Is Gladys Hardy from Kingsport?

Have you seen Gladys Hardy on the Ellen Degeneres Show?

She’s the 88-year-old grandmother who’s a big fan and calls in from her home in Austin, Texas.

If you haven’t, you can watch her by clicking here.

“Jeannie in Kingsport she called me and told me she saw it and put it on a videotape.”

That got your attention, didn’t it?

Who is this Jeannie in Kingsport and even more important, who is this Gladys?

Here is Sunday's column (March 1, 2009):


Have you seen Gladys Hardy on the Ellen Degeneres Show?

She’s the 88-year-old grandmother who’s a big fan and calls in from her home in Austin, Texas.

If you haven’t, you can watch her on YouTube.

Go ahead, look her up. Search for “Gladys Hardy.”

Watch it. I’ll wait.

Okay, if you’re not near a computer or you don’t have a computer, here’s how it goes.

The Ellen show has an answering machine and viewers can call in anytime and leave their comments about the show. Gladys called in the first time a little over a year ago and told Ellen to move the potted plant behind her because its spikey leaves made Ellen look like Alfalfa. And when Ellen called Gladys back the next day, Gladys complained that she hadn’t seen the show when Ellen played her voicemail because there had been an ice storm in Austin and the local channel was covering icicles.

“Jeannie in Kingsport she called me and told me she saw it and put it on a videotape.”

That got your attention, didn’t it?

Who is this Jeannie and even more important, who is this Gladys?

Gladys has been making periodic appearances on Ellen via phone for more than a year.

The first time Ellen called Gladys, the Texas granny answered, “Hello, this is Gladys. And if you’re selling something, I ain’t interested.”

She immediately was an Ellen favorite.

When Ellen asked if she had ever been on TV before, Gladys said she had called in to a shopping channel to bid on a ladybug brooch.

And that’s when Gladys admitted, “Listen, I'll be honest with you. I love Jesus, but I drink a little.” Gladys added, “I don’t drink a lot, just a little to thin my blood.”

And that’s when she explained her previous television appearance. “I called the QVC and they put me on the air and I was talking to people and I just had a good old time so this is probably my second time on television.”

Gladys has been calling in to Ellen regularly ever since including a little over a week ago to talk about the Oscars. But you can’t actually “see” Gladys on Ellen or on the YouTube clips, just hear her. She’s never made the trip from her Austin home to Los Angeles to appear in person.

“I like to stay local,” Gladys told Ellen. “I don’t travel anymore. These people will stop you just for having a little bit of Listerine.”

Okay, what’s the Kingsport connection?

On her website, gladyshardy.com, Gladys says she was born in Knoxville. Jeannie – the one who called from Kingsport – is apparently her cousin or granddaughter.

If after watching Gladys on YouTube, you think all this is too good to be true, well…the name Gladys Hardy is trademarked. And on Gladys’ website you can order Gladys tee shirts, Gladys CDs, Gladys ringtones, even a Gladys pillbox. (Sorry no ladybug brooches, not yet anyway.)

Sharon Harris at Central Barber Shop, who alerted me to Gladys’ YouTube video, says Gladys’ Kingsport connection is Scott Hardy, a D-B ’80 graduate and a stand up comedian in Austin (he’s listed on Gladys’ MySpace page as her grandson).

Is Scott really Gladys?

I personally still believe in Santa Claus so let’s just leave it there.

You can count on more telephone conversations between Ellen and “Gladys” because when Ellen asked if she could call her back, Gladys answered, “You can call me anytime just don’t call me late for dinner.”