Who is Music Lady?
Writer
Prior to becoming a professional writer, Sammie compiled and edited her school yearbook, wrote scripts for children’s theater, television pilots, comedy, puppet shows.
Her career as a professional newspaper writer began in 1973. In addition to covering community news and local entertainment as a staff leisure correspondent for the Cincinnati North Journal, she had occasion to interview and photograph the cast of the Brady Bunch at Kings Island. Publishers of the Hamilton Journal commended her photos of the Clyde Beatty Circus. In 1982, as editor of the Verde View in Cottonwood Arizona, Sammie covered a press event with Red Skelton at a Sedona Art Gallery. Afterward, he called her up to speak privately with him. As they chatted, he made and dedicated a clown drawing to her. The ensuing story and photo feature earned her one of the two outstanding writing awards she received from Arizona Press Women.
Also In 1982, during her tenure as the first entertainer at Grand Canyon’s newly renovated, historic El Tovar Hotel,, she entered the Fred Harvey annual employees photo contest. It meant hiking into the canyon to photograph Phantom Ranch. Despite the difficulty of the hike, sunburn, heat exhaustion and a broken toe, she managed to take the winning shot, which became the cover of that year’s Fred Harvey Christmas Card.
She authored her first book in 2002 ( as yet unpublished), has a number of other writing projects in various stages of completion.
© 2011 Sammie Thompson All Rights Reserved
