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BIOGRAPHIES
Roy Orbison - Larry
Branson
"LARRY BRANSON
IS ROY ORBISON"... is the phrase most commonly used by reviewers
around the world when describing Larry's performances. His
astounding re-creation of Roy Orbison in concert and on the theatre
stage has earned him roles in many major productions including the
"Legends of Rock'n'Roll"... "Legends In Concert"... "American
Superstars"... and London's West End hit musical "The Roy Orbison
Story".
 BIOGRAPHY:
LARRY
BRANSON grew up in Western Canada the son of second generation
Norwegian-Canadian parents. He didn't get into the music business
until 1968... and then only by fluke.
Larry's parents bought him a "sing-a-long" record player and he used
their Orbison records to learn on. He would turn down Roy's voice
and turn up his own to practice. Branson says " At the time, I
wasn't trying to sound like Roy Orbison... I thought, if was going
to learn how to sing, I'm going to let Roy be my teacher. It's
really strange how things turned out".
Larry
graduated from Gladstone High School in Vancouver, B.C. where music
was his worst subject because he was too shy and embarrassed to sing
in front of the class. He worked at various jobs, but one day, while
working at Radio Shack, during a lunch break he was asked by a
co-worker if he would manage his brother's band. When Larry first
heard them play, they were doing an instrumental version of
Orbison's classic "Oh, Pretty Woman". Larry jumped in to provide the
vocal and he was soon asked to front the band. For the next five
years Larry and his group "Downstream" played country music, rock &
roll and just about everything until he decided to go solo.
Since then, Larry has pursued a life-long dream to perform a
"Tribute To Roy Orbison". He continued to play the lounges as a solo
performer while working on Orbison songs at home. After Roy's
untimely death December 6th, 1988, Larry decided the time was right
to get serious about his dream. In February, 1989 he auditioned for
the "Legends Of Rock'n'Roll" and became a staple in that show for
the next four years. The rest is history... after stints with
"Legends In Concert" and "American Superstars", Larry was discovered
by the producers of a major new musical in England "The Roy Orbison
Story". Larry spent the next three years acting and singing in this
production which culminated in a year-long run at the Piccadilly
Theatre in London's prestigious West End theatre district. A
nomination for "Best New Musical" and the opportunity to sing "Only
The Lonely" at Briton's TV event of the year, the "1995 Olivier
Awards", are evidence to the fact that Larry Branson has surely
fulfilled his life-long dream and then some.
More recently, Larry completed a 40 date tour across Canada during
the Fall of 1998 with "THIS LONELY HEART: The Roy Orbison
Experience". The show played to mostly capacity houses including six
consecutive sell-outs at the Surrey Arts Centre in Vancouver, B.C.
And, most recently, a second run engagement at the Fanny Hill Dinner
Theatre in Eau Clair, Wisconsin produced sell-out audiences for nine
consecutive weeks January through March of 2000. Larry is currently
performing as Roy at the Memories Theatre in Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee.
•••
 Buddy
Holly - John Mueller
Entertainer John Mueller is
best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in the U.S. production
of Buddy... The Buddy Holly Story. John has garnered critical
acclaim for his detailed and authentic portrayal of Buddy, but he is
most proud of the assessment of Niki Sullivan, an original member of
Buddy's band. The Crickets... "John is a reincarnation of Buddy
Holly, he is that good. John is awesome."
BIOGRAPHY
Buddy . . . The
Buddy Holly Story opened at the American Heartland Theatre in Kansas
City in January, 1996. Fans were quick to realize that before John
Mueller played Buddy Holly, never has the rock and roll legend been
so faithfully portrayed. Aside from winning a Drama Desk award,
John's performance is perhaps best summed up by original Crickets
member Niki Sullivan. "John is a reincarnation of Buddy Holly. He is
that good. He has the same determination in his eyes that Buddy did
and when John is on stage, he is a totally dynamic performer, just
like Buddy. John is awesome."
John Mueller was raised on the electrifying music of Chuck Berry,
Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and of course, Buddy Holly. Playing
along to that great old rock and roll with his Sears and Roebuck
drum set and Dutch Masters cigar box guitar, a young John Mueller
unknowingly began a career that would take him throughout the United
States, playing his music and acting for the stage, film and
television.
Music seemed the obvious path, but in his teens while working at the
K 42 Drive-In in his home town of Wichita Kansas, John became
interested in acting. He set his music aside, stopped drag racing,
and concentrated on his acting studies -- a decision that ultimately
led him to Chicago's rich theatrical community.
John's acting debut was a part in Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander,
a play which won Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best Ensemble and Best
Production. John continued his acting career in the Windy City,
performing in many great plays, including Awake and Sing at Wisdom
Bridge Theatre, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton at Victory Gardens, and
Henry V at Chicago Shakespeare Repertory. He was a founding member
of the Raven Theatre Company and studied acting with Tom Irwin at
the prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where John also worked
with Martha Lavey.
