George Marcy at Don't Tell Mama

I've followed George Marcy's career since he was a young dancer in Broadway musicals such as TOP BANANA, DAMN YANKEES, CARNIVAL! and WEST SIDE STORY in which he played Bernardo for three years. I lost track of him after the 1969 musical flop BILLY, a rock musical version of BILLY BUDD (I kid you not) and then he suddenly turned up performing John (Cha Cha) O'Connell's choreography in the recent movie ENCHANTED. Naturally, I was intrigued to see that he was playing a one-night gig at Don't Tell Mama on 46th St and I'm so glad we saw his act. Still a fine looking man at the age of 83, he gave up performing in 1970 to become one of NYC's best known bartenders for several years before making a fortune as a stockbroker. After 14 years of that he moved to Las Vegas where he developed a crystal meth addiction and gambled all his money away. At the age of 65 he was sitting in a hotel room with a bottle of vodka when he realised that he needed to get back to New York and the stage. He returned to a town that had greatly changed, all his friends now long gone, but he got an apartment, put together a cabaret act and now here he is, still hoofing and belting with the best of them. Inspiring.