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Keyword: wilbanks

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  • Runaway Bride's Ex-Fiance a Groom

    03/19/2008 9:24:04 AM PDT · by FourtySeven · 29 replies · 912+ views
    AP ^ | March 19th, 2008 | AP
    The man who was once engaged to the runaway bride has gotten married — to another woman. John Mason, 35, married Shelley Martin, 34, in a quiet ceremony Saturday at his parents' home in Duluth, his father, Claude Mason, told People magazine for a story posted Tuesday on its Web site.
  • Runaway bride story to become rock opera

    01/25/2007 12:42:19 PM PST · by Cagey · 12 replies · 373+ views
    Cnews ^ | 1-25-2007
    DULUTH, Ga. (AP) - The story of runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks is on its way to a theater in the form of a rock opera. The show is scheduled to open in October at the Red Clay Theatre and Arts Center. But Mark Pitt, the theater's owner, says the show will not be a comedic spoof of Wilbanks' infamous disappearance before her scheduled 2005 wedding. Instead, the rock opera will show how the community came together and bonded over the experience, which included a massive search for Wilbanks before she turned up a few days later. Wilbanks and her then-fiance,...
  • Wedding Off for Runaway Bride

    05/19/2006 6:22:07 AM PDT · by yankeedame · 53 replies · 1,162+ views
    PEOPLE (on-line Magainze) News ^ | Thursday May 18, 2006 | staff writer
    Wedding Off for Runaway Bride Thursday May 18, 2006 3:00pm EST John Mason and Jennifer WilbanksCREDIT: AP(2)A year ago Jennifer Wilbanks bolted into tabloid infamy as the "Runaway Bride" when she faked her own kidnapping for three days on the eve of her wedding in Duluth, Ga. To the amazement of many, fiancé John Mason quickly took her back, with the couple even moving into a large new home in an Atlanta suburb and talking about taking a second run at marriage. But in early May Mason's camp let it be known that any nuptials were off – and suddenly...
  • Wedding Off for Runaway Bride

    05/18/2006 7:18:39 PM PDT · by kingattax · 21 replies · 524+ views
    Time Inc. ^ | May 18, 2006
    A year ago Jennifer Wilbanks bolted into tabloid infamy as the "Runaway Bride" when she faked her own kidnapping for three days on the eve of her wedding in Duluth, Ga. To the amazement of many, fiancé John Mason quickly took her back, with the couple even moving into a large new home in an Atlanta suburb and talking about taking a second run at marriage. But in early May Mason's camp let it be known that any nuptials were off – and suddenly the woman who couldn’t take "I do" for an answer seems to be having a problem...
  • The Runaway Bride fiasco: One Year Later

    05/10/2006 4:36:10 PM PDT · by delacoert · 48 replies · 1,159+ views
    Gwinnett Daily Post ^ | 04/26/2006 | Andria Simmons
    DULUTH — So there are more important issues than the anniversary of the Runaway Bride fiasco. The proliferation of nuclear technology in Iran. The energy crisis. The upcoming election for Georgia governor. But come on. How could we not take a moment to pause, reflect and wonder on this, the one-year anniversary of Jennifer Wilbanks’ ill-fated decision that turned Gwinnett County (Duluth in particular) into a zoo of television crews, public officials and curious spectators? Let’s face it, the woman was more ubiquitous than Britney Spears. She’s been on everything from NBC’s “Dateline” with Katie Couric to a piece of...
  • Runaway bride's pastor to publish book

    01/06/2006 6:10:16 PM PST · by LouAvul · 16 replies · 913+ views
    modbee ^ | 1-6-6
    ATLANTA (AP) - The pastor who became spokesman for runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks has hit the ground running with a book about "the various issues of life that cause us to make foolish decisions." The Rev. Tom Smiley said he started writing "Runaway Lives" about a year and a half ago, long before Wilbanks' escapade became national news. But when it did, he said it provided a perfect window for the thesis he was trying to convey. "With the national media putting her in our living rooms with her emotional issues, I think her story gave credence to the fact...
  • Runaway Bride Mows Lawn of Gov't Building

    08/09/2005 6:51:05 PM PDT · by ChristianDefender · 18 replies · 579+ views
    Fox News ^ | 08-09-05 | Fox
    Instead of cutting out of town, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks is cutting lawns. Wearing an orange community service vest and a baseball cap with the slogan "Life is good," Wilbanks did part of her court-ordered community service Tuesday for lying to police after she ran off days before her wedding. "I'm doing well. ... I'm getting there," a sweating Wilbanks told a throng of reporters and photographers after her mower died out in the tall, wet grass. "I need to get back to work. I don't want to get into trouble." But her mower kept sputtering out, prompting her to...
  • Runaway Bride Mows Lawn As Part of Service

