Oral History Interview with Laura Miller, October 30, 2014 Page: 11 of 25
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going to do this one time to get Chris off our backs, and then we will never go out again."
I said, "Sounds like a plan." So we went to a black tie event at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Chase: This is so business.
Laura: Yeah, it was so weird. It was such a turn off. It was a black tie event, and of
course I hated it because I was a 25-year-old, intense, jaded journalist and I was sitting at
a table with the Chairman of the Board of IBM. These CEOs were all at this table, and I
was in my vintage clothing stage, and I had a two dollar dress on that I had bought at a
flea market in Woodstock, New York, near where my mom was living.
Chase: Dressed to impress.
Laura: Yes. I dry-cleaned it, though.
Chase: Or making a statement. That's probably more likely.
Laura: Yeah. Exactly. And I had the dress on, and I had splurged on a pair of hose that
had the decorative spots on the back of the leg, which looked really elegant I thought.
When we were walking up the steps to the Dallas Art Museum restaurant, Steve saw my
legs and he thought to himself "This girl has a bad mole condition; I'm never taking her
out again" (laughs). So yeah, anyway, he never asked me out again. So two weeks later, I
called him and said, "I had a horrible time, but you're the smartest guy I have ever met,
so let's try this again." And then I got stuck in Texas, because if you marry a Texan you
never get out.
Chase: It's true. And did you ever ask, did you say his name was John Semos?
Laura: Chris Semos.
Chase: Chris Semos. Why did he want to set you up so bad? Did you ever ask him that?
Laura: I don't know, and it's funny. His closest friend was Steve. Steve had been dating
an actress for seven years, and she had two kids. And she was just moving to LA to try to
get her big break in acting, so Chris, I think, saw an opportunity there to put us together. I
don't know why he thought we would make a good couple. We still marvel to this day
why he thought this was a good idea.
Chase: He saw something nobody else did.
Laura: Absolutely. Two type A first born children, killing each other. That's what he
saw.
Chase: Yeah, he just wanted to see a blood bath.
Laura: Yeah. Exactly.
Chase: Okay, so let's move on. So you were at The Dallas Morning News when you met
Steve, and then you moved to New York, right?
Laura: Right. Now why would I move to New York, if I was in love with a guy in
Dallas?
Chase: Right. Why? What sent you up there?
Laura: Because we cancelled two weddings. (laughs)
Chase: Woah.
Laura: Now, does this surprise you? It's me, it's me, remember.
Chase: Well after hearing about you guys and your courtship phase, this doesn't surprise
me. This is making a lot more sense.
Laura: Yeah, so I cancelled the first wedding, and then he cancelled the second wedding.
When he had cancelled the second wedding, I had been to Priscilla of Boston, which
makes wedding dresses, and it's in Boston, and my dad was personal friends with
Priscilla. So I had flown to Boston and got fitted for my dress. I had a dress, we had
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Carter, Chase & Miller, Laura. Oral History Interview with Laura Miller, October 30, 2014, text, October 30, 2014; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth586995/m1/11/: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism.