WLNS morning anchor Evan Pinsonnault leaving for California

A local morning show will soon say farewell to a beloved anchor.

Evan Pinsonnault, morning anchor and features reporter at WLNS-TV, is leaving Michigan to move to West Hollywood.

His last Lansing broadcast will be in late March.

"I knew 2015 was going to be a year of change, at least professionally," Pinsonnault told the State Journal. "I had made up my mind that I wanted to live and work in a bigger market and explore where all my talents could take me, not just the broadcasting and journalism side."

His girlfriend, Rebecca Lauren, was offered a job in West Hollywood at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, said Pinsonnault, who joined WLNS in 2009. That was the catalyst.

"I knew it was a sign for the both of us," he said. "And I couldn't be more elated about making this move together. It'll be one that benefits us personally and professionally, and that's very exciting."

A highlight from his time in Lansing was interviewing Mel Brooks about the musical "Young Frankenstein."

"I think everyone who works in TV always hopes to interview a legend at one point in their career, and I got Mel Brooks," he said. "You just can't beat it.

"He said to me right off the top of the show: 'Hey, Pinsonnault, can you sing and dance? We could use a name like that on the marquee.' Fast forward to opening night at Wharton, and we aired a story where I was in full make-up as his tap-dancing, top-hatted monster and did a version of 'Puttin on the Ritz' with lyrics from our interview, joking about the musical, being green and why comedy changes lives."

That experience, he said, changed his life: "I hope to share that with him one day in person. I mean our names need to be on a marquee somewhere, right? I say 'The Producers' revived in L.A.!"

Another highlight: hosting "The Evan Michael Show" in 2014. It's that kind of hosting experience he'll take to California.

"It opened up my eyes, and perhaps a few doors, to being a host and truly making the most of my abilities as an entertainer and a personality," he said. "I could do the interviews and the features like on '6 News This Morning' but also add in the musical and theater side from my performances in the community; the comedy side from my emceeing; the improv side from, well, just being me and working all those crazy sleepless hours.

"Now that I'm heading out to L.A. and Hollywood, it just seems like such a perfect fit to continue down that track until I've got my own game show. That's the dream job. I grew up watching them and impersonating all the great hosts."

So, what will Pinsonnault miss most about Lansing?

"I'll miss the people," he said. "I haven't even left and just thinking about how I won't get to be part of this community on a daily basis anymore gets me teared up. The support, encouragement, guidance, criticism, patience they showed meant the world to me and still does. I'm glad it's so easy to stay connected nowadays, because I'll always feel like this is 'home.'

"I can't wait to put the spotlight back on Lansing, the station and the performing arts scene from one of the world's biggest stages. I may not be on the morning show every day, but I won't be gone!"

Stay in touch

To stay in touch with Evan Pinsonnault, follow him on Twitter at @Evan007onTV and on Facebook via WLNS Evan Pinsonnault and the Evan Michael Show.