    08/09/2005 8:46:41 AM PDT · by Sub-Driver · 36 replies · 1,367+ views
    Yahoo - AP ^ | August 9, 2005 | DANIEL YEE
    Runaway Bride Mows Lawn As Part of Service By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks mowed the lawn of a government building Tuesday as part of her court-ordered community service for lying to police after she ran off days before her scheduled wedding. Wearing an orange community service vest, a ballcap that said "Life is good" and running shoes, Wilbanks seemed upbeat as she pushed a powered mower by a swarm of reporters and photographers. She briefly spoke when the mower's engine died in some tall grass. "I'm doing well," said Wilbanks, who has...
  • Caption Time! (Runaway Bride Jennifer Wilbanks)

    08/09/2005 11:06:02 AM PDT · by Pyro7480 · 99 replies · 3,827+ views
    Yahoo! News (AP) ^ | 8/9/2005 | n/a
    Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks mows the lawn of a government building, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005, in Lawrenceville, Ga. Wilbanks also has been picking up litter, washing public vehicles and cleaning government offices as part of her sentence for lying to police after she ran off days before her scheduled wedding. (AP Photo/Gene Blythe)
  • ''Runaway Bride'' Ready to Tie the Knot

    08/06/2005 3:38:07 AM PDT · by beyond the sea · 74 replies · 2,094+ views
    kyw1060.com ^ | 8/6/05 | unknown
    Word out of Duluth, Georgia is that runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks is ready to take the plunge with her fiancé, John Mason, 3½ months after wedding-day jitters prompted her to skip town and claim she was abducted. The two have reportedly registered at Pottery Barn. The registry lists things like dining room furniture, a desk and some wine glasses, but shoppers say that's not what Wilbanks really needs: "How about a mirror to take a look at herself?" "A suitcase." "A ball and chain to tie her to the room when he comes in." "She should be registered at Athlete's...
  • Auletta Thinks Couric Was Lying To Herself About 'Runaway Bride' Interview

    08/01/2005 3:23:15 PM PDT · by gopwinsin04 · 11 replies · 1,245+ views
    The best part of the New Yorker's Q&A with morning show war writer Ken Auletta is at the end. Couric told you she believes it is her responsibility as a journalist to explore and talk seriously about issues 'that people need to know about to be informed citizens.'She then persued an exclusive interview with the 'Runaway Bride' Jennifer Wilbanks and defended it as 'a terrific story.'Did you get a sense from any of the morning anchors that there was an internal conflict about what their journalistic mission was?Most people don't get out of bed in the morning believing they are...
  • MY SIS JEN'S A RUNAWAY THIEF

    06/26/2005 9:00:58 AM PDT · by Conservatrix · 125 replies · 4,027+ views
    New York Post ^ | 6/26/05 | MARIANNE GARVEY
    Run away bride Jennifer Wilbanks' twin brother said he had a "gut feeling" his sister was never in danger when she disappeared four days before she was scheduled to be married. In an exclusive interview, Matthew Wilbanks, 32, spoke for the first time about his sister. He said: * Her years-long habit of stealing was "inexcusable." * His sister knew exactly what to do to make her faked abduction appear frighteningly real. * She was always the wild twin. * And she comes from a loving family. -snip- Jennifer had an addiction to plastic surgery — proudly displaying her breast...
  • A Katie Couric Special - Tuesday at 8:00 EDST (Jennifer Wilbanks)

    06/21/2005 4:12:05 PM PDT · by HighWheeler · 27 replies · 714+ views
    NBC ^ | Original Airdate: June 21, 2005. | NBC
    A Katie Couric Special NBC 5 Jun 21 08:00pm Add to My Calendar Series/Other, 60 Mins. Jennifer Wilbanks discusses why she fabricated her own abduction in order to avoid marrying fiance John Mason. Original Airdate: June 21, 2005.
  • Katie Couric Interviews 'Runaway Bride'

    06/21/2005 6:03:34 PM PDT · by Cecily · 22 replies · 1,409+ views
    MSNBC.com ^ | June 21, 2005 | Katie Couric
    So what could she possibly have been thinking? Eight weeks ago, bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks hopped on a Greyhound bus. She certainly would not have been the first young woman to get cold feet on her way to the altar. But she disappeared without a trace. And the search that followed gripped the nation. Now, Jennifer and her fiancé, John Mason, finally tell their side of the story. Jennifer has received sympathy from some quarters. But she's also been mocked and ridiculed. And many people are just plain furious about her escapade. Now, speaking out for the first time, Jennifer Wilbanks...
  • Runaway Bride Makes Crime Pay - (Jennifer Wilbanks seals $500,000 book deal; pays Duluth, GA.$13K)

