we had deaths—shedding Ann Baxter—and diseases. One of many forged contracted most cancers. Jim [Brolin] and I each bought painful divorces, one other couple bought married.”
For now, plainly Sellecca will be discovered most frequently on her radio present—and at Tesh’s facet.
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