• Home
• Life

For teens and tiny children, meeting Al Alberts brought forth star-struck expressions - all caught on camera.

For 32 years, a weekly crop of young performers would sing and dance on Al Alberts' television talent show - "The Al Alberts Showcase," all recorded for a Saturday afternoon broadcast from Channel 6 in Philadelphia. The parading children were wide-eyed. Eager for attention. Full of untested confidence.

On Friday, Alberts died in Florida. He was 87.

And those generations of professional or aspiring singers, dancers and entertainers - now grown out of the beaded dresses or vests and ties they wore onstage - celebrated the man who had shared his limelight by performing with them.

"He gave me a very first taste of what this entertainment world was like, for real," laughed Devin Riley, now 21.

Riley now divides her time between her native Port Elizabeth and the bright lights of Nashville, Tenn., where she's pursuing a career in country music.

But in the late 1990s, she faced down her first television lens, in an ensemble that she now can't describe without giggling.

"I had dyed shoes, specially-made outfits - the works," she remembers now. "The sequins. The floofy stuff we would wear. It was from almost a different time."

Like every other child in the room, Riley had gained a slot on one of Alberts' weekly broadcasts after a grueling open audition in front of Alberts and his wife, producer Stella.

Professionalism was the watchword for every youngster who crossed the stage: Good posture was a must, and the hosts applauded attempts at showstopping flair even from the youngest Teenyboppers, as small as three years old.

But if Alberts was a Svengali to young performers, Riley said, he used that influence kindly.

"He was really such a humble person," she said Friday. Riley eventually secured a slot as a Showstopper - one of the pre-teen performers who would appear every week. As she got comfortable in the studio or on tour with the cast, she said, "He would always come and thank you for giving a good show. He always made each of us feel as though he cared."

On Friday, Alberts' son, Chris, said his father died at their retirement home in Arcadia, Fla. He said the apparent cause of death was complications from kidney failure.

Alberts was a founding member of the singing group The Four Aces, which recorded such hits as "Three Coins in the Fountain," and "Love is a Many Splendored Thing."

But through his television and radio shows, he shepherded youngsters from oblivion to the greatest roles on Broadway.

One such protege was Andrea McArdle, who appeared on Alberts' show as a pre-teen - before seizing the role of Annie in the original Broadway musical production. The show also helped start the careers of local performers Sister Sledge and Teddy Pendergrass, according to Alberts' Web site.

Sal Dupree, a performer and producer who now teaches vocal coaching in Linwood and whose daughter Kim Amorello made the show alongside McArdle, said Alberts' kindly demeanor set him apart from other entertainers.

While Stella was the consummate producer of the show, Dupree said, "Al was the MC with the smile and the personality to sell what she needed. He cared a lot and considered the feelings of a child."

That didn't mean a first appearance with Alberts wasn't nail-biting.

"I just know the camera came in real close," Riley said of her first appearance, singing "Where the Boys Are," at age nine.

The strength of Alberts' talent show, until its last episode in 2000, was its power to focus attention on a young star, says Dupree.

"That's a great challenge for a young person - to step away from themselves, and step into the professionalism that the performance needs," he said.

Since the show wrapped, he said, fewer shows can have that very local draw - with a sense that the world, or at least the Philadelphia area, is watching at once.

"Nowadays, you have to look at several shows, like 'America's Got Talent,' 'American Idol,' 'Star Search,'" he said. "But today you can go on YouTube and watch a clip the next day."

For Alberts, Riley recalls, "Everything was recorded live - and in one take."

Al Alberts, born Al Albertini, is also survived by wife Stella and son Al Jr.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Contact Juliet Fletcher:

609-272-7251

JFletcher@pressofac.com

No comments have been posted. Be the first poster!

PressofAtlanticCity.com offers everyone the opportunity to comment on published stories. However, it is impractical for editors to screen all comments.
If you believe a comment is offensive, please click on the abuse-reporting link and your objection will be considered by an editor. We encourage participants to use their real names, but inoffensive screen names are acceptable. Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them.
Please post responsibly. Do not post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy.
Be polite. Don’t hate. Users who don’t play by the rules may be blocked from participating.

View our full terms of service and privacy agreement

Click here to report a comment as abusive.

You must login to post a new comment