Miss Diane was run out of television by a Providence Journal media reporter. He wrote a scathing review of her performance, comparing her to an army drill instructor. He said she spent more time pushing Roper Room products than quality time with the kids. The Romper Room franchise owners gave her the pink slip and hired a replacement.
Happy Sunday! I just found your WETV history web page and wondered if you knew the last name of Miss Diane from Romper Room.
The only Miss Diane I can find information on is the former Diane Weber (I found her obituary) but she was on a station in Albany. My half sister is from RI and was on Romper Room with Miss Diane locally (Mass fits that Bill!) and we we're getting nostalgic about it.
She actually knew Diane as she dated my sister's uncle and has fond memories of her. We're wondering if she is still alive and what happened to her. Thank you!
Dear Kelly. The Diane you located on WTEN was not the same Miss Diane on WTEV in New Bedford. Diane Weber Masucci hosted the Romper Room in Albany NY. She had previously worked for the CIA. Interesting career change. I could find no last name or any other info, regarding the one you are trying to locate. The Providence Journal would be a better source.
The Romper Room show itself was marketed two ways. It was either syndicated or franchised. In the syndicated version, they all followed a fixed script. If it was franchised, the individual station could program it. WTEV must have had the syndicated version. It was product-driven, with every segment designed to push some particular toy, game, puppet or costume. I was temporary studio camera operator for some of her shows.
The Providence Journal media reporter picked up on this regimentation and wrote a humorous article about it. He compared Miss Diane to a Marine Corps boot camp drill instructor. The kids were marched about the studio with military precision, holding up whatever product or doll that Miss Diane was urging their parents to buy for them. The viewers at home couldn't tell where the commercial ended and the show began.
I read the reporters article, and couldn't argue with his assessment. Today they'd be described as Infomercials. Later on, the FCC would write regulations to end the practice. Clearly, someone in management was asleep at the switch. When an advertiser pays for 30 seconds of airtime, that's all he's intitled to, and all he's supposed to use.
When our management reviewed the videotapes, they didn't see the kind of repore' between the children and the host that they wanted. Originally the creators of Romper Room only hired kindergarten teachers to host their program. They didn't need tv celebrities or sales ladies. They needed someone who could get down on the studio floor and play with the kids, and become a child at heart. Such a person was soon discovered and she taped the next show, and all the others that followed. And the woman they discovered was already teaching kindergarten.
I don't know if Miss Diane quit on her own or was simply walked out to the curb. In her defense, it was a scripted show. She did whatever they told her to do. The WTEV producer forgot for a moment, that they weren't selling toys, they were creating memories. Frank
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