Donny and Marie Go Wild
New York Times Magazine 14Nov99 P2
Donny and Marie Go Wild

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Donny and Marie switched professions temporarily for the New York Times Magazine, becoming models for a day to show off clothes for high-end fashion companies like Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York. Dressed in these fashions, they each walk through Santa Monica, California as a 'style experiment.'

Donny turns few heads, except for a couple of teens who say he looks like "an old guy who's trying to be young," or like someone who would "have some weed, man." The kids are surprised to find out its Donny. "No way!" says one. "You mean, from the Partridge Family?"

Donny takes it in stride, "All my life I've been told, 'Put this on, put that on,' I think that's why I'm so willing to try new things." But Marie finds other explanations: "We know Donny's a closet something Û we just don't know what that is."

Marie stops at the Chihuahua Taqueria, buying sodas for the kids. They think she might be the large-breasted LA billboard model Angelyne, probably the first time Marie has ever been confused with her.

The Times Magazine article is accompanied by shots of both Donny and Marie in the clothes they modeled for the stores.