"HERE'S ALLAN!"
by Judy Jones
Allan Richards is an extraordionary
entertainer!! We met in San Francisco
thru Johnny Holiday who decided
to become a stand up comic at the age of 89!
Not only is Allan a gifted world-class
performer who directs, coaches
and produces in all media from
live shows to video to online
training course, he graciously let me
interview him for
"ON THE ROAD WITH JUDY!"
Enjoy!
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ME:
Allan, how did you become
an entertainer?
ALLAN:
I was born that way, came
out singing at birth. "Wow"! What
a voice." shouted the doctor in glee.
"This one's gonna be a star!" "Just
listen to his shrieks."
As a kid I showed off for family and
friends at home, parties and
informal gatherings.
ME:
Was your family in the 'biz'?
ALLAN:
"As the saying goes, 'like father,
like son'! My dad was and
still is a hoofer, teacher, musician,
singer and trumpet player at
age 87."
"Mom's an artist and was an art
teacher..My brother Ken is a
painter splitting time between
homes in Paris and New York."
"My brother Stuart Aptekar is a
musician, writer and trumpet
player in Los Angeles.
His first CD is called 'Chili Dog
at Midnite.' Its wonderful
'Michael Franks' style jazz,
available on Amazon.com."
"My sister Lucy Aptekar is an
arts consultant in Boston."
ME:
When was your first paid gig?
ALLAN:
"At age 14, after my stellar
Bar Mitzvah chanting at age 13,
I started singing for money in
synagogue choirs and solo
gigs in churches."
ME:
Did you ever do anything
other than show biz?
ALLAN:
"I have four kids, mostly
grown, and in order to pay for
the expenses of raising my family
I spent 35 years in soul-
sucking corporate marketing public
relations jobs for such
firms as Price Waterhouse."
ME:
You are an entertainer
extraordinaire Allan.
So many talents!
Whats your favorite thing to do?
ALLAN:
"I love to make people laugh..
gives me great joy!"
"I've been told I'm a 'feel good'
entertainer. I don't do
X- Rated material. I sing and
have gentle fun personalizing
when possible."
"Last week I did a gig atop the
Bank America Tower in
San Francisco for someone's
100th birthday. For forty
minutes I performed comparing
the times in 1903 to 2003.
As I rolled my sound system out
the door at the end of the evening
a couple of women passed me in
the hall smiling and said,
"We were just talking about
what a wonderful entertainer
you are, Allan!" "And thats being
a 'feel good performer'.
ME:
What are your least favorite things?
ALLAN:
"Hatred, bigotry, impatience
and stupidity."
ME:
Are your children in show biz?
ALLAN:
"They were when younger,
but thank God not now. This is
an impossible and very difficult
way to live."
"My oldest did stand up for awhile,
worked on the Tonite Show
and for Dick Clark productions in
Los Angeles. He met his wife
when they were both production
assistants on the 'Mat and
Maddie show."
ME:
Do you believe in reincarnation?
ALLAN:
"I don't think so." "I'm giving
this shot my all. But I'm not sure
about what might happen when
my 'gig' is up!"
ME:
Who is your favorite singer/composer?
ALLAN:
"I love the three B's...Bach,
Beethoven and Brahms and I
adore the music of Joe Raposa,
Sesame Street composer.
I love Duke Ellington's music.
I like my brother's work."
"My favorite singers include my
mentor Frank Sinatra, of course,
chairman of the board, Mel Torme,
Placido Domingo and Bobby McFerrin."
ME:
Allan thanks for sharing
'your magical essence' with the
readers of "ON THE ROAD WITH JUDY!".
If Allan Richards were to make
everyone on earth laugh there
could be no wars!
moregreatshows@yahoo.com
http://www.ShowsToYou.com
650-483-7840 (cell phone)
650-592-1933 (home phone)
