Star Search '87 Spokesmodels: Toni Costa vs. Cheryl Lawson

[misshawaiiusa]

Thank you so much for posting this! I'm Toni, that was me at 21 years old...now at 45 years old and my two girls 9 & 11 are amazed how young their mommy was! Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much!). Aloha from Hawaii...

[VideoSurferClassic]

@misshawaiiusa Wow! THE Toni Costa?

[70conrad]

@willmoney34...just FYI... several of Dawn Stern's videos are now up in case you don't know. I know that you were a fan.

[70conrad]

@willmoney34..what was the song used for Gina vs. Deborah??? Wasn't it a country song? Yes, Deborah was hot in the video. In answer to your question, Gina's speaking ability was just okay, but she was a beauty no doubt.

[willmoney34]

@70conrad It was a country song but I can't remember the name of the song. I remember both Gina and Deborah had cowboy hats on during their video. It was a great video for both of them!

[70conrad]

@bcmoon1979 @willmoney34 If memory serves, Deborah did beat Gina..then April beat Deborah (poor choice, sorry)..then Sandy beat April, but I don't believe it was a tie. Personally, I thought April was the weakest of the bunch....strongest to weakest..Sandy, Gina, Deborah, Apil with Gina/Deborah being debatable.

[willmoney34]

@70conrad Deborah's win over Gina will always be one of my all time favorite videos. As a matter of fact Gina's was exceptional as well, but Deborah's for me was one of those videos that had that wow factor! What do you think Gina's best video was? I liked the Diamonds and Pearls video. What did you think of Gina's "ability to speak effectively"?

[VideoSurferClassic]

@bcmoon1979 Atlanta, I remember looking at radio info and WSB-TV carried the show on Saturday mornings bumping Bugs Bunny and Tweety!

[bcmoon1979]

@VideoSurferClassic In Atlanta the first season of Star Search came on Sundays here at 5pm, then for the next years until 91, Star Search came on Saturday morning at 11am, then it would change from Saturday at 7pm, then 11:30pm, then early Sunday Morning, then back to Saturday morning, etc....Back in the Day, Star Search, Casey Kasem's Top 10 show, American Gladiators, Soul Train, and American Bandstand between 10am-1pm on Saturday, I was glued to the TV

[VideoSurferClassic]

@bcmoon1979 So, I bet most Georgians don't mind Bugs Bunny getting bumped for Spokesmodels.

[generalflavor]

@VideoSurferClassic Where did you get the "Theme from Nick Rocks" from?

[rightonpage52]

Cheryl was so much better. Beautiful, poised, well-spoken. Her walk was so much better too. I liked when she turned and put her hand on her hip.

[70conrad]

@Mist20 All competitors received a scale payment of $1,000 whether they won or lost. Champions received an additional $1,000 bonus which made their paycheck $2,000 for an hours work LOL! Not bad! Linda Eder probably made about $126,000 total!

[italo36]

The challenger Cheryl Lawson was much better looking

[Mist20]

@italo36 I agree. I would have given Cheryl the win.

[Mist20]

Has anyone noticed that 5 wins was the max for spokesmodels. Once you had 5 wins you'd lose the next week...lol. I think the only one that had more than 5 wins was Tracey Ross.

[kenneyut]

@Mist20 If I am not mistaken, I think Sophia Bowen had either 6 or 7 wins....don't quote me on that, but I do believe she had more than five... of course Bobbie Brown won all the way through

[Mist20]

@kenneyut I think you are correct about Sophia. I think she did have 6 wins. I didn't recall Bobbie. For every round won didn't the winner get a 1.000?

[kenneyut]

@Mist20 In the beginning I know for sure that they did..I am not sure if that was always the case

[willmoney34]

@Mist20 I think Dawn Sten and Sandy Flynn both had something like a dozen a piece. Not sure about the total but they both had over ten.

[bcmoon1979]

@willmoney34 Sandy Flynn in Round 1 won from weeks 2-10, and Dawn Stern in Round 2 won from weeks 2-11, making Sandy's total 9 and Dawn's 10. Sandy Flynn had a perfect score on 7 of her 9 wins and the other 2 were 3.50, including her first win in which the studio audience voted her to break the tie between the judges. don't quote me but I believe Dawn Stern got a perfect score every week

[Mist20]

@bcmoon1979 Sandy Flynn was pretty but I just didnt think she was all that. Once she started rolling on her wins I knew she was going to win it all. Dawn Stern didnt like....her chin was too distracting for me. She was a nice lady and had great poise.

