“A bit of earnest spontaneity in a world where everything is programmed,” is how my editor Clover Hope summed up the appeal of Glenn Weiss segueing from acceptance speech to marriage proposal during Monday’s Emmys ceremony. It’s true. It was a very nice thing that also harnessed the power of live TV to its fullest extent. Love is wonderful; the full mastery of a medium is astounding. Together: fireworks.
PEOPLE has a report that reveals more details about Glenn Weiss and Jan Friedlander Svendsen’s relationship. They met in 2001 at the Tony Awards, for which she was the director of marketing and business development/chief marketing officer for 17 years. Given his experience directing the Oscars, for which he won last night’s Emmy, it would be weird if he didn’t propose from the stage of some awards show. The Grammys should do them a solid and let them marry during next year’s ceremony. Just an idea.
Svendsen also reported that she bonded with Weiss’s mother before she did the man who’d go on to become her fiancé. Weiss referenced his mother, who died two weeks ago, and her fondness for Svendsen in his speech. “When my mom used to come watch rehearsals at the Tony Awards… I would find Jan and my mom off in a corner just talking all the time,” said Weiss backstage at Monday’s Emmys. “My mom would always say, ‘She was my friend first.’”
He also revealed that he would have proposed at the ball or In-and-Out Burger if he hadn’t won.
“It was surreal, and it feels like this… was supposed to be,” said Svendsen. “He was getting an award himself, and as a director and producer, on stage with his friends and family around, and others gathered around the television watching, it just feels right, and we always felt right. So I’m beyond ecstatic, and there was not a doubt in my mind.”
That’s it. Just some more nice stuff from two seemingly nice people who are now getting married.