Who Am I? July 1, 2023

I am a ‘boomer’ who was born in San Fernando, CA. My dad, Harry, was a Syrian Jew who was born in Aleppo, Syria. He later immigrated to Brazil where he worked as a livestock trader. My mom, Lorraine was a concert pianist who grew up in Canada. Her parents were of Ukrainian-Jewish descent.

My beginning weren’t very auspicious. I was born 3 months premature with collapsed lungs and a broken windpipe; however, I did recover in due time to take lessons in tap, jazz and ballet as a child. After I saw the movie, “Singing in the Rain,” Gene Kelly became my idol. Many, many years later, I got to do a Diet Coke commercial with a digitized version of Gene. He’s the best!

I graduated Van Nuys High School where I was both a cheerleader and honor student. For a time I also studied broadcasting at Cal State. 

Wearing a red and white striped leotard I tried out to be a cheerleader on an NBA team along with 700  other contestants. I guess they liked me because I was hired. We were paid $65.per game, $24.for rehearsals and we could do promos for $75.per hour. I advanced rapidly and after a year I became the choreographer for the team! You might say my big break came when a quintet family of singers attended a game, liked the dance routines that they saw, and hired me to choreograph some music videos for them. My high energy level and talent, both as a singer and dancer made me a natural hip-hop choreographer. At times I have run both cheerleading and dance camps.

My vocal range has been described as mezzo soprano and I was lucky enough to have one of the most  successful debut albums ever. I have choreographed for several dance and theater productions. I’ve said that “almost all my choreography had to do with things I would remember from my dreams; or I’d wake up immediately and write them down.” I must be doing something right because I’ve had six Billboard No.1 singles and two No.1 albums. I have won several MTV Music Awards for best choreography in a video, American Music Awards for Favorite Dance Artist and Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and an Emmy.

All that being said, most of you know me when I served as a judge for several years on an American singing competition TV series. I am known as a hard worker, a person with a warm smile and sweet personality who is a kind mentor to new talent. I was a foil the ‘mean guy’ among my co-judges on that program. Others of you may know me from the jewelry line I launched on QVC where I designed earrings with different textures, necklaces, charms and bracelets.

I have many outside interests. I am a dog lover who promotes guide dogs for the blind. I am also an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and have performed at the L A Pride Festival.

My Jewish roots were always important to me though I delayed having my bat-mitzvah until I was 51! I had a meaningful and wonderful ceremony at the Kabbalah Center, in Safed, Israel. In 2014 I was the headliner at an annual raffle dinner in Livingston, NJ to support a mikva. In October 2018 I performed at the nearby Bergen Pac in Englewood.

As I’ve aged, I suffer from arthritis in my feet and toes, a dancer’s lament. Stretching and pain relief medication have helped relieve some of my symptoms. During the Covid-19 pandemic I’ve taken Zumba classes, virtual ballroom classes and have made liberal use of my home rowing machine to keep fit. I’m pretty sure you know me by now. I have 2 million Twitter followers and 280,000 Instagram followers. Are you one of them? That’s me in the photo below.

(1a)Who Am I? (1b)What NBA team did I cheer for? (1c)What quintet “discovered” me? (2a)What was my successful debut album? (2b)Name one of my dance workout videos. (3a)On what singing competition show did I serve as a judge on? (3b)Who were my co-judges on that show? (3c)Who replaced me as judge? (3d)Later on I co-starred with the ‘mean’ judge on another reality show. What was the name of that show? (4a)Name one of my managers.(4b)What was the name of the rabbi who officiated at my bat-mitzvah? (5a)What pain relief company have I partnered with? (5b)Finally, the mayor of Hollywood was present at the dedication of my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Who was that mayor and what is the exact address of my star?