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Irish America magazine - June/July '06 issue: Van Morrison, George Carlin, The Dingles Races, James Connelly, Bobby Sands Anniversary, The Emerald Diamond, Hubert Kubel, Taskforce Wolfhound, The Irish Revolution In America, Law of the Irish

 
James Connolly
90 years after the 1916 Rising, David Smith takes a look at the life of one of its leaders
 
Bobby Sands Anniversary
Denis O’Hearn talks about what it was like to write about the man behind the icon.
 
George Carlin Interview
Carlin talks about growing up in an Irish family in Harlem to the highs and lows of is career
 
 
 
Mary Lou is Hilarious on America’s Top Inventor

By Michelle Harty

Previously featured as one of Irish America’s Top 100 Business People, Mary Lou Quinlan has caught our attention again. This time, however, it is not for writing a bestseller, although her latest, Time Off for Good Behavior: How Hardworking Women Can Take a Break and Change Their Lives is definitely noteworthy.

Nor is it for her outstanding work as CEO of the foremost women’s marketing company in the U.S., Just Ask a Woman. This time around Mary Lou stands out as the sassy and sophisticated judge of ABC’s new primetime show, America’s Top Inventor.

With co-judges Ed Evangelista, Doug Hall, and Peter Jones, Mary Lou Quinlan sifts through various ideas for inventions that are presented to her. As the show’s only female judge, Mary Lou stands out, looks great with a new and improved hairdo and upholds a standard of class and intelligence for the inventors. She is opinionated and gives advice freely. It is no wonder The Wall Street Journal has named her “the Oprah” of marketing.

On the April 20 “Best of Auditions” episode, Mary Lou was hilarious as she dealt with some of the less glamorous inventions. She let Brian Conant know that his “flatulence deodorizer” did not meet her standards and commented as he left, “I can’t believe he said the f-word on TV.” Later in the episode, Mary Lou was appalled as Georgina Huerta presented her “naughty knot” lingerie, which was removed from a model with just one tug of a string. Mary Lou stood up and left the room, came back with her own coat to cover the exposed model, then told both girls to use their brains and get some real jobs. She sent the girls away but not without first making sure that the lingerie model knew that the coat was only a loan.

Mary Lou does more than just add humor to the show. She encourages and motivates the inventors that are approved. On April 27 Mary Lou mentored three of the remaining inventors as they worked with product designers, packaging companies, marketing executives, and went through product testing before choosing which of the three would move on to the final round. While this would be a difficult decision for most, for the decisive Mary Lou it proved to be no problem.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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