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New Host for This Old House
Making his debut this season as host of the Emmy Award-winning series
This Old House and Ask This Old House, Kevin O’Connor is the newest member
of America’s favorite home improvement team.
Prior to joining the show, O’Connor worked for Fleet Bank as a vice president
in the sports finance group, not exactly a prerequisite for a job on TV.
He and his wife Kathleen recently purchased their first home, a beautiful
1894 Queen Anne Victorian.
“The house needed everything,” O’Connor recalls, “a new kitchen, new
bathrooms, and new bedrooms.” Though he wasn’t a complete amateur when it
comes to renovations, the task of overhauling his new home was daunting,
to say the least.
With a long to-do list, O’Connor turned to the television experts to
help with the renovation projects. To his surprise and delight, This Old
House general contractor Tom Silva and painting contractor Jim Clark came
calling, resulting in a segment of Ask This Old House. O’Connor asked questions
throughout the filming, and his questions continued to roll even when the
cameras weren’t.
“Since we were doing all the work ourselves (except for the plumbing
and electric), naturally I had a lot of questions. So I hounded Tom on every
break we had. He didn’t even get a chance to eat his lunch because I was
busy being a curious homeowner.” No one, at that point, realized that this
was O’Connor’s first screen test.
“I grew up watching This Old House but when the producers called me at
the bank, I thought they were calling me for a loan,” he said. What started
as a house call turned into a casting call. Many disguised calls and veiled
visits later he met with the executive producer of the show Russell Morash.
“When Russ Morash officially offered me the job, he sat me down and laid
it on the line. ‘Listen,’ he said, ‘I don’t need any more experts. I have
the best damn contractor in the country, and I have one of the world’s best
carpenters. I have the best plumber, and I have the best landscape guy.
What I need is someone who will ask lots of questions. So whatever you do,
stay curious.’”
O’Connor’s tenacity and inquisitive nature could be part of his Irish
heritage. O’Connor’s great-grandfather and great-grandmother on his father’s
side were born in Sligo and he has visited Ireland twice.
This Old House and Ask This Old House air on PBS stations on Thursday
evenings, check your local listings. For more information visit
www.thisoldhouse.com.
Daisy Carrington |
