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Imagine this: Towel drops, it's Madden
Associated Press
Published January 24, 2005
LOS ANGELES - ABC's first choice for the infamous Monday Night Football dropped-towel episode wasn't Terrell Owens. It was announcer John Madden.
For reasons that are unclear, Madden couldn't find the time. Owens, the Eagles receiver, filled in for him in the steamy sketch that drew viewer protests and a network apology, ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson said Sunday.
In the pregame spoof Nov.15, Desperate Housewives actor Nicollette Sheridan persuaded Owens to skip the game by dropping the towel wrapped around her and jumping into his arms.
ABC initially thought it would be funny to have the, uh, less-attractive Madden as the subject of Sheridan's ardor, McPherson said.
The towel-dropping was another last-minute addition to the script that backfired, said Marc Cherry, executive producer of Desperate Housewives , who helped write it.
Sheridan said Sunday that the purpose was simply to amuse: "Taking a pop culture incident like that and having it take precedence over the underlying problems of the world was absurd."
[Last modified January 24, 2005, 01:32:09]
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