Upon hearing Elly’s pitch on her yet-to-be-published memoir, a major Hollywood agent asked, “So, did you f**k him?”

Having dealt in the past with inappropriate behavior in the workplace, it’s ironic that being the object of the affections of a former President of the United States’ would be the focal point of this ordinary person’s extraordinary life and the reason to publish or not to publish her book.

Starting life in a Rhode Island orphanage run by nuns and eventually adopted by a dysfunctional Irish family, Elly survived her childhood but vowed to never live a life of quiet desperation. After college, she used an inheritance to buy a boat and sail away from home. In the Bahamas, Elly meets fellow sailor and 60’s TV icon, Dan Rowan, of Rowan and Martins Laugh-in. Sailing and eventually living with him and his girlfriend, Elly passed on an invitation to sail around the world with them and returned to Rhode Island. What was she thinking?

But, had Elly sailed with them, she would never have run a half marathon to land a job in radio, or followed a guy to DC, which led her to an executive position with the NBA and NHL teams there. (It didn’t hurt that Elly was an expert on closing deals on the golf course.) Excelling for almost a decade and breaking the glass ceiling for women in sports marketing, Elly eventually leaves because of her diminishing tolerance of a sexually abusive sports and work culture.

No longer a “suit,” Elly runs away again, this time to L.A. There she goes on auditions, lands a few small parts, does stand-up, and travels the world as a spoon player and singer of silly songs sidekick to her award-winning piano playing fiancé, Ron, garnering accolades entertaining on the five-star Crystal Harmony cruise ship. Back on dry land, after creating and hosting three TV pilots that were “close, but no cigars,” Elly returns to the East Coast, settling in New York City.

After a serendipitous encounter at a swanky soiree in Connecticut, Elly and Ron are invited by former President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush to entertain on a private yacht in Greece for one week . . . that turned into two. A budding friendship ensued, with Elly and Ron spending more time with #41 and Bar at their summer estate in Kennebunkport, ME.

The aftermath of her time with the Bushes motivated Elly to pen her memoir. Returning to her childhood home to care for her aging mother, Elly sat at the same desk where she used to do her homework and wrote Shaking The Bushes.

Inspired by her Yorkhire terrier, Elly also wrote Schmitty The Weather Dog: Daydream, the first in a series of children’s books. Accompanied by the real live Schmitty The Weather Dog, Elly and Ron went on the road performing the Schmitty The Weather Dog Science Sing-Along Show at hundreds of elementary schools across the country. Rave reviews by teachers, parents, and kids prompted plans for a children’s TV show. Then along came COVID.

Currently hosting the Shaking The Bushes podcast – telling “ya-can’t-make-this-stuff-up” kinda stories not mentioned in her memoir of the same name – Elly is also campaigning Lorne Michaels to audition to be the oldest cast member on Saturday Night Live. No matter the outcome – it will certainly make for another wild story on one of Elly’s podcasts.