Queens native Tiffany Vazquez was never much of a classic-movie buff until her fr🍷eshman year at St. John’s University.
“I saw ‘’ and it seemed like the bl💎ueprint for every romantic comedy I’d seen,’’ says Vazquez, now 29. “I became obsessed with finding 📖other classics that influenced contemporary films. Though these films were not intentionally made for people like me, I can laugh at the same things that people laughed at in 1934!”
And yet she was crying — with joy — when she learned that she’d just snagged a dream gig as the new Saturday afternoon host for . Proud of her Puerto Rican heritage, and raised by her single ♏mom in Bayside, Vazquez is not only just the third host in TCM history, she’s also the fi🌺rst woman — and the first person of color.
Two years ago, she won TCM’s “ultimate fan” contest after submitting a dazzling video on the noir classic “The Naked City’’ (🌳1948), which she shot herself on the Williamsburg waterfront. She got to introduce the movie with TCM icon Robert Osborne, then was asked𒆙 back to host a series of relationship movies that aired in December.
“I was shocked to be asked,’’ says Vazquez, who lives in the Baychester section of The Bronx. “I’m not sure there are words to describe how I felt when they offered me the Saturday job. That was more than a month ago, and, oh my God, every day my mom asked me wh🍌ether she could tell people.’’
Vazquez already has traveled to TCM’s Atlanta studios to tape all her film introductions for the next three months. These cover the four movies airing each Saturday between noon and 8 p.m., beginning on June 4 with “Rebel Without aܫ Cause’’ (1955).
“I’m a sucker for physical performances and James Dean’s is great,” she says. “You see him struggling as an adolescent who’s becoming an adult but not everybody treats you like an adult. And the Griffith Observatory [a Los Angeles landmark where a key scene is set] is one of my favorite places in the world.”
“Tiffany has a vast knowledge of film history, a sincere love for classic movies and a unique ability to help young people discover the classics through the power of shared connections via social media,’’ says TCMꦓ general manager Jennifer Dorian. “She brings a fresh and cultura💞lly diverse perspective to the network as we continue to share and celebrate the entire spectrum of film history with an engaged and growing community.’’
Vazquez earned a master’s degree in film studies from NYU, interned at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and is currently senior edi⛦tor for film content at , a search engine for GIFs (videos that can be embedde🔯d in social media).
She’s also TCM’s youngest-ever host — was 36 when he was hired in 2003 and Osborneಌ, who’s currently on medical leave and has been cutting back his prime-time appearances in recent years, was 61 at the network’s launch in 1994.
Vazquez’ favorite movies include Billy Wilder’s 1950 noir classic “Sunset Blvd” (“absolutely a masterpiece”), the 1940s all-black musicals “Cabin in the Sky” and “Stormy Weather,” the 1943 romantic comedy “Heaven Can Wait” (“Gene Tierney is a goddess”), the 1942 adaptation of “The Man Who Came to Dinner” (“One of the funniest movies ever”) and the 1960 musical “West Side Story” (“for the great Rita Moreno!”).
In addition to older classic🍃s, Vazquez’s tastes run to ’70s urban flicks like “Super Fly’’ and “Aaron Loves Angela’’ — “They show a New York that’s more of my parents’ experience,’’ she says. “They’re a little more edgy and cool, and with people of color I can sort of see myself on-screen.’’
And Tiffany Vazquez is still getting used to the idea that now, lots of people will be able to see the network’s newest face on their screens — or the TCM Anywhere app — every Saturday.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she says. “I know how important that TCM is to me and to all the other fans.”