[willmoney34]

@bcmoon1979 Did Sandy beat April Lachelle in the tie breaker? Do you remember Deborah Kellman? I think she lost to April to start the season out. Deborah's first win vs Gina Malia Aurio was one of my favorite videos.

[bcmoon1979]

@willmoney34 If April Lachelle was the one who beat Deborak Kellman during Week 1 of Star Search 93, then it was Sandy Flynn who beat her the next week based on the audience tie break. Both that week received 3.50.  The only reason I said if is I could not remember the name who Sandy Flynn beat. I remember Deborah, she seemed to lose something from the time she beat Gina to her appearance on Star Search the next season

[bcmoon1979]

@Mist20 You were right Sophia Bowen had 6 wins in 1988 and on her 7th appearance the week before the SF she lost to Lori Dickerson, Miss California 1987 who also competed at Miss USA 1987, 3.50 to 3.75. Sophia Bowne had the same amount of wins as did Tina Littlewood in 1987, both with 6

[Mist20]

@bcmoon1979 Lori was one of my favorites but Sophia was the better looking model hands down. Their scores were real close. I was hoping Lori would have made the semis the following year but didnt. Lori reminded me of a B version of Theresa Ring. Meaning a level below Theresa's beauty and poise.

As for Tina...she didnt have much competition during her round. I didn't think she was that great. The only videos she did that I liked were Venus and Heartbeat.

[bcmoon1979]

@Mist20 I may need some help with this but after Tracey Ross and her 8 wins the first season, 3-5 wins was the normal for Spokesmodels it seems on Star Search. Only a handful won more than 5 times: Tina Littlewood (6), Sophia Bowen(6), Bobbie Brown (12), Tiffany Tenfelde(7), Sandy Flynn(9), and Dawn Stern (10). I do not know about the 94 and 95 seasons Star Search came on sporadicly here in Atlanta

[Mist20]

@bcmoon1979 Bobbie Brown won 12 times because of her beauty and fake charm...lol. She was so full of herself. Tiffany is another who was just ok model. The competition in round 1 that season wasnt that great. I think Tamara Walker had 5 wins didnt she? I could be wrong. Of course Theresa Ring had 5 wins and should have beaten Toni for win number 6. I could have seen here winning the rest of the season and even beating Laura Ballard. That would have been 10 total wins for Ring.

[Mist20]

@bcmoon1979 By the time 94/95 seasons came around....I stopped caring. The models seemed like all the same and the format of the show I didnt like anymore. I think the last season I did care for who won the spokesmodel category was in 91.

[70conrad]

@VideoSurferClassic Thanks so much for giving us credit at the end. That was so completely cool of you!

@Mist20 They were both attractive women, but neither were semi-final material. I love dark hair with light eyes, so Costa gets a nod for that but Lawson had a classier/romantic face...sort of like a young Jane Seymour.

[VideoSurferClassic]

@70conrad My pleasure! You and kenneyut are the real Star Search insiders! I wish I had more to upload, but as I said this is my last upload for now unless you know someone who has old airings of SS '87-'89!

[VideoSurferClassic]

@VideoSurferClassic And yes, Lawson has a more starlet look, unlike Costa!

[Mist20]

70conrad do you know what the actual scores were between Costa and Lawson. I thought Lawson should have won.

[Mist20]

How did Toni Costa beat Theresa Ring? She is pretty but her speaking ability is not good. I actually liked Cheryl Lawson. I thought she was better than Toni. Thanks for uploading another spokesmodel video VideoSurferClassic.

[VideoSurferClassic]

@Mist20 You're welcome. Yet it don't matter, since she went to the Semis. Alright it does matter, Costa is a looker, but a talker is a whole 'nother story! Did you see how she toss to the breaks?

[Mist20]

@VideoSurferClassic Her response to Ed question was just bad. Her toss to the break is awful. That's why I wonder how Toni beat Teresa. I'd like to see her up against Laura Ballard. I wish someone had the tape of that showdown.

[bcmoon1979]

@Mist20 I wondered that same question when it happened too and how did Toni beat Cheryl Lawson?

[Mist20]

@bcmoon1979 I thought Cheryl's video was much better. Toni was cute but her speaking ability was awful.