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Elaine Ambrose

Bestselling Author, Ventriloquist, & Humorist

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KMVT-TV to Celebrate 70th Anniversary

May 26, 2025 By Elaine Ambrose Leave a Comment

KMVT-TV in Twin Falls, Idaho, went on the air on June 1, 1955, as KLIX-TV, a sister station to KLIX radio (1310 AM). I was hired in June 1973 as the State’s first female television news reporter and talk show hostess. I’ll be participating in the 70th Anniversary Celebration on Monday, June 2 in Twin Falls.

(Note: Our official photo for the news team attempted to portray a “happy family.” The hand on my shoulder wouldn’t be appropriate today.)

Over the past few decades, I’ve written about my life’s experiences, ranging from humor to horribly hapless, and I’ve relied on my early journalism training skills including who, what, why, when, and where to tell a story. The “Why?” seems to be a recurring theme.

I wrote about my days at KMVT in my award-winning humor book, Midlife Happy Hour.

“In May of 1973, I packed all my worldly possessions into my Pontiac Firebird, inserted a John Denver cartridge into the car’s eight-track tape player and drove away from the University of Idaho with the idealistic enthusiasm of a college graduate who believed she could do anything and everything. More than five decades later, maturity and truth have tempered the exuberant optimism, but the outcome has surpassed my original expectations…

After spending a night with my parents in Wendell, Idaho, I drove to Twin Falls to find a job. I turned onto Elizabeth Boulevard and parked beside an outdated, flat-roofed, ramshackle white building with huge red letters that read KMVT-TV. I gathered my bulky resume and marched into the building.

“I want to apply for a job,” I told the receptionist. She had two pencils stuck into her beehive hairdo and she smelled of Avon’s “Unforgettable” cologne mist. My mother had the same perfume in a pink bottle with the gold collar and had used it only for special events since she received the gift in 1960. She never attended too many galas while down on the farm, so the pretty bottle remained full and fragrant on her dresser.

The receptionist peered over her reading glasses. “There aren’t any secretarial positions open now, but I can take your application.”

“I’d like to apply as a news reporter,” I said, blinking back the tears from my eyes. Her perfume was potent. After a painfully long silence, she spoke.

“We don’t have any openings right now, and we’ve never had a female on the news team.”

Those two facts should have sent me out the door, but I had a vision of living with my parents for the rest of my life and smelling like “Unforgettable” cologne mist as I rocked on the front porch, a knitted shawl in my lap.

“Could I interview with the news director?” I asked, mentally scrambling for any reason to get beyond the gatekeeper. I could tell by her negative expression that she wanted me to go away. I turned to leave and bumped into a man hustling into the building. He smiled and I noticed his nametag: Dick Tuninga, News Director. It was now or never.

“Hello,” I said, offering my hand. “Could I have just ten minutes of your time for an interview?”

He was in a good mood and invited me to his office. I felt Perfume Lady’s eyes burning holes in my back as I followed him down the hall. The newsroom had three metal desks beneath a bank of flickering television sets. Assignments were scribbled on a blackboard on the wall, and piles of video tapes and papers covered a battered credenza. The nearest television station was one hundred miles away in Boise, and this was the best news department in southern Idaho.

Mr. Tuninga was shorter than I was, so I hunkered down. He moved a box of supplies from the only guest chair and asked me to sit. I did.

“What brings you here?” he asked, hoping for a personal interview that could bring him some publicity.

“I want to be on your news team,” I said and offered him my portfolio. He looked disappointed.

“Well, we don’t have any job openings, and…”

“And you’ve never had any females in the news department. But, I promise you will never regret hiring me.”

He seemed amused by my cocky attitude and picked up the resumé. After reading several pages, he looked up and stared at me. I stared back.

“Have you ever been on live television before?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered. It wasn’t a lie. When I was five years old, I had been a guest on thechildren’s show on KMVT with the host named Happy Holly. In college, I had concentrated on print journalism and had taken only one required class in Radio-Television but had neverparticipated in a live interview or telecast.

Another man entered the room and Tuninga introduced me to J.J. Alexander, the other person on the news team. He was short, too. “This little lady wants to work with us,” Tuninga said.

Alexander stared at me in the same manner as his boss, and I returned the look.

