Storm Watch - Jesse Katz

has alwap said, '\X/hen the smoke clears, I'm going to be the last manstanding,"t one soufce says.Nance's staying power has been partly about economics; he andhis carnation have beenvaluable brands to NBC4, a stationwhosemorning news show,Tbday in2.,4., has been number one in its timeslot for much of the past decade. Nance's staylng power also hasbeen partly about race; on a station that has relegated nearly all ofits minority anchors to weekends, he has been the only black newscasterat the anchor desk Monday through Riday- and as such, onethat Channel 4 has been reluctant to lose."I can't discuss any individual employeerecords," says Paula Madison, NBC4'spresident and general manager. "I can tellyou that we take all claims very seriously'We investigate. There is a process. Butyou're asking me about a specific case, andI'm insistent that I'm not going to respondto that."When reached at home bytelephone inearlyDecember, Nancewas polite but evasive."I cant be a part ofyour story" he said."I dont do interviews." Pressed for a fi.rllerexplanation ofhis behavior, he contendedthat several accusations were inaccurate yetconsidered it "more trouble than it's wortti'to either specifr or refute them. Three weeks later, just as this storywas going to press, NBC4 announced that Nance was no longer employedby the station.Sf;fi tlil0tR the best of circumstances, gettingup at three every morning to deliver the L.A.forecast is not the sort ofjob that rewards sincerityThe v/eather here varies so little-andis of such little consequence-that most localTV weathercasters function as carnival barkers,luring viewers with teases and winks.Weather becomes shtick: humor, gossip, song and dance, sex. It isthe toy box of the newsroom, a place traditionally set aside for minorities,babes, andwhite guys with comical names.Under bad circumstances say, you have been suspended for-if,gallivanting with an intern while your wife is headed to federalprison-getting up at three every morning to deliver the L.A. forecastis a charade that requires an actor's gift for performance. AfterNance refurned from his suspension, he did not mention his troublesor allude to his absence or give any hint that a pardy cloudy T4degreedaywas not worth quivering in delight about. Between 5 a.m. andnoon, durin! his 18 scheduled updates, he was still the same Gumbylikeshowman, with the same ramrod posture, the same delicate gestures,the same restless limbs. His voice was wound tight and ampedup, nearly cracking as he turned the day's highs and lows into alounge singer's riff The surf was "bodacious." The clouds were "skitscattilin."'Sfhen a predicted shower failed to materialize, he wasquick with a pun: "Bingo, baby! I'm tryin- to tell ya, this storm's awashout." At the end ofone forecast he curtsied.Behind the false enthusiasm and exaggerated intimacy is a manwidely seen as the volatile adolescent of the NBC4 family His resentment,for instance, of Fritz Coleman, the station's beloved primetimeweatherman, has been an open secret foryears. "If itwasnt sexualharassment, it was I-hate-Fritz issues," a former colleague says.Nance let everyone know that he thought he should be the station'stop weatherman, arguing that he was funnier, perkier, and harderworkingthan Coleman; the only explanation for his continued morningservitude, he would insist, was the color of his skin. "He refused toeven fiIl in for Fritz," says another former NBC4 employee. "Lots ofpeople there have huge egos, but Christopher always seemed to makewerything personal."'When Nance sharedthe anchor desk with the long-runningteam ofKent Shocknek and KathyVara inthe late'9os, the atmosphere ontheTodayin L.A. set was frequently so tense thatsome colleagues spoke, only half jokinglyabout coming to work in a bulletproofvest.The clash was ugliest between Nance andShocknek, a strong personality himselfDuring the weathercast Shocknek wouldsit with a watch-at the request of management-andcalculate how much ofNance's airtime was spent promoting hisschool visits.Just to irritate Shocknek,Nance would use the commercial breaks totrumpet his latest publishing exploits."God told me to go out and make a million dollars writing books forkids," he would announce. Vara, described by several people as the"marshmallov/' of the group, usually tried to stay out of the way Butonce, Nance lit into her, too, unleashing a string of obscenities; by theend of the newscast, she was in tears. One source recalls the dayNance flew into a rage at the morning executive producer, Carol Morton,who had trimmed back his weathercast to