Martha Quinn

Martha Quinn (born May 11, 1959) is best known as one of the original video jockeys on MTV (along with Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and J. J. Jackson).

Biography

Early life

Quinn was born in Albany, New York, the daughter of Nina Pattison, a retirement counselor, and David Quinn, an attorney.^[1] Prior to joining MTV, Quinn graduated from Ossining High School in 1977 and NYU in 1981.

MTV

She got the MTV job even though her prior on-camera experience had been limited to a few television commercials. Rolling Stone magazine readers selected her as "MTV's Best-Ever VJ" years later. Quinn's petite, girl next door personality made her extremely popular among viewers.

Singer Mojo Nixon created a song that was both a tribute to Martha Quinn and a criticism of MTV. It was titled "Stuffin' Martha's Muffin". Aztec Two-Step featured the tune "I'm in Love with the Girl on MTV" on their 1986 album Living in America as a tribute to Quinn.

Acting roles

In 1990, Quinn appeared on the short-lived Brady Bunch sequel The Bradys. Quinn played Tracy, who married Bobby Brady (played by Mike Lookinland). She joined Ed McMahon as a co-host for Star Search in 1994. She was a bi-weekly correspondent on The Early Show in 1999. She also appeared in the 1988 film Tapeheads, the 1989 film sequel Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! and had a recurring role on Full House. She was also featured in a series of commercials for Neutrogena in the mid-1990s.

Career in the 2000s

In 2005, Quinn joined Sirius Satellite Radio network, hosting a one-hour weekly show from her home in Malibu called Martha Quinn Presents: Gods of the Big '80s for the Big '80s channel. After Sirius merged with XM Radio, the channel was rebranded as The 80s on 8, and the show was simply titled "Martha Quinn Presents". Quinn joins the other surviving original MTV VJs in hosting programs for The 80s on 8.

On the September 22, 2005 episode of Comedy Central's new series The Showbiz Show with David Spade, Quinn appeared as herself in mock archival footage (dating back to 1983) from her MTV days. In two separate bumper skits, Quinn sarcastically foretold considerably bizarre behavior from stars Michael Jackson and Sting. Subsequent episodes took shots at Whitney Houston and Tommy Lee.

In 2007, Quinn lent her name, face and voice to The '80s Game with Martha Quinn, a PC trivia game developed by Funkitron. The game featured multiple-choice questions about '80s culture in categories including music, politics, television, sports, movies and celebrities.^[2]

Personal life

Quinn is the stepdaughter of Jane Bryant Quinn, a personal finance columnist. In 1993, she married musician Jordan Tarlow (ex-Fuzztones); they have two children and live in Malibu, California.

References

External links

• Martha Quinn at the Internet Movie Database
• Stuck in the 80s interview with Martha Quinn
• The 80s Game with Martha Quinn on Funkitron's website