“We could be the first in Idaho,” he muttered. “Boise doesn’t even have a full-time female news reporter.”

That was my hook. For once, my gender was an asset. I worked it.

“It’s time you had a female on the air. I know the community, I have a proven portfolio, and I’m a good worker.”

I could tell their main focus was to beat the Boise markets. I could have been a female one-eyed, pole dancer, but I didn’t care. I wanted the job. They led me into the studio and told me to read some copy in front of the camera. I performed like a pro. They introduced me to the General Manager Harold Hirte, and he echoed the same sentiment. “We’ll be first.” I nodded with conviction. I would lead the tiny station into glory and prestige.

He offered me a full-time job and said the station could pay $450 a month with a raise in three months. I shook his hand and agreed. The job would begin the next day.

I floated to my car, began driving back to my parents’ house, and pushed the music cartridge into the tape player. Elton John sang about sitting on the roof and kicking up the moss. I sang along at the top of my voice, “How wonderful life is when you’re in the world.” The title was “Your Song,” and this one was for me. I was 21 years old.”

Ad in TV GUIDE
Summer 1973

One of my most memorable assignments was to interview Senator Frank Church in Sun Valley. I drove alone on the two-hour journey from Twin Falls, set up and turned on the camera, moved in front to interview the Senator, turned off the camera, and drove back to the studio to develop and edit the film in the basement of KMVT. I wrote the script and delivered the B&W video and story live on air.

April 1974

Since then, I’ve enjoyed numerous other jobs and lived in 25 homes, in 11 towns, and in three states. I’ve retired to Eagle, Idaho, and continue to write stories and cause mischief. However, I’ll never forget that first job at KMVT-TV. It was, by far, my favorite job.

Filed Under: blog, events Tagged With: #author, #humor, #Idaho, #KMVT, #universityofidaho, career, news

How Community Theatre Improved My Health

April 22, 2025 By Elaine Ambrose

I grew up during the sixties on a farm near the village of Wendell, Idaho, when the population was 1,000. Our high school didn’t have a drama department, and any student productions were presented in the elementary school lunchroom. Acting was not regarded as a viable career, but I included the possibility on my bucket list of things to try before I died.

After five decades of raising children, working in various jobs, and retiring in Eagle, Idaho, I decided to audition for community theatre. I was 72 and recuperating from heart surgery due to cardiomyopathy. My new defibrillator was a physical reminder that my life and heartbeat were regulated by a device installed beneath my collarbone. I experienced shortness of breath with any activity, so I decided acting would be a fun way to experiment with breath control and complete my bucket list. I was correct.

Acting in the Eagle Theatre Company has improved my mental and physical health. Memorizing lines challenges my aging brain, and delivering the lines helps with breath control. The audience applause is a bonus advantage.

My first audition was a failure. I was given the role of Madam Arcati in “Blithe Spirit.” After rehearsing for a month, I admitted I couldn’t reach Act III and recite hundreds of lines because I ran out of breath. I relinquished the role. My next audition was for a smaller role, Miss Prism in “The Importance of Being Earnest.” I loved the role, and the play was a hit.

I loved the role of Miss Prism in “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

I’m currently playing Ozella Meeks in “Southern Fried Funeral.” The role only contains 100 lines, but I’ve tackled the character with all the sass I can muster. I’m thrilled with the positive response.

The high schools around Boise offer amazing theatre departments and professional stages with performance facilities that can seat hundreds of students. Young people have advantages to learn how to act and can utilize these skills in future professional capacities. It’s a long distance from the farming community of Wendell.

I intend to audition for future plays. There are several community theatres in the area, and I hope to find small but clever roles to play. I breathe better with every rehearsal and look forward to meeting new cast members and directors. Community Theatre provided the perfect anecdote to my aging attitude and challenged aptitude. This weekend at two sold-out shows, I look forward to when the stage manager says, “Take Your Places.”

Filed Under: blog, events Tagged With: #acting, #bucketlist, #cardiomyopathy, #communithytheatre, #EagleIdaho, #EagleTheatreCompany, aging

Write from the Heart – A Workshop for the Senses

February 25, 2025 By Elaine Ambrose

My interactive workshop titled “Write from the Heart” explores how to use emotions and senses to inspire your writing. Musical selections with prompts guide writers through various stages of their life. Participants can volunteer to read their work to the group.

The workshop also includes items to feel, see, smell, and touch. The goal of the two-hour workshop is for writers to follow their natural senses to create authentic paragraphs on a variety of subjects. All workshop attendees receive journals, pens, books, and heart-healthy snacks.

The February workshop was sponsored by Tesoro Valle Gifts in Eagle, and fees were $25. Future workshops will be announced soon.

Sense of Touch
Sense of Taste
Sense of Smell
Writing from the heart…

 

Filed Under: blog, events Tagged With: #heart, #music, #senses, #workshop, #writer

Cycling Without Age in Idaho

November 16, 2023 By Elaine Ambrose

Elaine Ambrose was the first “pilot.”

In 2017, I ordered a Triobike  Trishaw from Copenhagen, Denmark, and created the first Idaho chapter of “Cycling Without Age.”

John Davidson helped load and unload the delivered Trishaw from Denmark.

 

With the assistance of Eagle City Council Member Mary McFarland, we met with the Mayor of Eagle to secure permission to ride the bike on the streets and along the Greenbelt. We organized a premiere party in October and requested volunteers to be “pilots.” Several senior citizens enjoyed the rides, and the local media ran stories about the event.

Cycling Without Age is worldwide.

Mary McFarland, Eagle City Council Member, seated, Rob Hovey, Ken McKay, and Christy Hovey attended the event.

The Trishaw and the organization were transferred to Kalynn McLain in 2019. She collaborated with Grace Assisted Living in Meridian to create a program for the facility, and senior citizens appreciated rides around Kleiner Park. She partnered with five other facilities and soon provided hundreds of rides.

The Trishaw is retired through the winter and will undergo maintenance before activities begin in the spring.

Kalynn McLain is the main pilot and organizer of Cycling Without Age in Southern Idaho.

Filed Under: blog, events Tagged With: #cyclingwithoutage, #Denmark, #EagleIdaho, #seniorcitizens, #Trishaw, #volunteers

Writing Workshop – “Writing the Wrongs: How Experiences Create our Stories”

September 23, 2023 By Elaine Ambrose

A writing workshop titled “Writing the Wrongs: How Experiences Create Our Stories” is available on October 27 and will be repeated on November 3 in Eagle, Idaho. Bestselling author Elaine Ambrose will facilitate the morning sessions, and a panel of Idaho authors will end the workshop with a discussion and Q&A session. Participants will be encouraged to volunteer to read their works aloud to the group. The cost for the workshop is $80 and includes continental breakfast, lunch, all materials, and books.  A Zoom option is available for $40.

The focus of the event is to encourage writers to recall memories of personal angst, fear, or sadness. These raw emotions can create dynamic stories to heal the wounds of past trauma and drama. The Workshop includes continental breakfast, lunch, and materials.

The event is in a private home, so the address will be emailed after receipt of a paid ticket.

Elaine Ambrose

AGENDA

9:00 AM – Continental Breakfast

9:15 AM

Welcome and Introductions with Elaine Ambrose

9:45 AM

“Music as Muse” Exercise and Personal Writing Prompts will inspire participants to recall latent memories to spark emotions to enhance an original story.

10:30 AM

Participants Volunteer to Read

11:00 AM

“How to Discover and Improve Your Authentic Voice” – Interactive Exercises

12:00 PM

Break for Lunch and Personal Writing

12:45 PM

“How to Find Positive Affirmation as a Writer” – Panel of Local Authors

1:45 PM

Open Discussion and Readings

2:00 PM

Adjourn Workshop

Eventbrite link with more details and registration options: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/writing-the-wrongs-how-experiences-create-our-stories-tickets-723702753417?aff=oddtdtcreator

Filed Under: blog, events Tagged With: #amwriting, #books, #Idaho, #writer, writers workshop

Accidental Ventriloquist

February 14, 2023 By Elaine Ambrose

 

For most of my 50-year career, I’ve been a public speaker. I started as a television news reporter and talk show hostess and later worked in corporate communications and public relations before starting a small publishing company and creating professional workshops in southern Idaho. I enjoyed traveling to conferences across the country to present writing workshops and motivational, humorous speeches.

