Fans of swing will get their share at the Orange County Fair, courtesy of this . . . : Jumpin’ Pink Flash

Any doubts about the screaming popularity of swing should be erased by the Orange County Fair, which is devoting four hours each night to a swing fest featuring Johnny Pink & the Big Shots, a local septet eager to keep the joint jumpin’.

“We mostly do jump swing, which is a little cruder than big-band swing, with a touch of rockabilly,” said Kirk Wall, a.k.a. Johnny Pink, so named by the fair to coincide with its theme, “We’re in the Pink.”

The Fullerton vocalist, an Elvis impersonator who also fronts a comedic bluegrass band at Disneyland, took on his third persona in April. Kenny Treseder, founder of the Long Beach-based Jumpin’ Jive band, wanted a charismatic front man. He asked Wall to consider the job after seeing his antics at the Happiest Place on Earth.

“He saw that I’m not exactly a straight kind of guy,” Wall said. “That I’m a little goofy.”

Meanwhile, a friend of Wall’s who was hunting for a good swing band for the fair heard about his discussions with Treseder, and offered them a gig--if they’d go pink. All parties agreed, and Jumpin’ Jive morphed into the Big Shots, said Wall, 40, who wears a blazing fuchsia zoot suit as its leader.

The ensemble, whose other members have played with such artists as Buddy Collette, Billy Preston and the Drifters, has already performed several promotional shows for the fair around Orange County. They play 1940s and ‘50s swing hits by such cool cats as Louis Prima, and such pop standards as Sinatra’s “Lady Is a Tramp.”

Johnny Pink, the persona, “is this Rat Pack kind of guy,” smooth and cool like Frank Sinatra, Wall said, but slightly buffoonish, a wannabe heartthrob too. “So I practice many hours of spinning that little [watch fob] chain around, but it can smack me in the forehead, or I can get caught in it.”

The native Texan got the music bug early from his father, a former opera singer, then studied singing and drama, mostly at the University of New Mexico, before hitting the road to sing and act in such productions as “Grease” and “Evita.” He doesn’t do as much theater these days--it’s not as steady as the music--so he’s doubly glad to get jobs that mix a bit of both.

“I feel very fortunate that I got thrown into a situation with someone [Treseder] who writes such good songs,” Wall added. “It’s hard to sing a song you don’t think is really good.”

Besides performing with the Big Shots at 7:30 and 9 each night, Wall will emcee the four-hour “Swingtime at the Heritage Stage,” which will include a nightly swing dance lesson (7:10) and dance contest (9), and appearances by such swing bands as the Armand Blaise Orchestra (July 20 and 21).

* Johnny Pink & the Big Shots perform twice nightly on the Heritage Stage at the Orange County Fair, at the Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. 7:30 and 9 p.m. Free, with fair admission, $2-$6. Through July 26. (714) 708-3247.