allow time for a breakingstory "You can go do the fucking weather yoursel{!" Nance yelledfor everyone to hear. He was equally public when he called technicaldirector Linda Sue Ortiz a "cunt." They were offthe air, but the mikeswere on. "Poor Linda Sue, she was mortified," says another source."She thought he should have been fired on the spot."In late zooo, NBC launched a major overhaul of the station, bringingin Madison-who had been the nerwork's seniorvice president ofdiversity-to restore order. Both Shocknek andVarawere pushed out,heading to CBSz and KABC, respectively Morton also left, joining aTVentertainment compan;z But their departure did nothing to quietNance. Within months he had called out his immediate supervisor,Nancy Bauer Gonzales, the station's vice president of news. Nobody iscertainwhat provoked the exchange; the two had been thought ofasfriends. But to their coworkers, that only made the "shoe polislf' tlrreatcreepier. "He sounded reallyviolent," says one former newsroom colleague."She was in tears. I was horrified." Bauer Gonzales is gone nowtoo, directing the news at jointly owned CBSz and KCAI.Last year, in a blunder more unseemly than threatening, Nancemissed his cue during a cut-in from Tlte Today Slotcr. 'W'hen Al Rokergave the signal ('Now here's a look at what's going on in your neck ofthe woods'), NBC4 was supposed to jump to a tape of the local forecast.Instead, the screen went dark for about zo seconds. Nance'sCONTINUED ON PAGE 153

ut ifa school did not have that backing,the price was $r,8oo. "'W'e were told wehad to pay it or he wouldn't be able toappear," says Claudia Contreras, a PTAvolunteer in the Riverside County communityof Murrieta who had invitedNance to speak at her daughter's school.She says she did not think that Nance'sfee was inappropriate, only that it wasnot the best use of Tovashal Elementary'sfunds. The Los Angeles UnifiedSchool District's top reading official hasa harsher assessment. "'With so manyquality books out there and the limitednumber of dollars we get for our libraries,I'm just thinking, '-Wow, whywould anyone do that?"'says RonniEphraim, assistant superintendent of instruction."It's just kind of shocking."Schools do it because Nance is an entertainer.He knors howtowork a crowd,to connect with kids, to deliver a seriousmessage with enough humor to hold theirattention. He also packs his own camcorder."The kids really enjoyed knowingthey were going to be on the news," salsJanet Lees, principal of GranadaElementarySchool inAlhambra, who purchasedroo of Nance's books and placed them inthe permanent collection of every classroom.They are signed "ChristopherNance/NBC." Although Nance hasclaimed that the station initially encouragedhis appearances, NBC4 eventuallytried to rein him in. Interns used to answerhis phone and schedule his visits;management forbade that. His personalassistant, apaid employee of ChristopherProductions Inc., then set up shop inNance's NBC4 cubicle; managementbanned him, too. Still, the underlying conflictof interest-using the news to promoteNance's business-continued to fester.FIis two visits to Granada Elementarywere made in zoor. After the second onehe devoted nearly a minute and a half ofairtime to the school. "I tell you, somethingis pretty neat inAlhambra," Na.ncegushed onTV "To Granada ElementarySchool-you are awesome! I love youguys! Great teachers! Great moms anddads! You brought your kids up well."As a philanthropist, Nance has alsogenerated doubts. During the late '9os,he convinced 7-Eleven to allow him toset up canisters at hundreds ofSouthernCalifornia stores, seeking spare changefor his children's foundation. Tens ofthousands of dollarswere raised-and inrefurn, 7-Eleven received regular plugson his weathercast. Several newspaperaccounts during that time indicated thatNance's funds were being used to helpsupport two ofhis favorite charities, theSickle Cell Disease Foundation of Californiaand the Make-A-Wish Foundation.His relationship to both organizations,however, is considerably moretenuous. Make-A-'Wish president JudithLewis says that Nance has emceed severalfund-raising events for her, usuallyarranging media coverage as well, butthat she has no record ofever receiving afinancial contribution from him. SickleCell Disease Foundation president MaryBrown says that Nance's inaugural golftournament, in 1995, was a joint venturethat netted her group more than$zo,ooo, but that the following year hedecided to make his own foundation thesole beneficiary ofthe event. "It was ahuge disappointment," says Brown,whose organization has been at the