Keely Shaye Smith

[sdb4884]

Just wondering I was watching a segment about the Angeles Forest murders comparison and Smith seemed like she was hosting the episode. Did she host the show after Stack quit? she was quite good in my opinion. I know she is the wife of Pierce Brosnan and she put on a bit of weight since but she had that serious look about her that Stack had and that professionalism as well unlike Farina.

[Wamisto]

To answer your question, I think you are talking about Virginia Madsen. She was the co-host for UM's last season on CBS in 1999. Her and RS alternated segments. I think Keely Shaye Smith was on during the last couple seasons UM ran on NBC around 1996-97, but her role was that of the "UM telecenter correspondent" - so they would go to her when they had an "Update".

To be honest, I thought Madsen did a fine job. The problem is, she was just another step in the wrong direction for the show, because she took the show one step further from what made the show great to begin with - which was, among other things, the cryptic, raspy, baritone voice and poker-face of Robert Stack. She did not add anything to the show, and in fact, took away from it because she could not hold a candle to Stack. Why "spot" RS like that? It's not like the extra two segments were going to "tax" him to the point of burnout or ill health.

[Oldschooler81]

^ I agree.

I liked Keely in 1994-'96 (although I know some people don't) and I think she had the perfect amount of "involvement". In other words, adding something a little new to the show and handling the updates and correspondence, yet without going overboard. You got the impression she was an assistant and just part of the team, yet it wasn't "her show" either.

Even though they were adding some more silly or lighthearted segments (some of which most of us got sick of - like the Resurrection Mary lol), it was still "close enough" to its roots to feel like the same show.


Downplaying Stack in the late 90s is one of the many things that led to its demise too. I know his health was starting to go a little downhill then (it's actually pretty sad for me to hear his voice weakening on some of the very last episodes), but he shouldn't have had a co-host. That's no offense to Virginia she was a decent host but it just wasn't the same. I feel the same about Farina.

[sdb4884]

No im not confusing Madsen with Smith, I know who they both are. Does anyone remember the segment Im referring to? it was the Kimberley Pandelious murder in relation to another blonde models murder in the same area and if the same suspect in the Pandelious case murdered the other girl too. Smith hosted the segment and did a fine job.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by sdb4884

Does anyone remember the segment Im referring to? it was the Kimberley Pandelious murder in relation to another blonde models murder in the same area and if the same suspect in the Pandelious case murdered the other girl too.

You must be referring to the murder of Linda Sobek. Charles Rathbun was convicted of her murder. Indeed, he was looked into as a possible suspect in other murders, including Kimberly's, but there has been no proof that he killed anyone other than Linda Sobek.

[Wamisto]

Originally Posted by sdb4884

No im not confusing Madsen with Smith, I know who they both are. Does anyone remember the segment Im referring to? it was the Kimberley Pandelious murder in relation to another blonde models murder in the same area and if the same suspect in the Pandelious case murdered the other girl too. Smith hosted the segment and did a fine job.

Sorry for insulting your vast knowledge of UM.

If you "know who they both are", then why ask the question? You know it is Smith, then? Don't ask the question - just state as a fact that Smith hosted the show, and give your opinion that you thought she did a good job.

I agree - I just don't think she holds a candle to Stack. Do you want to bring her back to replace Farina for the new Spike episodes? I would be opposed to that, only because I think there are better candidates.

[sdb4884]

Originally Posted by Wamisto

Sorry for insulting your vast knowledge of UM.

If you "know who they both are", then why ask the question? You know it is Smith, then? Don't ask the question - just state as a fact that Smith hosted the show, and give your opinion that you thought she did a good job.

I agree - I just don't think she holds a candle to Stack. Do you want to bring her back to replace Farina for the new Spike episodes? I would be opposed to that, only because I think there are better candidates.

I was wondering if Smith hosted a few shows after Stack quit thats all. I made no reference to Madsen so if you don't know the answer then don't answer.

[sdb4884]

Originally Posted by Kane

You must be referring to the murder of Linda Sobek. Charles Rathbun was convicted of her murder. Indeed, he was looked into as a possible suspect in other murders, including Kimberly's, but there has been no proof that he killed anyone other than Linda Sobek.

Thanks for the update!

[Orgazmo]

I know the segment you're talking about and I too got the impression Keely was hosting the show but from other eps it seems she just reports on cases not hosts the show. Madsen I can't say I have seen an ep with her as the host.

Keely is attractive and had a nice figure then, google to see her now. Pierce still loves it though

[sdb4884]

Originally Posted by Orgazmo

I know the segment you're talking about and I too got the impression Keely was hosting the show but from other eps it seems she just reports on cases not hosts the show. Madsen I can't say I have seen an ep with her as the host.

