Jayne Kennedy

[quote]Do you guys remember her in her hey-day?

Not at all. No.

Yes. My identical twin brother loved her. He's straight and I'm gay. On our 40th birthday back in 1975, I bought out all of thr black magazines with her on them: Jet, Essence, etc. the clerk looked at me funny -- this white guy loves this black woman.

She was also an NFL analyst back in the 70s -- much like today's Erin Andrews.

Of course the DL denizens don't -- they would be too hateful to look Jayne's way.

I do! She was one of the most beautiful black women of the 70s and 80s. She was known to football fans for being a sportscaster on NFL Today. She was known to the rest of us as an actress and, well, just being fuckin' gorgeous.

She was a stunning, natural beauty. The media would refer to her as the "Black Farrah". Also an excellent addition to the CBS sports team.

She's had her share of challenges and suffers from endometriosis.

Sex tape ruined her career.

Remember her hot ex-husband Leon Issac Kennedy?

Yea, the tape where Leon fisted her vajajay was the last straw ....

You get it, Leon !!

I remember her from REAL PEOPLE. Remember that gem with Skip Stephenson, Fran Tarkenton and Sarah Purcell?

How come you bitches didn't catch R2's comment.

oh, i did, R11

Sorry to burst your bubble but age has made her another Della Reese.

[quote]The media would refer to her as the "Black Farrah".

IIRC, there was talk that the producers of "Charlie's Angels" were considering her to be "the first black angel" when Kate Jackson left the show but eventually hired Shelley Hack instead.

Jayne Kennedy was a beauty and very engaging on camera. She's now 64.

She was breathtaking beautiful - I just remember staring at her whenever she was on screen. You didn't see that many natural beauties back then.

And then she just disappeared.

She's gained a few.

She played Nubia in an episode of Wonder Woman!

R17. Jayne now seems to be plus size.

Ok you judgemental queens. she's in her 60s now and in poor health which is the cause of the bloating. Her skin and hair actually look good, and she still has that bright bubbly attitude.

She was really the 70s "it" girl at the time. I think the racial climate of the times and a lack of roles for Black actors had an adverse effect on her career.

What does Overton do? The first husband was a pimp/dj, right?

r21 I agree. If Jayne Kennedy were a young actress today, she would be a huge star with her own series. Unfortunately, in the 70s things were a lot different for black actresses.

It would have been a game changer if she had been cast as one of Charlie's Angels, and I think she could have pulled it off. The audience would have been skittish at first, but would have eventually embraced her because of her relatable good looks and bubbly personality. She would have had a career comparable to what Kerry Washington and Halle Berry have now. Damn shame how things turned out for her.

Jayne did an episode of Wonder Woman and she was as gorgeous as Lynda Carter, which was no small feat. She could've been the black Wonder Woman.

I think she was actually up for Julie Rogers, as was Shari Belafonte, but Tanya Roberts ended up getting it. Not surprising since Spellings shows were never known to be racially diverse. The show was on it's last leg at that point anyway, very uneven quality and Shelley Hack being cast was a big mistake and ratings were dropping fast by the end of season 4.

[quote]She was also an NFL analyst back in the 70s -- much like today's Erin Andrews.

She was much better than Erin Andrews.

r25 is worse than Fausta Grables!

R25 - Lynda Carter is actually a very good comparison. Lynda also just stopped you in your tracks and disoriented you because she was so arresting on camera. Jayne Kennedy was the black version of that - she used to do commentary for football and she was so distracting in her beauty it was hard to focus on what she was saying.

And no, it's not hyperbole. Still photos don't quite capture it. What people don't understand is that you could only go so far back then with hair and makeup and people didn't have the plastic surgery they have today. Hair and makeup products have advanced so much in the past 30-35 years, that it's a bit easier to make people look great who aren't naturally beautiful.

Every man in America over a certain age knows her and had the same reaction regardless of race or sexual orientation.

Damn, R2, you're 85 years of age?

You're a spring chicken around here!

R30 isn't so good with the maths

Had one of the first sex tapes. I saw it. With her and her husband. Pretty graphic.

What's the real reason she agreed to do the sex tape?

r33, was her and her husbands. It was something for them only. I guess the asshole released it when they broke up.

More vintage Jayne.

Jayne's sex tape partner hubby had a small dick, especially for a black guy.

I didn't see any fisting in the above clip on R9).

I am a chick, and I remember hearing all of the fawning over Jayne Kennedy.

Was Ethel ashamed of her?

How about Jackie or Ted?

Is she black or like Obama?

She is beautiful but her teeth are too small. When she smiles you can see more of her gums than her teeth.

I remember her best as Arnold's schoolteacher on Diff'rent Strokes.

He discovers that she moonlights as a quasi-Playboy bunny.

She really was gorgeous. She would have made a great Angel.

Everything was better in the 70s. People were more attractive, the clothes were fun, the hair was fun, life was fun. We had gorgeous faces like Jayne's staring out at us from magazine covers, and weren't subjecedt to the homogenized no-talent freak show you see today.

She could have been a big star had she been born 20 years later than she was.

Jayne was the first African-American semi-finalist at Miss USA in 1970, years before Vanessa at Miss America. She got some advantages from that but, given the climate of the times, she did well but never became a superstar. (Like a popular Miss America in the 1970's, Phyllis George, she had some luck in the sports world.) Williams' success just 13 years later shows how times had changed enough. (And, yes, of course, it helped that Vanessa won and wasn't just a semi-finalist.) I doubt even if Kennedy had won USA in 1970 that things would have been that different for her.

She was born too early.

She was second only to Vanessa Williams.

Both are gorgeous beyond reason.

I liked Cover Girls. Yes, she would have been amazing as one of Charlie's Angels.

I like how she had a peak and then just faded away although you do see pictures of her looking older, bigger but seemingly happy and involved with her family. She had a peak and then bowed out - I think there were some health issues involved. Everyone now complains about ageism/sexism when the spotlight moves onto the next hot thing although they didn't mind when the spotlight was on them.

She was gorgeous OP. I remember her.

She was from the town next to mine. She had a sister who was equally beautiful.

She was just average.

R48, I think the getting fisted on film had something to do with taking herself out of the spotlight. Ebony wrote an article a few years ago that it was her ex Leon Isaac Kennedy that was the one who leaked the tape. He denied it and is suing. He's now a "preacher" and Jayne pops up on the religious TV circuit from time to time.

R52) That's the rumor I heard too. That it was the sex tape that ruined it for her.

This clip of "227" is hilarious. When Jackee met Jayne. Starts @ 5:20.

R29, agreed. There were a lot more individual differences in looks then, because everyone wasn't all plastic. And, yes, she was absolutely gorgeous. That is one part of the "good ole days" that I can recommend--people looking like themselves without all the surgery.

She should've changed her named, I know

She was a co-host of the very short-lived SPEAK UP, AMERICA!, with Marjoe Gortner and Rhonda Bates. it was CBS's answer to REAL PEOPLE.

Rhonda Bates??? She was like me only ugly with no talent, no camel toe nor a catchphrase