The teen movie critic with charm

Whatever happened to . . .

By Demorris A. Lee, Times Staff Writer
Published February 10, 2008

Former Times Xpress movie critic Billy Norris doesn't write reviews anymore. He writes and studies music in New York.
	[Special to the Times]

THE STORY: In April 2002, Billy Norris' movie reviews for the St. Petersburg Times captured America's attention, sparking attention from Good Morning America, Inside Edition, the Associated Press. But the initial interest, most notably, was Jay Leno and archrival David Letterman. Soon, the 14-year-old from Seminole was chatting up Letterman.

FROM THE STORY: "I was talking about the Britney Spears movie (Crossroads), and I told him she should stick to the Pepsi commercials. . . . That cracked (Letterman) up," said Billy of his appearance on . . . The Late Show With David Letterman.

"What he said afterward, when everybody was applauding and you couldn't hear, is that I'll be back," Billy said. "I'm like, 'That's cool.' "

Initially, producers from Late Show rival The Tonight Show With Jay Leno called the Times to find out more about Billy, after they noticed him on a Web site. Ironically, they wound up talking to Lifestyles editor Gretchen Letterman, who is David Letterman's sister and Billy's editor.

When Gretchen Letterman later mentioned to her brother that Leno was interested, Letterman moved to book Billy on his show first. For some editors, the circumstances offered a chance to reference the classic Leno/Letterman rivalry in a lighthearted way.

"The first thing that got our attention was two of the premier late-night programs going after a 14-year-old boy," said Kristin Gazlay, the New York-based deputy managing editor of national news for the Associated Press. "You throw in the fact that (Leno's) show placed a call and got Letterman's sister . . . You can't make this stuff up."

THE REST OF THE STORY: An accomplished jazz bassist, Norris, 20, is a sophomore at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, working on a bachelor's in jazz bass performance. He's not writing movie reviews anymore; he's writing music.

"When I was 14 years old, they asked me if I was going to be a journalist," Norris said in a phone interview from Manhattan. "I was already pretty sure I was going to be a musician. I knew music was where I was going to end up."

When he's not in class learning the history of jazz, he's practicing with a hip-hop and R&B group or with his jazz combo. He sits at the piano late at night trying to write new music. Norris, whose style is a fusion of blues, funk and jazz, is working on a solo acoustic guitar project. In 2005, Norris and a few other bay area musicians released a self-titled album, The Billy Norris Project.

And Norris made his way back to Letterman's show. In 2005, he was one of 29 student musicians selected to participate in the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensembles. Members of the group performed at events surrounding the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, including the Letterman show.

"Without my music, I wouldn't be the same person," Norris said. "Music is such a huge part of who I am."

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: He's home for a local gig this month. The Billy Norris Project opens for Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa on Feb. 29. His Web site: www.billynorrismusic.com.

[Last modified February 8, 2008, 16:16:32]