The Amazing Race > The Racers

TAR 19: Liz Canavan & Marie Canavan (Twins)

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slayton:
"We Had to Give Him All of Our Money" – Reality News Online's Exclusive Interview with The Amazing Race 19's Liz (of Liz & Marie)
by Teeuwynn Woodruff -- 10/31/2011
Twins Liz & Marie (right), struggled for much of the race, coming in last in the second non-elimination leg of the race only to be unable to gain any ground on the other teams in the next leg – leading to their elimination. What happened to all of their money? Why do they love elephants so much? And what was the experience like for them?

Reality News Online: Hi Liz! Thanks for talking to Reality News Online. I’m sorry your twin can’t be here as well!

Liz: Hello!

RNO: What made you decide to apply for The Amazing Race?

Liz: We just graduated college and it seemed like it was the perfect time to try out for The Amazing Race. We have always been fans of the show.

RNO: You were struggling with money the last few legs. The other teams didn’t seem to have the same problem. Why couldn’t you exchange your money at any point? Or were there more to your problems?

Liz: Exchanging money was not a problem. When we arrived at the bus station at Bangkok, we bought our bus tickets, and then had to pay the cab driver. The cab driver wanted more money than we had. The locals and the police were threatening to get involved too, so we had to give him all of our money. So when we arrived in Bangkok, we had no money to get around with.

RNO: Right. So in Bangkok, you had no money for cabs. Had you tried asking cab drivers to take you for free before we saw you do that?

Liz: We asked many people at the bus station how far away the canal was. We kept getting different answers – some said it was three blocks away while others said it was 15 miles. We decided to just start walking. We were walking along a highway and we kept asking if anyone would give us a ride, but no one would.

RNO: How long did you walk before asking?

Liz: We had walked for about four hours before that cab driver finally gave us a ride. We asked all along the way but no one was giving us a ride for free.

RNO: It was very clear you both love elephants. What was cleaning and riding the elephants like for you?

Liz: That was the best Speed Bump! Cleaning the elephants was so much fun. Who gets to clean an elephant in the middle of a rain forest?

RNO: What was the smartest thing you did on the race?’

Liz: The smartest thing we did was enjoy the Race. I feel that sometimes teams don’t take the time to look around and really take in the experience.

RNO: You’re twins, but did you learn anything about each other on the race?

Liz: We learned that we each react differently when stressful situations occur. Marie is more of a head case and jumps to conclusions.

RNO: Heh. Watching the race on TV, what has most surprised you?

Liz: How they edit – because you only get to see so little of what really happened.

RNO: What else would you like to tell our readers about your experiences on The Amazing Race?

Liz: It was an experience of a lifetime. We are so lucky to have been a part of something so great, and we will never forget it.

RNO: Thank you for talking to me today!

http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=4&article=article13104.art&page=1

Jobby:
I'm already missing Liz and Marie. Hope to see them at the finishing line. :(

Plaidmoon:
Liz and Marie have found a job working in radio in New York City.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/highland_park_deerfield/ct-tl-lk-0307-entertainment-20130306,0,1820448.story

Deerfield twins from 'The Amazing Race' get New York TV-radio gigs


By Hilary Shenfeld, Special to the Tribune

9:34 a.m. CST, March 6, 2013

As contestants on "The Amazing Race," twins Liz and Marie Canavan had to learn quickly how to jump into the unknown and find every way to make a success of their surroundings. Though they didn't win the $1 million prize on the CBS reality show, that ability to think on their feet has paid off in a new way.

Though they had no radio experience or inside connections, they talked their way into jobs appearing weekday nights on "The Artie Lange Show." Broadcast on both radio and TV, the late-night show mixes sports and entertainment talk with interviews, music, silly bits, storytelling, chatting and daily observations, all headlined by former Howard Stern sidekick Lange.

"Not everyone gets that chance. We're so lucky," Marie Canavan said during a joint interview with her sister from New York, where they moved from Deerfield last April after getting hired as production assistants on Lange's show.

The identical twins, 25, grew up in Deerfield and graduated in 2006 from Deerfield High School. While there, they never tried to fool teachers or friends by switching places, and probably couldn't have anyway because, though they look and sound pretty much alike, their personalities are different, they say.

"I'm more spontaneous and more blunt," Marie said.

"I'm more compassionate and I'm a lot nicer," Liz said.

But as might be expected, similarities abound. They got the same ACT score in high school and both went to the University of Kentucky, graduating in 2010 with degrees in communication. They did go in different directions after returning home, with Marie working in sales at a Lake Forest baby clothing store while Liz interned at a marketing company in Deerfield.

"We were applying for jobs. ... We didn't know what we wanted to do."

They thought it would be fun to try out for "The Amazing Race." On the show, 11 two-person teams travel around the world, enduring physical and other challenges, in a competition to be first to reach a mysterious final destination.

To get on the show, the twins sent in a video as an application, then made it through six more videos, interviews and auditions before finally winning the chance to compete. With about six weeks to prepare, they worked out at the Bannockburn Country Club and walked around Deerfield with weighted backpacks, arriving in California ready for season 19 in 2011.

Their first stop was Taiwan, then on to Indonesia and Thailand before being eliminated in the fifth round after running out of money and arriving hours behind everyone else to a checkpoint. "It was very disappointing," Liz Canavan said.

Being on the show "was the hardest thing we've ever had to do," she said. "You are on your own in a different country. ... We cried a lot, but quitting was never an option."

The winners were then-engaged couple Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang of Chicago, who married last March with the twins and other cast members in attendance.

After the show, the sisters returned to Deerfield to start job hunting and heard Artie Lange on the radio.

"It was so funny," Liz Canavan said of the comedian who gained fame on "The Howard Stern" show from 2001 to 2009. Having suffered many battles with substance abuse, Lange attempted suicide in 2010 and spent eight months in a psychiatric ward, but returned to the airwaves with his new show in 2011.

Originally airing as "The Nick and Artie Show" with fellow comedian Nick DiPaolo, it was rebranded "The Artie Lange Show" when Lange took over solo host duties after DiPaolo left. It is broadcast live from a New York studio 9 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday (central time) on DirecTV's Audience Network. It airs as a radio show on Sirius/XM radio and also is available via podcast.

On an impulse, the Canavans called into the show and chatted both on and off the air with Lange.

"We thought, 'Let's just take this shot in the dark,'" Marie Canavan said. They flew to New York to meet with Lange and show executives the next day and within a week had moved there to start their new jobs.

Now known as "Twinsanity," (though it's a moniker they don't particularly like and are trying to shake), the Canavans answer phones, screen callers and conduct pre-interviews with guests in between doing red-carpet interviews with celebrities, performing in scripted bits such as a recent car race that ended in a (staged) battle with one sister throwing the other into a fountain, doing stand-up comedy routines and chiming in on the air when called upon.

They hope one day to host their own talk show.

"We have done a lot together," Marie Canavan said. "But we're better as a team."

Copyright © 2013 Chicago Tribune Company, LLC

Declive:
Ha , they will be fun to watch!

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