Although it’s Saturday, not Friday, the recent passing of Philadelphia singing and tv legend Al Alberts necessitates revisiting the following topic.
This post initially appeared 3/25/07.
True confession time: I envy the contestants on American Idol. For that reason alone I cannot stand to watch the show. That doesn’t mean I don’t secretly respect the show and all the good it puts forth.
Few of you know this, but I was a child talent show contestant.
Performing under the stage name James Meara III, I appeared on the legendary Philadelphia talent show Al Alberts Showcase. That was me, all right, Contestant #22. That day, on the air, I told Mr. Alberts I wanted to be a doctor, but that’s what my parents wanted to hear. In fact, there was nothing more I wanted to be than an entertainer: a singer, a dancer, a drummer, the works.
Mr. Alberts was so encouraging. He told me after the show that he thought I “had it.” Within weeks of that performance, however, I was kicked off the set of another children’s show, Romper Room. I can remember it like it was yesterday: I was sitting behind the set with a few other kids during a commercial break. One of the boys took my red, plastic stegasaurus and wouldn’t give it back to me as soon as I asked for it. In response, I did what I often did when confronted with such situations: I turned over the table, threw my chair at the boy, and then hit him with a left hook. When Romper Room came back from the commercial break, I was mysteriously missing from the cast, having been quickly escorted with my mother out of the studio.
Continue reading »
