BEA FOGELMAN

Director/Editor/Referral Agent of the Network – spent her younger years as a singer in the Big Band era, (Johnny Long, Charlie Barnet & others), scriptwriter, event planner & a short stint in television & commercials. When the family moved from Detroit, to the San Fernando Valley in California and later to Las Vegas, her career focused on Law and Real Estate. Upon retirement, her career as a published author of 9 books is paused with her work in the Entertainment Network. She is married to Leo, a retired Pharmacist. Bea@BeaFogelman.com
 
 

TRIBUTE ARTISTS ON TV AND FILM

By Bea Fogelman

During the past four years Celebrity Impersonators have taken to the spotlight on the television screen, commercials and in movie film, creating a phenomenon that goes deeper than just seeking casts for the reels. The viewing public has fallen in love with the stars the tribute artists emulate as they were in their prime.
Filmmakers have taken production all over the world, replacing the center of the industry from Hollywood to every corner of every town and every country. The glamour of stardom, of what was considered their perfect existence, was told by their press agents to the various movie magazines that carried stories of their wondrous lives. The studios controlled the press….and if the stars were bad, their fans would never know.

Today the vision of stardom has been clouded by the media, sweeping away the stardust, exposing the stars as indulgent, godless and/or ordinary people, not worthy of adoration and respect.

What the people are looking for today is to return to that era of adoration and respect, to feel the mist in their eyes when they see their country’s flag, to respect the nation’s leaders…and to see a show or a commercial on their home television set without covering their children’s eyes and ears. They are striving to recapture the lily white and pure of the past with the fun and excitement of rock and roll music, strolls in the park, a big red heart filled with candy on Valentines Day, Santa and the Tooth Fairy. They want to feel good.

Is it feeling good to see a movie of Penguins tap dancing across the snow and ice? Many thousands of people thought so. How many smile when they see the same dance group in commercials on their television sets breaking into the violence of the show or the police-blotter news of the evening? The 30 seconds of feeling good comforts the heart and soul.

Producers are discovering that the tribute artist industry is providing the warmth in the world of entertainment by recalling the era when stars were stars on the stage and screen…stars who brought laughter and tears, romance and joyful tenderness into the hearts and souls of their viewing audiences.

There will always be a Marilyn Monroe, Jack Benny, Frank Sinatra, Abbott and Costello, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Jimmy Durante, Lucille Ball and many others today’s generation have never seen perform. Performing in their image,
tribute artists continue to keep their memory alive.

Current stars cannot be everywhere and they now enjoy huge audiences at their concerts and massive sales of their albums. Could it be that the tribute artists of such stars as Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Rod Stewart and many others are performing promotional advertising for the concerts of the stars; too costly for the masses to attend?
Those who do attend come away into the night humming their songs. They were mesmerized by the stars they have seen from a front row seat or the furthest section behind a post in the nose-bleed section of the showroom balcony. One thing for sure…they were never close enough to touch them.

Audiences are really smart enough to know that a celebrity impersonator is an actor performing in tribute to the real star. They enjoy the performance and, when it is over, move in closer to be able to touch or shake hands with the artist. Some have become fans of the actors, following them for each performance. Being in their presence makes them feel good.

Producers of showrooms, television, movies and commercials are in the business of making money and they are experts in knowing what their clients, advertisers and audiences want to see. More and more producers are realizing that their audiences want to enjoy themselves watching the familiar performances of the stars they love. Again… the stars cannot be everywhere and most are unaffordable. Next to the best are the actors who emulate them.