Happy Birthday Michael Delorenzo

 

Fame Connections of the Month: Michael Jackson

 Michael Jackson born in 1958 is an American singer, songwriter, producer, actor and humanitarian.  Michael's performing talents were obvious from an early age and he joined his brothers in the group the Jackson 5 when he was 6 years old and quickly became the lead singer.  By age 14 Michael was releasing solo records.

As a perfectionist he strove to be the best and in 1982 he released "Thriller" which catapulted him into mega success and it is still the biggest selling album of all time. His music and dancing known all around the World.

Albums, music videos, tours and publicity became bigger and  bigger and he's worked with some of the biggest recording artists in the World including Diana Ross, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.  

In later years he seemed to be surrounded by controversy and died suddenly aged 50 in 2009, from cardiac arrest caused by a medication overdose.

Janet Jackson, Michael's younger sister joined the cast of Fame in 1984 aged 18 years old.  Growing up the siblings had been very close but Michael's success eclipsed other family members. Janet had started performing on Family variety shows when she was 7 years old and a number of acting roles on TV led to a recording contract.  

Inspired by Michael's success Janet wanted a taste of it too and she has stated that she has always been very competitive with her brother. Initially the 2 would avoid directly competing with each other and would not release albums at the same time.  Which led to silly rumours that they were in fact the same person. 

During periods where allegations were made against Michael Janet always stood by her brother. In 1995 she agreed to work with him on "Scream", a duet to promote his History album, bringing the siblings to dance together for first time in a music video.

When Debbie Allen first started her career in the early 70s she very quickly came to the attention of Michael and the two became friends. Michael loved to dance and worked with Debbie to learn more about different styles of dance.

Debbie has always been a strong supporter of Michael's and has presented awards to him and done a number of tributes to him over the years, including in the Fame looks at the music of 1983 concert, where she performed a medley of three of his songs from the Thriller Album.  

Fame dancer Michael  Delorenzo worked with Michael Jackson as one of the dancers in both the 1983 music videos for "Beat It" and "Thriller".

Fame dancer Randy Allaire worked with Michael Jackson as one of the dancers for 8 years performing as one of the back up dancers at concerts and TV performances. Randy Said: “Through the Bad and Dangerous world tours and all of Michael’s stage and live TV performances over eight years, I had a once in a lifetime journey with Michael. Onstage, my experience was unique because of how Michael integrated us in his shows. In many ways the experience for us was as close as you can get to being a pop star without having your name on the ticket. When you had the privilege and opportunity to work with Michael, you wanted to do your best all the time. “Michael was a constant learner. He studied the greats and watched and listened to everything. Michael was a firm believer that everyone can make a difference. “As a performer, Michael had the instrument, talent and gift, and against all odds he continued to push forward. In life, especially when he performed, he engaged one million percent."

"Fame" used Michael's music a few times. Firstly Lori Singer performed "Don't Stop Until You Get Enough" on her cello during the 1982/1983 concerts. Gene, Debbie and the dancers danced to "Can You Feel It" in season 1 and the dancers danced to an instrumental of "Wanna Be Starting Something" in season 2. As mentioned Debbie and the dancers performed a tribute in the Season 3 "Looks at the Music of 19832 concert and in season 4 Janet performs "I Want You Back" during the Heart of Rock N Roll Part 2 Concert.    

The Waters Family who provided backing vocals for the Fame albums and concerts worked with Michael providing background vocals on "You Wanna Be Startin Something".

Debbie Allen Dancing in the Wings TV Special 1985

Debbie Allen and the Fame Dancer star in the  "Dancing in the Wings" TV Special from 1985. With thanks to Larry for sharing this video.

Michael Delorenzo Don't Do Drugs PSA 1986

Michael Delorenzo Don't Do Drugs PSA 1986

Michael Delorenzo New York Undercover Cop TV Guide Article

Michael Delorenzo New York Undercover TV Guide Article 1994

Michael Delorenzo Dream Guys Magazine 1989

Michael Delorenzo Dream Guys Magazine 1989

Michael Delorenzo Hollywood Dream Makers Interview 2021

 

Michael Delorenzo Hollywood Dream Makers Interview 2021

Michael Delorenzo TV Guide Article 1994

Michael Delorenzo article from TV Guide 1994 about his New York Undercover Series.

Character of the Month - Michael

 Michael (we don't know his surname)  is one of Lydia's top dance students. second only to Leroy in his dance prowess. He is talented and competitive.

