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Their big break

When Pinellas 18, the government access channel, asked for volunteers to appear before the cameras, 500 fame seekers answered the call.

By TERRI BRYCE REEVES
Published April 7, 2005

[Times photos: Scott Keeler]

Betty Gorr, 67, of Largo does her best Marilyn Monroe as Norred helps with her microphone.

	Bob Richardson, 46, of Clearwater displays his fire-eating skills for Tony Smith’s camera.
	Nick Clayton, 17, of Oldsmar is an old hand in stage productions at East Lake High School.
	Amber Jiovani sent Pinellas 18 a tape of herself applying eye makeup while doing a backbend.
	Dave Collins, 57, of Largo has Kay Norred, right, smiling as he auditions.

Bob Richardson, 46, can walk on stilts, juggle and turn his tongue into a torch. One time, while blowing flames, something went wrong and he spent three days in a burn unit.

He calls his stunts "acts of stupidity."

The Clearwater resident recently demonstrated his theatrics for camera crews in the television studio of Pinellas 18, the government access channel.

Just as he was about to flambe his tongue, the crew halted the show.

"We have to move the fire-eating act outside," someone said. "The smoke could set off the sprinklers."

In the hallway, Richardson resumed his all-you-can-eat trick.

"Two torches, one mouth, no brains," he quipped.

So why, one might ask, would someone risk their body parts for the cameras of a government access channel? The station that brings you solid waste collection schedules seven days a week? A channel that isn't even rated by Nielsen? A station whose motto could be: We cover the news no one else wants?

The self-employed entertainer, motivational speaker and minister put it simply.

"It's been my dream to get into TV."

Richardson was one of more than 500 applicants who responded to the county's call for volunteers to host a variety of shows. Other hopefuls included a dogcatcher, a female impersonator, a former Romper Room host, a former Naval Reserve commander, a figure skater, a lawyer and a slew of beauty queens.

Even some kids applied.

Kay Norred, 31, public information officer for Pinellas 18, is still scratching her head. Why, she wonders, is there all this interest in a volunteer position whose only benefits are an ID badge, workers' comp and access to the county gym?

"I was afraid no one would apply. I mean, who's going to want to do something like this?" she asked. "It's been overwhelming."

Pinellas 18 covers government meetings, workshops and news. It runs programs with names like You and Your Jury Duty, Good to Know and Environmental Explorations.

Norred had hoped to spice up the sleepy government airwaves with some camera-savvy talent who could talk on a variety of subjects. With an annual operating budget of only $600,000, the station needed volunteers.

Norred's desk is stacked with resumes, head shots and audition tapes that range from grandparents playing with their grandkids to a young woman applying eye shadow while doing a backbend.

Norred is almost afraid to answer the phone.

"Every time I pick it up, it's another desperate caller," she said.

"They tell me they have to do this before they die. Or they say, "My grandkids would be so proud of me. I don't care if I make it, I just want to try.' "

People have been stalking her in the parking lot, just so they can slip her their resume. And when she gets back from her lunch break, there's often someone waiting for her in the lobby.

Before now, her talent pool of people willing to host shows or do voiceovers consisted primarily of employees who happened to pass by her desk in the hallway.

Over the past few weeks, Norred held her first wave of auditions, with about 50 candidates so far.

Think American Idol, Florida-style.

Sexpot impressionist Betty Gorr sashayed though the doors of the television studio wearing a low-cut black dress, furry stole and pearl-white wig. Her resume says she is the area's No. 1 entertainer for mobile home parks and retirement centers.

The 67-year-old says she can be Marilyn Monroe, Mae West or Carmen Miranda. Today she is Marilyn and Mae.

For a moment, the saucy senior considers slithering across the anchor desk but elects the anchor chair instead. Her backdrop is a scene of Clearwater Beach with the words "Inside Pinellas."

With cameras rolling, bright lights blaring and her manager-husband tucked in the back of the studio, she prepares to read a 30-second script about coyotes invading Pinellas County.

"Where's the camera?" she asks.

She talks about her qualifications with Norred.

"I've been onstage quite a bit. And I was in a commercial for Ron Jon Surf Shop," she said.

But anchoring a news desk is something she says she has always wanted to do.

"Better now than never," she said.

Then she breaks into a Mae West song.

On the other side of life is Nick Clayton of Oldsmar, a 17-year-old master thespian at East Lake High School, who bears a striking resemblance to a young Steve Martin. He has been in eight plays in high school and is vice president of the school choir.

In 2004, he sang the national anthem for Vice President Dick Cheney during a Republican gathering.

Unfortunately, the veep was engaged in conversation at the time.

On this day he belts out the anthem again, eyebrows fiercely knit, mouth wide open in song.

He says he hasn't figured out how to get started in show business, but this could be his big break.

"I never saw myself as a news anchor, but it felt good; it felt like it fit," he said after his tryout.

On and on, they parade through the double doors of the studio:

Dave Collins, 57, of Largo, a former TV news director who could be Bob Hite's brother.

Kate Hunter Behler of Clearwater, a former Winston Cup girl who used to give massages, water and pep talks to race car drivers in North Carolina. She has a slight Southern drawl but can also "speak like a Brit."

Tawanna Larkin, 28, of Dunedin. She is the current Mrs. Clearwater and appeared in a Mel Gibson film "for a nanosecond."

And coach Lon Siegel, a 46-year-old physical education teacher at Bardmoor Elementary School, who did some broadcasting on a college radio station.

"I've been waiting 20 years to sit in a chair like this again. This is my shot," he said.

Norred isn't sure yet who will make the cut. But she is considering using the auditions for a government reality TV show.

In the meantime, she will continue the process until she has a few good people.

"Everyone wants to be a star," she said. "You don't want to poo-poo on these people's dreams."

[Last modified April 6, 2005, 10:15:09]