Keely is attractive and had a nice figure then, google to see her now. Pierce still loves it though

Yeah I must admit I was shocked when I googled her recently. I'm sure she won't be like that forever.

[justins5256]

There seems to be some confusion on this thread. I'll attempt to clarify as best I can...

The show ran on NBC from 1987 to the summer of 1997. There were nine seasons - not counting the pre-series specials.

Robert Stack hosted the program, alone, on NBC from November of 1987 until the end in the summer of '97.

In the fall of 1997 and into the spring of 1998, CBS aired a revival of the series hosted solely by Robert Stack. This was the tenth season - though there were only six episodes, so it's not as if it was intended to be a full season.

Beginning in April 1999, CBS aired six more episodes. These last six episodes were co-hosted by Virginia Madsen. She was an actual co-host, and introduced and narrated segments. If there were five segments in an hour, Stack would typically narrate three, and Madsen would narrate two.

When the CBS episodes were syndicated on Lifetime, Virginia Madsen was completely edited out of the episodes - both of her on-camera appearances, and her narration, which was re-dubbed by Robert Stack.

There were no co-hosts during the show's earlier run on NBC. In the later seasons, (post 1993) there were "correspondents" such as Keeley Shaye Smith and another women (whose name escapes me), who would sometimes report on updates or "fugitive hotline" (typically very recent and pressing cases). I can't recall the exact year they began using these correspondents, but it was during the last years of the show's tenure on NBC. The correspondent segments were typically filmed in the telecenter.

To call either of these women a "co-host" is misleading. As I said, they only narrated some of the updates or "fugitive hotlines".

[sdb4884]

Originally Posted by justins5256

There seems to be some confusion on this thread. I'll attempt to clarify as best I can...

The show ran on NBC from 1987 to the summer of 1997. There were nine seasons - not counting the pre-series specials.

Robert Stack hosted the program, alone, on NBC from November of 1987 until the end in the summer of '97.

In the fall of 1997 and into the spring of 1998, CBS aired a revival of the series hosted solely by Robert Stack. This was the tenth season - though there were only six episodes, so it's not as if it was intended to be a full season.

Beginning in April 1999, CBS aired six more episodes. These last six episodes were co-hosted by Virginia Madsen. She was an actual co-host, and introduced and narrated segments. If there were five segments in an hour, Stack would typically narrate three, and Madsen would narrate two.

When the CBS episodes were syndicated on Lifetime, Virginia Madsen was completely edited out of the episodes - both of her on-camera appearances, and her narration, which was re-dubbed by Robert Stack.

There were no co-hosts during the show's earlier run on NBC. In the later seasons, (post 1993) there were "correspondents" such as Keeley Shaye Smith and another women (whose name escapes me), who would sometimes report on updates or "fugitive hotline" (typically very recent and pressing cases). I can't recall the exact year they began using these correspondents, but it was during the last years of the show's tenure on NBC. The correspondent segments were typically filmed in the telecenter.

To call either of these women a "co-host" is misleading. As I said, they only narrated some of the updates or "fugitive hotlines".

Great thanks for that information, I have never seen Madsen on camera I have only heard her voice at the end of cases. I saw Smith hosting or at least introducing the update segment of Kimberley Pandelios by herself, I wonder when that was.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by sdb4884

Great thanks for that information, I have never seen Madsen on camera I have only heard her voice at the end of cases. I saw Smith hosting or at least introducing the update segment of Kimberley Pandelios by herself, I wonder when that was.

Do you remember if it was the update or the actual segment? I believe the original segment aired in 1995. Not sure on an update.

[sdb4884]

Originally Posted by justins5256

Do you remember if it was the update or the actual segment? I believe the original segment aired in 1995. Not sure on an update.

It was the segment which was trying to link this case to another unsolved murder. I have seen two different versions of this case. One was just about this one which gets straight to the case of Kimberley and the other when Stack introduces Keely and Keely runs over the case again.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by sdb4884

It was the segment which was trying to link this case to another unsolved murder. I have seen two different versions of this case. One was just about this one which gets straight to the case of Kimberley and the other when Stack introduces Keely and Keely runs over the case again.

Hmmm. That's news to me then. The only segment I remember was the original from 1995 that centered around that race car/off road driver's sighting of her at the campsite.

I thought maybe you were talking about an update. If that was the case, then it would make sense to have Keely Shaye Smith handle it.

If it was an entire segment, I don't know. Possibly it was toward the end of the show's run on NBC and was a late breaking development and they had her narrate the whole segment for some unknown reason.

To the best of my knowledge, she was only around when the show was on NBC - they didn't bring her back for either CBS or the later Lifetime version. So, we can at least narrow it down to the NBC days.