forefrontofthe sickle-cell fight since 1957.After they parted ways Nance gave herthree donations-of about $z,oooeach-in 1998,1999, and zooo. "ChristopherNance was really the only person inthe sickle-cell disease community withthe status and power to help us," Brownsays. "I wish we could have had a betterrelationship with him. There were a 1otof high hopes. But what it basicallyboiled down to was that sickle-cell diseasewas just not his priority"Nance's'Web site reports that hisfoundation is now committed to assistingchildren suffering from all kinds oflife-threatening illnesses, from sickle-cellto cancer to AIDS. The foundation"provides parents with the ability to stayat hospitals with their critically ill children."It also contributes directly to "researcherswho are well on track in searchof cures." A more specific accounting isdifficult to come by. Not only did thepeople listed in his incorporation papersas directors ofthe board never meet, butmost-including his manager and hisbanker-were not even informed thatthey had been named as directors in thefirst place.Born with a death sentence, Nanceoften has used his illness as an excuseand a license-to prowl, to remain hismama's boy. "Christopher creates hisown problems," says a source close to thefamily "I think a lot of it has to do withhim having never known how long hewas going to live. He doesnt think of thefuture. It's almost like every day is hislast."According to several friends, this ishovr he justifies his failings as a father.His only child, Noella, is 19, a formermodel who has appeared in Elle, Flirt,and Her \Yorld magazines. Her mothe!Nancy Noel, is an estate planning attorneyin the Palm Springs area. For thefirst three years of Noella's life Nancedenied paternity; only after it was establishedby a court-ordered DNA test didhe agree to pay $4oo a month in childsupport. Noella's mother considered demandingmore, according to RiversideCounty Superior Court records. But in at997 declaration she contended thatNance had "threatened to hire someoneto have me killed" if she sought to increasehis payments. Father and daughterremain estranged. When Nance'solder brother Cedric died last September,the obituary in the Monterey Heraldmysteriously referred to Noella as lzichild, not Christopher's."She's a jewel, and he doesn't even seeit," says another source. "That's the trueironyhere. He's made all this money offofchildreris books, and I doubt he's evereven read a story to his own daughter."HEY MET AT A BOOK FAIR.Not the kind that draws readersor literati, but a fund-raisingevent. It was hosted byNestl6, theworld's largest food companyEvery year the corporation invites authorsand dealers to show their wares atits Brand Boulevard headquarters, a salethat benefits Nestl6's extensive adopt-aschoolprogram. Nance was there withhis first book, doing business, signing autographs.Nicholette wandered downfrom her tenth-floor office. At the time,1995, she was known as Norma Ortega,the name on her birth certificate. SheFEBRUARY 2OO3 LOS ANGELES I55

was 29, the youngest daughter ofCubanimmigrant parents. Everything about hersignaled ambition- the newly straightenedteeth, the Nordstrom wardrobe, thetiny green Mercedes roadster. "Christopherwas smitten, of course," says asource who knew them both. "She was sobeautiful. I dont know a man who wasn'tin love with her."There was just one problem: Normawas married. She had met her husband adecade earlier while working at Bekins,the moving and storage company thenbased in Glendale. Rapnond Paul Novakran the telecommunications department.Norma was his secretary Nineteenyears her elder, Novak was grayhaired, with glasses and a pocket protector.He had suffered from polio as achild, and his left leg was painfully atrophied,sometimes requiring a crutch. Hewore double-knit suits. "She has a realknack for picking people she can manipulateand control," says a former Bekinscoworker. With Novak's blessing, Normabegan taking business trips, treatingherself to jewelry clothes, and furniture.She put all her extravagances on expensereports. Novak signed them. In r985,Bekins fired them both. The company,hoping to avoid publicity did not presscharges. But it did order Norma to payback the losses, putting her on a monthlyinstallment plan.Novak found a job doing similar workat the May Company Norma at Nestl6.Theybought ahome inValencia. In 1988,theymarried. Like Nance at NBC4, Normawas an antagonistic presence atNestl6, where she eventually headed a departmentof seven or eight employees.Men-especially her supervisorsadoredher.'W'omen-and mostly it wasducing herselfas