PR Paul - Cast Member of the Month

P.R. Paul

“I live such an incredibly blessed life and giving back to the community is of paramount importance to me.”

P.R. Paul was born Paul Ray Rosenbaum on 28^th July 1956 making his star sign Leo. Leo’s can be described as Confident, self-expressive, loyal, honorable, affectionate, regal, romantic and fun.

Born in New York P.R. was raised by his parents Annette and Alvin and from an early age he knew he wanted to perform. Aged 8 his Father signed him up with a talent agency where he soon started getting professional work, appearing in over 50 TV commercials for products like Ajax, Listerine, and View-master.

In 7^th Grade he started attending a Professional Children’s school in Manhattan, where he shared classes with a number of other celebrities including Irene Cara.  As a teenager he trained at the New York and Berkoff schools of drama. Moving to L.A. in 1978, P.R. then starred in the film, “The Hollywood Knights” in 1980, with Michelle Pfeiffer.

Then came “Fame” where P.R. was cast as drama student Montgomery MacNeill in Season 1.He featured in 16 episode and returned to for the final episode in 1987.  

Sadly producers axed the character and P.R. left the series.

P.R. also performed with a band named “Raw Meat”. 

After “Fame” he continued his music and acting career, guest staring on other American TV shows like “The Dukes of Hazzard”, “Chips”, “Designing Women” and appearing in the 1984 comedy movie “Snowballing”. Then in 1988 he appeared in his first theatre play, “Half Dressed Streets”.

In 1989 after the death of his beloved Father, P.R. faced a major dilemma. Should he give up acting to take over the family business or sell the dream his Father had worked so hard to create?  That summer the decision was made and P.R. semi retired from acting to run the Flair House Store in Ocean Beach, Fire Island, working hard to continue his Father’s legacy. 

In 2004 P.R. decided to settle down and marry his partner Joy in Hawaii.

Life took a dramatic turn in 2007, where out of nowhere and with no symptoms, P.R. was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. After 6 months of intense treatments, P.R. knew that his healing was nothing short of a miracle. He continued working for 2 more years in the Family business but decided it was time to downgrade the stress and savour his newfound lease on life. The business was sold in 2010 and he went back to his first love; acting, performing and writing music. 

He strongly felt that his gratitude for life and all the bounties he has been gifted should be passed on.

In 2017, P.R. was asked to participate in the “Fame” Reunion concert to benefit the Actors Fund in Los Angeles. This was the first time he’d performed with his cast mates since 1987. He had such a great time reconnecting & performing with everybody that it gave him the idea to create a music video. He co-wrote the song "Satellite" with his writing partner, Ralph Stevens, which was recorded by the cast as “The Friends of Fame” and released to benefit two youth-centred charity organizations (StreetSolid in Nashville and The Maine Youth Rock Orchestra).

In 2019 P.R. joined his fellow cast mates at the Fame U.K. Reunion in Liverpool and said: "Post remission, I decided to sell the business. I reconnected with my Fame cast mates in 2017 and was profoundly affected by our reunion.… I'm beyond honored and excited to be with my Fame family and fans again in Liverpool to raise money for another important charity.”

P.R. is still writing and making music. In January 2021 he released a new single and video: "Hot Times In the City." He's also more active in interviews than ever before and organized the Fame lockdown living room concert in 2020. He's also life long friends with Valerie Landsburg who he refers to as his other wife.