Mr. Alberts was a co-founder of the Four Aces, a group who would earn several awards including Academy Awards for Three Coins in a Fountain and Love is a Many Splendored Thing. He also made the song On the Way to Cape May popular.

Later in his Career he hosted his talent show on Channel 6 in Philadelphia. It lasted for over 30 years. I would faithfully watch the show every weekend, wanting to do the same job. I even had a couple of favorites among the talented kids on the show: Andrea McArdle, who would later become the first Annie on Broadway, and Liza Moran (no relation), who seems to have given up on show business and has fallen out of the public eye.

I met Al Alberts during one of his production company’s shows at a mall in the 1980’s. I even shook his hand and asked him if there was a way I could become involve with his company and help out. He told me to talk to his wife, Stella. Unfortunately, my shyness kept me from taking it any further. Who knows where I would be now.

Because he did the things that I would like to do and because I looked up to him, I suppose I would have to say that Al Alberts was one of my heros. I’m sorry to hear that he passed away. I hope someday to have a group of talented young people singing and dancing on stage, and I’ll know that it’s partly due to the influence of “Uncle Al”.

I haven’t been following my life-long dreams. Trying to earn a living seems to have pushed me away from those things. It’s time I’ve steered myself back to those things which I want to accomplish.

Generally, I want to be in show business – not as a star or performer (although I will do some work on stage), but as a producer of variety shows and musicals. This has been something that has been a part of me since my childhood. I think it’s time I took it seriously and started really working on it.

I want this blog to reflect my progress as I work toward my goals. I also want it to motivate and help others who may be interested in the same things I am. So, I’ll be working on adding more posts about show business, music, singing, dancing, backstage work, and all the other factors that to into putting on a show.

I have a degree in Theater. I’ve worked in theater, both backstage and onstage. I’ve directed both shows and videos as a teacher, and have taken part in all sorts of special events. I’ve been in a band and several musicals. While I don’t consider myself an expert in show business or a musician, I have a lifetime of experience from which to build.

It’s time to move on and become an expert, so that I can do the thing that I feel I was meant to do in this life. Hopefully, you’ll be able to follow my progress by seeing more entertainment related posts here on my website. I guess now that I’ve put this out there publicly, I have to do it, right?

I believe my first music teacher was a retired nun who was given the job simply for something to do. But with her help, I learn the basics of music: the note names, their position on the piano, scales, rhythm, and melody. I had music theory workbooks, where I would have to name the notes by filling in the blanks below the staff. The song books would include short, simple melodies like “The Old Gray Mare,” “Little Brown Jug,” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

In those days, there was no music room in the school. Each week, I was permitted to leave the school and walk to the convent for a half-hour lesson. I think those of us who took music lessons felt special, because we were able to get out of regular classes, if only for a short time. I know it really annoyed some of the teachers.

Also, by the time I was in forth or fifth grade and the curriculum required students to learn basic notation, I was ahead of the game because I knew how to read music.

A Spring Recital was held each year. This allowed the music and dance students to show off what they had learned. The recitals were my first experiences on stage performing in front of a audience.

Nuns were often moved to other schools, and when I entered sixth or seventh grade, a new music teacher had arrived at the school. By that time, however, I had come to the conclusion that I was not learning as much about playing the piano as I had hoped, and I quit taking lessons.

I did join the choir though. I always enjoyed the monthly trips the entire school made to church to rehearse for First Friday Mass. We practiced all the songs that were to be sung that month. This is how I found out that I loved to sing, so when the new music sister started a choir, I was in.

The five years of piano lessons and two or three years in the choir gave me a pretty good elementary music education. When I entered high school, I was able to join the band and continue with the church choir. These memories of playing music and singing are some of my most favorite.