With his dark short or sometimes curly hair and brown eyes he's a popular student.

In "Feelings" he replaces Leroy in a show when Leroy is late to rehearsals. Even when Michael wants Leroy to have the part back Lydia insists he's dancing the lead.

Michael is tough and ambitious and often clashes with Chris Donlon. In "Breakdance" coach opposing street gangs in a break dance competition. Then in "The Home Front" when michael is directing the show he clashes with chris who as the lead dancer keeps missing reheasals. 

Michael isn't scared to use circumstances to his advantage. In "Home Again" having saved Vice Principal Morloch from choking he then acts out and starts some mischievous trouble knowing Morloch won't punish him.  

 

Lay Back And Be Cool - Michael Delorenzo Version

 "Lay Back And Be Cool" written by Enid Levine is performed by Michael Delorenzo in the season 2 episode "Feelings".

Download MP3

Michael Delorenzo Press Release Credits

 

Michael Delorenzo American Lung Association article 1984

Michael Delorenzo American Lung Association article 1984. 

Michael Delorenzo Right On Interview 1983

Michael Delorenzo Right On Interview 1983

Michael Delorenzo - Cast Member of the Month

 

Michael Delorenzo was born in the Bronx, New York City on 31st October 1959, making his star sign Scorpio. Scorpios have been described as Ambitious, Honest, Loyal and Determined. For those individuals born on Halloween, it is said that they have an increased sense of loyalty and dependability and have great leadership skills.  

Michael is half Italian and half Puerto Rican. His Father Arthur is Italian and his Mother Carmen is Puerto Rican. Raised in the Bronx, Michael is the second oldest of four children. He has one sister and 2 brothers. 

He started dancing at age 7 when his Mother insisted on him taking dancing lessons to give him something to do afterschool to avoid him getting into any trouble with the other kids. He developed a passion for Ballet and studied it for 8 years. In that time he won Scholarships to the School of American Ballet and The New York School of Ballet. "I couldn't tell a lot of people I was doing ballet... I used to run home from school and get my ballet slippers, but I had to tell people I was going to the dentist like three times a week. It was a good thing I had braces then.”

His dream of becoming a top Ballet Dancer ended when he was 16 after he had an knee injury and he took a break from dancing for around a year. 

 

Michael then decided to turn his talents to acting and attending the real School of Performing Arts in New York. When the Fame Movie was casting he decided to audition but as an actor rather than a dancer. The casting people asked if he could dance, when he said he'd had some training they asked him to perform and were very impressed. so then they asked him to dance for Louis Falco, the choreographer and he got the part. 

"My mother always told me, 'You can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it. Don't let people tell you that you can't. And I've always kept that with me."

From that point he kept dancing and then came the Fame TV Series. Originally signing on to be a dancer. he was then given a small line in one of the episodes where he discovered acting paid a lot more money than dancing. From then his part of Michael was expanded. When Gene Anthony Ray was missing from either a dance routine or from the episode entirely Michael would take on the dance leads and some of Leroy's storylines.  

Michael stayed on Fame for it's first 3 seasons from 1982 to 1984. In that time touring with the cast and performing with them at Concerts and on TV Shows. The disappearance of his Character was never mentioned. He returned for the final episode of season 6.  

Whilst on Fame Michael also worked with the likes of Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie in their Music videos. After fame he appeared in Dance movies "Fast Forward" and "Breakin Through" and TV shows like "Miami Vice", "A Different World" and "The Bronx Zoo". In 1989 he became a main cast member for the last 2 seasons of "Head of the Class".

In 1994 he took the lead in "New York Undercover" which he starred in for 3 seasons. He has continued to guest star on TV in shows like CSI: NY, Blue Bloods and SWAT. Michael has also turned his talents to directing and music, where he utilized his talents for songwriting and playing piano, guitar and drums when he released his first solo album titled "Rescue Me" in 2009. 

He is currently working on new music and his production company DeloVision Inc is looking at new TV and Movie projects. 

Michael Delorenzo Spills the Beans on the cast of Fame Interview 1983

Michael Delorenzo Spills the Beans on the cast of Fame Interview 1983

Quote of the week - Michael Delorenzo

 

American Lung Association Campaign 1984

American Lung Association Campaign 1984

Right On Magazine May 1983

Right On Magazine May 1983

Fame Dancers Then and Now

The Fame Dancers Then and Now!


This was a far harder project than I thought it would be as it's difficult to find up to date information on some many of the dancers. Still i hope you enjoy the ones we did find.