As John broke into film and television, he found himself playing
roles that drew on his guitar playing and singing talents. Still in
Chicago, John took roles in Bad Boys starring Sean Penn and Ally
Sheedy, ABC's Lady Blue, and Crime Story, among others. Companies
like Oldsmobile, Old Style Beer and others even featured John in
their TV commercials.
The place to be for film and television, of course, is Hollywood.
After seven rewarding years in Chicago, John was ready for a change.
His agent agreed. John moved to Hollywood and soon found himself
playing a variety of roles in television shows such as Ellen, Linda
Hamilton's Beauty and the Beast, Days of Our Lives, China Beach,
Lois and Clark and others. Film credits include Return to Horror
High, The Roommate, and Out of Track.
If acting is in John's heart, then music is in his soul. He plays
concerts in some of the best places around, such as the famous
Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He's developed his own unique
style -- kind of a 50's rock-pop- country sound that brings back the
good old days. At the urging of fans, John released a CD, "A Boy's
Gotta Do What a Boy's Gotta Do." Featuring ten original songs and
two covers, the album includes Hey Buddy, John's tribute to Buddy
Holly.
John's stage career continued in addition to his work in film,
television and music. His more recent theatrical credits include,
among others, Flight to Arkadelphia (which John co-wrote), and
Return to the Forbidden Planet at the American Heartland Theatre,
where John's part called for playing guitar with his teeth! In Tom
Stoppard's The Real Thing, John played the Scottish rebel Brodie at
both the Northlight Repertory production and on the national
Broadway Tour directed by Mike Nichols. And he starred as Buddy
Holly in Adam Ant's world premiere production of Be Bop A Lula,
giving audiences their first look at John Mueller as Buddy Holly.
John is a reincarnation of Buddy . . . A lot of people say that now,
echoed by such publications as the Chicago Tribune -- "John Mueller
is living proof of Buddy Holly's legacy."
Today Buddy . . . The Buddy Holly Story is alive and well and
sweeping across North America. From San Diego to Chicago, to Kansas
City and Toronto, John has brought Buddy Holly back to life to
packed houses around the country. In addition to The Buddy Holly
Story, John stars in a rockin' production he wrote himself, Buddy .
. . Not Fade Away.
John recently headlined the 40th Anniversary of the Winter Dance
Party tour. Highlights of the tour included John being awarded the
Key to the City of Green Bay Wisconsin and performing at the Surf
Ballroom in Clear Lake Iowa, where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and
The Big Bopper gave their last performance before their tragic plane
crash on February 3, 1959. The Winter Dance Party tour of 1999
recreated the final days of Holly, Valens and The Big Bopper. It was
a moving event. But maybe it showed us that those final days were
not quite as final as they seemed, after all.
•••
 Elvis
- Scot Bruce
"Top Elvis
Impersonator Scot Bruce has got it going on, his voice is so
uncannily like the King's you'll think you're in Blue Hawaii… He has
all the signature Presley moves, — the independently rotating
thighs, the swiveling pelvis, the droopy bedroom eyes - down to the
science." The Tennessean, Nashville
BIOGRAPHY:
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, where he was an
air-personality at the top 40 FM radio station Z-FUN 106 and a
drummer, Scot has lived in Los Angeles since 1990. While pursuing
his career as a musician/actor (and having been a musician and a big
Elvis fan all of his life) he started doing a 1950s' era Elvis show
as a way to survive the lean times. The result was a surprise to
Scot… what was meant as a part-time "gig" to supplement his income
blossomed into a full-time career.
Because of his uncanny resemblance to the young "King" and his
ability to sing, strum a guitar, and swivel his hips, his live show
has taken him all over the world to places like Japan, Hong Kong,
Singapore, Malaysia (where he had the privilege of performing for
the King and Queen), Mainland China, Australia and several countries
in Europe and South America. He regularly plays concert dates across
the United States. As Elvis, Scot has appeared in music videos with
Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill, and Tasmin Archer, as well as on the FOX TV
sitcom "Partners." Scot has also been heard as the "Resident Elvis"
on the highly rated Los Angeles morning radio show "Mark and Brian"
on KLOS FM.
Most recently, Scot has appeared in a recurring role on the hit soap
opera "Days of Our Lives," a Pizza Hut commercial, and as the lead
role in three successful productions of "Idols of the King": the
prestigous Barter Theater in Virginia, the Tennessee Repertory
Theater in Nashville, and ArtPark in upstate New York. If you saw
the "True Hollywood Story: Elvis in Hollywood" on E! Entertainment
Network, that was Scot playing Elvis in the recreation scenes. He is
also a regular cast member of "A Really Big Shew – the Tribute to
the Ed Sullivan Show." Aside from "Being Elvis," Scot has also been
seen as a night-club crooner on "The Bold and the Beautiful." Scot
is a song-writer, and (whenever possible) performs an acoustic
guitar/harmonica solo act in the local pubs, and plays the drums
with an LA-based rock-a-billy band. Two of Scot's original songs
were used in Riverdance Pictures' 1999 film "On the Turning Away." |
