Actor and author Rob Lowe is just 50. And despite writing two books about himself, he seems to have problems remembering his own history.
With his latest, Love Life, just out, Lowe recently went on NPR to discuss it with host Peter Sagal.
SAGAL: So before we get to your new book, I want to ask a question about something from back in the day. Is it true that you used to troll for women on C-SPAN?
LOWE: No, it wasn’t C-SPAN. It was MTV.
SAGAL: Well, that makes more sense.
LOWE: Because I – you know, I wasn’t necessarily looking for Mensa members…
Except Lowe actually did troll for women on C-SPAN. Specifically Fawn Hall, Oliver North’s secretary, after noticing her during the Iran-Contra hearings.
Later in the interview, after saying that he hadn’t used C-SPAN as a dating service, the actor admitted that he tracked Fawn down after watching the 1987 hearings — of course, on C-SPAN. He caught her at just the right time. Fawn went on to become a crack addict (and yes, eventually went to rehab.)
SAGAL: So the C-SPAN thing was just a terrible rumor because I was excited about this.
LOWE: Yes. I did, at one point, watch Fawn Hall testify in the Iran-Contra hearings and I tracked her down. That’s sure.
SAGAL: Did you really?
Yeah, really. Back in 2011 when Stories I Only Tell My Friends came out, he talks about his crush on Fawn, saying MTV wasn’t the only venue he used to date women. “I find C-SPAN to be useful in this regard as well,” he wrote. “Seeing Oliver North’s secretary, Fawn Hall, being sworn in during Iran-Contra, I make a note to track her down.”
Sure enough, Lowe and Fawn became lovers.