Nicholette. "She haddecided that Normarvas too frumpy of aname," says another coworker, "that sheneeded something more glamorous."A.year after meeting Nance, Nicholettedivorced Novak. Ayear after that, onDecember 6, tgg7, she and Nance weremarried at the Universal City Hilton &Towers. The wedding was polished andtightly choreographed-NBC4 evenaired a clip on the evening news. He worea white double-breasted tux, with a blackbow tie and a yellow rose on the lapel. Shewore a shimmering low-cut gown, sleevelessand backless, with a high collar and aslit up the thigh. Their first dance was toPeabo Bryson's "Shower You with Love."They had taken ballroom lessons togetherbut moved awkwardly as if counting thesteps. A few minutes later the newlywedsstood at a microphone, addressing theirguests. Nance saluted his spiritual guide,Jack Hayford of the Van Nuys-basedChurch on the'Way repeating the pastor'sprenuptial homily "He said the worst dayofyour maried life will be this frst daybecause,as in love as you guys are andwith the blessings you've been given fromGod, it'lljust get better every day" Nancetold the crowd. He paused, looked skyward,then smiled. "If this is the worst daythankyou, Big Guy"By the time of the wedding, Nicholettehad been stealing from Nestld fortwo years. She would continue for twomore. The company was growing fast,scrambling to automate its systems, andshe discovered she could simply walk offwith old telephone equipment, slippedinto a shoppingbag, without anyonecatching on. She delivered the goods toNovak, usually in the parking lot of theRobinsons-May store in North Hollywood.He sold them for about half theirvalue on the secondary market. In the beginningthey split the proceeds fifty-fifqzBut Nicholette saw an opportunity to expand.As a manage! she had the ability tosign for purchases of up to $z5,ooo withouta supervisor's approval, Soon she wasordering new circuit boards several timesa month; Novak again fenced them forher, but now she wanted 75 percent ofthetake. The year she married Nance turnedout to be Nicholette's most lucrative. Herwomen who worked under her- seethed.They complained that she was vindictive,creating rivalries, stoking jealousies. Afew took their concerns higher in thecompany "'W'e had women in and out ofhuman resources all the time," says anotherNestl6 source. "There were roadsigns all along the way" Although Normahad always pre sented a dazzling exterior,she underwent a makeover after she metNance. Her skirts got shorter. Herbreasts got bigger. Soon she was introlegitimateincome was $ro9,78r, accordingto court documents. Her illicit incomewas another $397,58o. Given a totalloss to Nestl6 of more than $3 million,Nicholette probably netted at least$r million over the course of the scheme.Prosecutors say they have no evidencethat Nance was involved with or aw:ue ofthe crimes. Nicholette must have hadhim bewitched. Toward the end of hertime at Nestl€ she was running Nance'spublishing and philanthropic operations.She presided over his golf tournaments,using her Nestl6 underlings to help collectthe donations. She used some of thesame employees to count and bag thecoins that 7-Eleven had collected forNance's charitable fund. She redeployeda Nestl6 contractor, turning him intoNance's personal assistant.'W'hile all thiswas going on, Nestl6 was participating inNance's reading program, buying hisbooks for its adopted schools. "He's notkosher," says a source close to both. "Butshe's really not kosher."'When Nestl6 finally took notice ofNicholette's expenditures, she resigned.Herlast daywas FebruaryT zooo. Nestl6notified authorities soon after that, butthe paper trail was so long and convolutedthat the FBI and the IRS would needmore than a year and a half to make an arrest.Novakwas the first to be sentenced.In December he received a two-yearprison term. Under the concept of jointand several liability he was held responsibile,along with Nicholette, for Nestl6'sloss. The judge put him on a payment planof $r,oor a month. Nicholette is facing alonger term-between two and a half andthree years*because, unlike Novak, shebetrayed the trust of her employer.'$7hatabout Nance?Here was a dapper, cheery, richlycompensated TV personality with a penchantfor wishing others "HappyX7eather!"-andafter waiting until his fortiesto marry he picked as his bride a swindler.Her arrest was not just embarrassing;it undermined Nance's credibility,the benevolence and coziness he hadspent a lifetime working to exude. Afteryears of mistreating women, he was atlast played by one who was more shamelessthan he.@I56 LOS ANGELES FEBRUARY 2OO3