Oprah, Ricky Lake, Sally Jessie Raphael, Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones.

Turn on a television between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. during the 1990s. These are the faces that

greeted you and kept you company. There was no shortage of daytime chat shows that

brought real people into the limelight to tell their stories. They offered up 15 minutes

of fame before the next episode pushed someone else into the spotlight. Most people would

be unable to provide any details or information about the individuals featured on the shows.

These people whose lives, secrets and dirty laundry were on display for all to see.

Scott Amador, he loved daytime talk shows. His night shift hours meant that he was home

during the day and he was obsessed with watching them. He thought Oprah's approach to her

show was kind of dull. He liked shows with more shock value and more airing of dirty laundry.

In his favorite was the Jenny Jones show. Jenny Jones filmed at NBC Studios in Chicago

and it ran from 1991 until 2003. By the end of its 12-year run, they had filmed over 2,000

episodes and had over 50,000 guests. The show was hosted by Jenny Jones, a former musician,

backup singer and comedian. She once opened for Jerry Seinfeld and Bob Sagitt. Jones gained

the attention of television producers when she won the Star Search Comedy Grand Prize,

becoming the first woman to receive the award.

When her show first aired, the format included celebrity guests and segments on exercise,

cooking and fashion. By the second season, the format began to change and the show would

have normal, everyday people who had interesting or unusual stories. They showed that instead

of focusing on celebrity guests and when the focus shifted, the ratings soared.

In early 1995, show producers planned an episode entitled Secret Crushes on People of the

Same Sex. The episode, to be taped in March, would feature men and women who wanted to

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