This morning I was thrilled to receive confirmation that Gloria McMillan, Stuffy Singer and Beverly Washburn have confirmed their attendance at this years’s REPS SHOWCASE. Three nicer people you could not meet. I first met Gloria McMillan in 2009 when I attended my first REPS SHOWCASE. Gloria was directing the radio version of the Wizard of Oz for which I was asked to do the barking for Toto and also to provide a couple of munchkin voices. How they knew I specialized in animal sounds and young children’s voices is anyone’s guess but there I was in this amazing production and very thrilled to be a part of it. Gloria from the get go was extremely delightful and gracious and I enjoyed working with her immensely. Gloria McMillan is best remembered for her long running role of Harriet Conklin on Our Miss Brooks but she has an endless number of radio appearances. I am really looking forward to seeing Gloria, Stuffy and Beverly. Stuffy started out as a young child actor in radio before moving on to television. Later he became a world class athlete before becoming a successful financial advisor based in Southern California (the profession he has held for the last 30 years). Forget any preconceived ideas that you may have had about financial advisors being introverted and well, er “stuffy” (no pun intended) because Stuffy Singer is not . . . . he’s a whole lot of fun. From the time he arrives in Seattle on Thursday evening until Showcase ends on Sunday afternoon, we have shared many laughs together and entertained a good story or two. I imagine Stuffy to have been somewhat of a prankster when he was young. Stuffy Singer gave up acting many, many years ago but in the 40s and 50s he had a very long list of radio and early TV credits. His most notable appearances included Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve, Suspense and many other shows. Now Beverly , she is just one of the sweetest , nicest and caring people I know and she still continues to do some acting today and boy is she a great actress. At the 2015 Showcase she brought down the house with her intense and emotional performance of a wife who has just moments to save her husband from the electric chair after he was wrongly convicted. The performance received a standing ovation which should not surprise anyone considering that Beverly has years of professional experience starting in radio and motion pictures and then on to over 500 TV appearances.
