Putting on an Act for the Folks From TV : ‘Star Search’ Auditions Draw Thousands Who Covet the ‘Big E’

The Groucho Marx impersonator strode through the May Co. parking lot, dressed in tails, a huge cigar clutched between two fingers, his back horizontal to the sky, his inch-thick painted-on black eyebrows working up and down.

A few yards away, several pretty young girls in tight outfits, members of the Ebony Elite dance company, were practicing their moves, while early-morning shoppers at the Mission Valley shopping center maneuvered to park their cars around them.

It was a stranger than usual Friday morning at the mall, as San Diegans gathered to audition for “Star Search,” a syndicated TV talent contest. Even though the chances of getting on the show and rubbing elbows with host Ed McMahon bordered on nil, they were there in search of exposure, the “Big E.”

“It’s worth it, especially if the local TV people show up,” said Jerry Hoban, whose own personality seemed lost somewhere inside his wisecracking Groucho role. “I do a lot of these auditions. And, as you can see, it has gotten me absolutely nowhere.”

More than 4,000 people, each one hoping to win the $100,000 grand prize offered by the show, or at least the $1,000 that comes with an on-air appearance, called for an audition. Judy Albrecht of San Diego’s KTTY-TV (Channel 69), which co-sponsored the auditions, said 200 acts were eventually selected for the two-day session.

They were only looking for “legitimate acts,” Albrecht said--people who had performed professionally. “We didn’t want any gimmicks,” she said.

Contestants were judged on how well they fit into the TV show’s slick performance categories, ranging from junior vocalists to adult comedians to “spokesmodels,” young women who can talk and wear a bikini at the same time.

“We don’t necessarily take anybody if they’re not up to our standards,” said Mike Grizzi, a talent coordinator for Television Programming Enterprises, the company that produces “Star Search” along with such glitzy fare as “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”

Grizzi said Hoban didn’t stand a very good chance of getting on the show with his Groucho impersonation.

“People who stand out are able to show us some personality and style of their own.”

Grizzi is traveling to 30 cities this summer looking for talent. He said that, when people in hotels find out he is with “Star Search,” he is often inundated with impromptu auditions in the lobby or tapes that are slipped into his room.

“Usually stage mothers are the boldest,” he said, referring to women who push their sons or daughters as performers. There appeared to be more than a few anxious stage mothers packed into the Mission Valley Center on Friday.

Debra Cook had brought her 9-year-old daughter, Torrey, to the audition. Torrey, a singer, has appeared on the local TV show “Sun Up San Diego,” as an extra in the movie “Top Gun” and in several commercials. For the “Star Search” crew, she performed her version of “Broadway Baby.”

“She’s predominantly theatrical,” her mother said, adding that she wasn’t sure about Torrey’s chances of getting on the show. “It’s hard to tell. But we would go to a McDonald’s opening. Torrey loves to perform.”

Jaime Barta, also 9, dressed in a black-and-white striped jail outfit identical to the one worn by her 11-year-old brother, Steve, noticed a reporter interviewing other contestants and calmly suggested that he interview her.

Barta, a veteran of several plays, said she was an extra in the film “Little Nikita,” which was shot partly in San Diego. For her, the audition was its own reward.

“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “It doesn’t really matter if you win or lose.”

Nearby, the three members of the “Three of a Kind” dance group, girls in their early teens, were discussing their performance. They had tried to get on the show through an agent in Hollywood, but were told to try the local audition.

“We have lots of confidence,” said Staci Bellinger.

Partner Kristen Kelly chimed in, “At least we’re trying.”

Not all the auditioners were children. There were even some professionals, such as comedian Russ T. Nailz, who were not desperate for the gig, or the chance to audition.

“I had to get up early anyway,” said Nailz, who was on his way to the airport. “I just wanted to show up and show some support for the local opportunity.”

The “Star Search” producers had already seen his act at the Improvisation in Los Angeles, Nailz said, and rejected him.

“I think they want something that jumps off the TV more than the written word,” he said.

Singer Cicely Walls, dressed in a black evening outfit, sang a torchy soul song during her allotted two minutes. She looked a little out of place in the mall, the sun shining brightly.

But she was after the Big E.

“It’s a good chance for national exposure,” she said. “And who comes to San Diego? San Diego is not exactly the entertainment capital of the world.”

While she sang, confused shoppers milled about. Over to one side stood Edward C. (“Call me Curtis”) Johnson, who was not going to get a chance to audition.

“I sent in a tape six months ago, but I never heard anything,” said Johnson, a vocalist who works for the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. It was his day off, and he came down to the mall to check out the competition.

“I’ve been waiting a couple of years to get on this show,” Johnson said. “There’s no doubt in my mind if they give me a chance I’d get on the show.”

By 11 a.m., talent judge Grizzi was already starting to look haggard.

“I’ve seen some good things,” he said. “But I have yet to see anything that has completely floored me.”