I started out as a folk singer playing in coffee houses throughout Canada. In Calgary I met Michel Choquette, a comic singer. Our love for songs of the 1920s led us to form a comedy duo, The Times Square Two. We performed in college concerts, nightclubs and on TV. We also performed all over England, including The Royal Albert Hall. Here’s a shot from the Dean Martin show with Lena Horne, Victor Borge, Sid Caesar and Dean. I was too young to realize how fortunate I was.

I had no idea the Brian De Palma horror/comedy/musical, Phantom of the Paradise, would become a cult classic. It was embraced by the town of Winnipeg, Canada, where it ran in one cinema every Saturday for an entire year and unwittingly became the babysitter for thousands of pre-teens who would often sit through four showings in a day. On its fortieth anniversary, those now grown up die-hard fans brought the entire cast up to Winnipeg to bring the unrecognized masterpiece back to life. It was like being a Beatle for a weekend. I’ve returned several times since then and will go again late in 2024 for the 50th anniversary. It’s been a magical experience.