    06/21/2005 4:10:07 PM PDT · by CHARLITE · 44 replies · 2,783+ views
    NEWSMAX.COM ^ | JUNE 21, 2005 | JAMES HIRSEN
    Remember Runaway Bride Jennifer Wilbanks? How could any of us forget the fleeing fiancée, considering the wall-to-wall media coverage we had to endure. Well, now after pleading no contest to faking her own kidnapping, Wilbanks has been sentenced to probation and community service. She's also been fined $2,550 and is repaying the city of Duluth, Georgia, $13,250 towards the $40,000 search tab. In addition, Wilbanks is receiving treatment at a mental health facility. Oh, yeah, did I mention that she's just snagged a book and TV deal for a reported half-million dollars? That's right. According to the New York Post,...
  • Runaway bride: Decision 'life or death'

    06/17/2005 9:55:13 AM PDT · by Crackingham · 28 replies · 1,155+ views
    In her first interview since her famous cross-country flight in April, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks has called her decision to run away "the best mistake I ever made." Wilbanks said that even though the search for her inconvenienced a lot of people and worried friends and family, it forced her to seek help, which she admitted she badly needed. The entire interview will be aired by NBC next Tuesday at 8 p.m., with excerpts to be shown on the "Today" show Tuesday and Wednesday. NBC released a partial transcript of the interview with Katie Couric today: RE: Her feelings about...
  • Company Gets Runaway Bride's Media Rights

    06/16/2005 5:54:05 PM PDT · by NormsRevenge · 13 replies · 556+ views
    AP on Yahoo ^ | 6/16/05 | Daniel Yee - AP
    ATLANTA - Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks has struck a deal for a TV project about her misadventures, irritating some people in her hometown. ReganMedia, which publishes books and produces TV shows and movies, said Thursday that it has acquired all media rights to the stories of Wilbanks and her fiance, John Mason. The New York company did not say whether any money had changed hands. In a statement, company President Judith Regan called the tale "an unexpected and compelling story of love and forgiveness that has certainly taught me a thing or two." ReganBooks has published novels such as Wally...
  • Memo Details Bride's TV Deal

    06/16/2005 8:46:10 AM PDT · by Cecily · 90 replies · 1,883+ views
    New York Post ^ | June 16, 2005 | Richard Johnson
    JUDITH Regan did everything possible to keep her $500,000 deal with "Runaway Bride" Jennifer Wilbanks a secret. But PAGE SIX has obtained a copy of the "deal memo" that led to Wilbanks' interview with NBC's Katie Couric, plus an e-mail from Regan's office swearing Wilbanks and her family to secrecy. "I must stress the importance of keeping this deal and all its details absolutely confidential," Regan's assistant, Doug Grad, e-mailed the Wilbanks family this month. "Nobody can know that this deal has gone through — and those who do know . . . must keep it secret. Any leaks can...
  • Company Announces Deal With Runaway Bride to Make a Movie About Her Life

    06/16/2005 2:11:47 AM PDT · by Crackingham · 48 replies · 1,299+ views
    AP ^ | 6/16/05
    Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks made a deal with a company that is pitching a movie about her life to networks - annoying officials who spent thousands of dollars searching for her. ReganMedia, a New York multimedia company, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for a story in Thursday's papers it has acquired all media rights to the "life stories" of Wilbanks and her fiance, John Mason. The company did not say whether any money had changed hands. "I am looking forward to developing the scripted project with Wilbanks and Mason," company president Judith Regan said in a statement. "Theirs is an unexpected...
  • Runaway Deal At NBC News (Jennifer Wilbanks profits)

    06/15/2005 8:22:14 AM PDT · by Jenya · 50 replies · 1,403+ views
    RUNAWAY DEAL AT NBC NEWS DID NBC News pay for an interview with "Runaway Bride" Jennifer Wilbanks in a roundabout way, and has publisher Judith Regan turned into a booker for the Peacock Network? Regan — who runs ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins, which is owned by News Corp. — is widely credited with brokering the deal Wilbanks made with NBC. Wilbanks became a huge "get" when she ran away from her fiancé, John Mason, without a word and fled cross-country. She later falsely claimed to police she'd been kidnapped and is repaying her hometown of Gainesville, Ga., $13,000 —...