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Pasco couple appearing on 'Marriage Ref'
Photo from The Banners
Tony and Laura Banner of Wesley Chapel are appearing Thursday on NBC's "The Marriage Ref" to talk about their problem - Iggy the iguana.
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Published: March 11, 2010
Tony Banner says when he first brought Iggy home three years ago, the lizard was only about a foot long.
Tony's wife, Laura, says she wasn't too keen on adding the bright green iguana to their Wesley Chapel household that already had two kids and three cats.
But Iggy grew on her and he grew in size.
Now the 5-foot-long big boy has the run of the house. "He likes to lie on the couch and he gives little kisses," Laura says.
Iggy also gets specially prepared meals and, according to Laura, "he's very intelligent."
"He's intelligent for a lizard," noted Tony with a touch of sarcasm during a phone interview Tuesday.
Tony says his wife of 14 years pampers Iggy so much that the reptile is treated better than he is.
And that is the issue tonight on "The Marriage Ref," NBC's new light-hearted reality show created by Jerry Seinfeld.
The Banners' pet issue is reviewed and analyzed by celebrity guests Larry David, Ricky Gervais and Madonna, as well as the resident "Ref," comic Tom Papa.
Seinfeld has said the idea for the show came from a squabble he had with his wife, Jessica. A friend happened to be at their home at the time and they asked him to weigh in. Airing the issue helped resolve it, he said at a news conference in January. Seinfeld is executive producer and sometimes a panelist.
The Banners say the panel and the referee were funny. "And we were excited that Madonna was there," Tony says. "We both grew up watching her and she's such an icon.
"It's not like we were on Dr. Phil or Oprah," he adds.
"But it was insightful and we learned a lot about our relationship," Laura says.
Tony says he applied to be on the show after seeing a solicitation for couples online. The producers called and liked the lizard love triangle story, he says.
A video crew was dispatched to Wesley Chapel. The Banners presented their case to the panel in Los Angeles via a video web connection. Iggy even gets some face time tonight. The episode airs at 10 tonight on NBC.
GUIDING LIGHT: "Guiding Light" signed off CBS in September but the cast's farewell tour is still under way, and five of the cast members are coming to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on March 27.
Kim Zimmer, who played troublemaker Reva Shayne Lewis since 1983, will be there along with Robert Newman (Josh Lewis), Grant Aleksander (Phillip Spaulding), Justin Deas (Buzz) and Michael O'Leary (Rick Bauer).
They will be meeting, greeting and saying goodbye to fans from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the hotel's Special Events Tent. After more than 70 years on television and radio, "Guiding Light" was canceled, a victim of dwindling ratings in a tough economy.
Tickets are $35 at the Hard Rock Retail Store, Ticketmaster outlets or www.goodbyeguidinglight.com.
MAD DOLLS: Barbie doll maker Mattel Inc. is coming out with four collector "Mad Men" dolls in July (just before the series returns to AMC).
Stylishly dressed in 1960s garb will be leading man Don Draper; his wife, Betty; business partner Roger Sterling; and office manager Joan Holloway. Do they come with cigarettes and flasks?
TUNE IN TONIGHT
"American Idol," 8 p.m., Fox
At last, they will get down to the 12 finalists after tonight's reveal episode. St. Petersburg native Michael Lynche should be among the top six guys.
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