Two calamities silenced my voice: Covid and a heart attack.

In the spring of 2020, I was scheduled to return to Ireland to give writing workshops during a two-week excursion followed by speaking at the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop in Ohio. Both events were canceled due to Covid. Travel and speaking engagements stopped, so I took an online course about how to create and publish writing webinars on Zoom. Travel restrictions were relaxed, and in June of 2021, I traveled to Todos Santos, Mexico to present a workshop at a writer’s retreat. Unfortunately, I suffered a heart attack the night before I was scheduled to return to Idaho. My guardian angels worked overtime to secure airport wheelchairs, clearance at Customs, and transportation home.

Creating webinars – when I had enough breath

Cardiologists in Boise diagnosed cardiomyopathy heart disease with a reduced ejection fraction of 30 percent – meaning my heart was broken. I had two surgeries, and the second one in 2022 installed a defibrillator beneath my collarbone. I continued to have shortness of breath, so I canceled the webinars and future speaking engagements. I didn’t have the energy to walk around the block or to speak for more than a few minutes.

I was wallowing, silently, in self-pity until my friend Sheli Yerkes Gartman, CEO of Women Ignite International, contacted me in the summer of 2022 and asked me to join a group of funny women in a comedy show for the WICON conference in Boise in October. I decided I wasn’t finished with life, so I eagerly agreed to practice with the group.

Comedy Show at the Egyptian Theatre

I had used finger puppets in many of my past presentations, and I decided to expand my part of the humorous program and incorporate larger puppets. For the show, I dressed as an Egyptian Queen (a former life, no doubt) and held a southern-speaking puppet on one hand and a monster-speaking puppet on the other. My first ventriloquism act was a bit ambitious because I needed three voices, including my own. I was the first act on stage and entertained for five minutes. I felt triumphant. The program lasted over an hour and included group skits and other monologues. By the end of the show, I knew I had a new hobby.

I watched YouTube training videos by famous ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and joined a Facebook group of lady ventriloquists. They recommended companies selling full-body puppets for ventriloquists. I now have a family of seven. I’ll be entertaining at a music festival near McCall, Idaho in June. My goal is to perform several five-minute gigs. I hope to increase my stamina so I can speak longer without gasping for air.

Lady Delilah offers advice

Meet the Puppets

I enjoyed naming my seven puppets. I had some help from Facebook friends about the name Huckleberry Hannah. The other choice was BlueBerry Belle, but the letter “B” is difficult to pronounce without moving lips. I practiced daily how to speak various voices, but sometimes I mixed up the accents, but no one complained.

Lady Delilah arrived from The Dummy Shoppe. She is British and offers sassy opinions and bold advice.

Jessie Jo from Idaho loves to sing country western songs

Jessie Jo from Idaho is a custom order from The Dummy Shoppe | Puppets by JET. She sings country western songs and promises hilarious stories at music festivals and other events.

Aunt Olga from the Old Country makes me laugh

Aunt Olga is from Axtell Expressions. She arrived from the Old Country and enjoys telling stories of life using her thick Russian accent.

Huckleberry Hannah and Midlife Molly from Pubbets

Midlife Molly is a custom order from Pubbets. She’s soft-spoken but offers pithy advice for middle-aged women in need of hot-flash humor.

Huckleberry Hannah is another creation from Pubbets. She has several outfits and speaks with a charming southern voice.

Officer Ricardo is a dedicated law enforcement officer with a Mexican accent. I found him online at an Etsy shop. He offers tips about how to follow the law.

Officer Ricardo knows the law

Wendell is an ordinary boy who is content to be average. I found him online at Folkmanis. He is soft-spoken with a low voice, and he is a storyteller.

To publish my short ventriloquism acts, I record my puppets on my iPad and upload the videos to social media and to my YouTube channel. I often laugh out loud as my puppets say comments I never intended for them to say. Ventriloquism has opened a new opportunity to share my love of storytelling. This 71-year-old grandmother with heart disease isn’t finished, yet.

Wendell, an ordinary boy

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: blog, events Tagged With: #comedy, #dummy, #EgyptianTheatre, #heartdisease, #humor, #Idaho, #resilient, #VENTRILOQUISM, midlife, puppets

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