ABC’s “Nashville” stars Eric Close as Teddy Conrad. Close was on CBS’ “Without a Trace” and “Now and Again” for nearly a decade prior to the new role. (ABC/Bob D’Amico)
TV and reality may be a little hard to tell apart at Nashville’s annual Christmas parade this year.
The Grand Marshal will be actor Eric Close who plays the city’s mayor in the ABC drama “Nashville”. Viewers of the show recently learned the character Teddy Conrad is mulling a run for the U.S. Senate.
“My start in the mayor’s office was a bit bumpy,” he told his fiance Peggy, played by Kimberly Williams Paisley, in a recent episode. “But my poll numbers are up. Got this city back on track fiscally.”
Before serving as grand marshal of the parade, which starts at 7 pm Dec. 6th, Close will appear side-by-side with Nashville’s actual mayor – Karl Dean – to light the city’s Christmas tree.
It won’t be the first interaction between the two. In September, Close opened an annual meeting of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce by wishing Dean a happy birthday.
Dean was actually cast to play himself in an episode during the first season of the show. He was supposed to hand the reins over to newly-elected Conrad. They shot the scene, but it hit the cutting room floor.
“We are hopeful that we can work together with him in a future episode,” an ABC spokesman told The Tennessean.
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