Well, the local press coverage of me portraying “Queen Elizabeth” just won’t quit! Apparently people just can’t get enough of Her Roy - “Al” Highness…ME! The Neal Rubin article about my latest adventures as “The Queen” appeared in the on-line edition of Sunday’s Detroit News, but today it’s in full, living color on Page 2 of the printed edition of the News. I almost spilled my $300 cup of coffee at Starbuck’s this morning when I flipped the paper open. If you can’t get to a newsstand near you, I’ve copied the article below for your reading enjoyment! Remember, the article is for “immature” audiences only.
Purtan Sidekick Alan Muskovitz Works Out the Next Stage of His Entertaining Career.
By Neal Rubin
Purtan sidekick Alan Muskovitz works out the next stage of his entertaining career Alan Muskovitz was on his way to Florida, taking a week off from his year off, when he had a sudden, piercing thought. He’s been trying not to overdo the cogitation, but he found himself wondering nonetheless: If he were still on the radio with Dick Purtan, what would he be doing about the royal wedding? It’s been 53 weeks since Purtan signed off at WOMC-FM (104.3), leaving Muskovitz to fend for himself and actually get some sleep for a change. Known as Big Al Muskavito during his 14 full-time years on a truly iconic show, Muskovitz wrote scripts, acted them out and did upwards of 60 different voices. For a stage performance that happened to fall on Purtan’s birthday, he also dressed like Marilyn Monroe and sang a breathy “Happy Birthday.” Few people can (or would) claim that skill set, and it’s one that Muskovitz is only now figuring out how to apply to life off the air. That takes us back to the original question about the royal wedding, and the answer was obvious: Dress like Queen Elizabeth II and dance around his living room.
Over-the-top and big-in-the-bottom, Muskovitz’s queen is cavorting through videos on YouTube and stands widely available for radio shows, television programs, conventions, bridal shops or bar mitzvahs. After a year of recharging, he and Her Highness are telling the world two things. First, “I’m out there, I’m creative, and I want to work again doing creative things.” Second, he’s very difficult to embarrass. Funny since fourth grade Muskovitz, 56, was the kid in fourth grade who not only knew all the routines on Bill Cosby’s latest album, he could deliver them in Cosby’s voice. He went on to become the funniest real estate advertising specialist in Oakland County, and that’s what he might still be if he and his wife hadn’t sold their condo to WJBK-TV (Channel 2) newscaster Sherry Margolis and her husband, writer Jeff Zaslow. The four became fast friends, and having laughed most of the way up north one day, Margolis told Muskovitz, “You should be on Dick Purtan’s show.” It was 1992, and that was like telling a guy spinning stories at a party he should be sitting next to Johnny Carson. Yeah, right, Muskovitz said, but Margolis reached out, Purtan’s producer agreed to listen to an audition tape, and then the phone rang: Can you do Bill Clinton? No problem. He started with Purtan as an occasional voice, then came aboard permanently when the show moved to WOMC. Once, he did his Regis Philbin for Philbin, who talked about it the next day on his show. Another time, he talked his way through the Townsend Hotel switchboard as Sen. Edward Kennedy to reach John F. Kennedy Jr., then did it again as Jimmy Carter. Landscape changes Then radio changed and the fun leached out of it and Purtan retired, because you can’t do comedy when management is pestering you to play 14 songs an hour. Writing late and performing early, Muskovitz had been existing on maybe 41/2 hours of sleep a night. Zaslow advised him to sit back for a while, figure out his niche and shoot at a wider target. “I think he’d be a great monologue writer for one of the late-night TV shows, and he could also do entertaining bits here and there on air,” Zaslow said. “I could also picture him in prison, entertaining the guards for extra rations.” Muskovitz is open to most anything. He played the leader of a polka band on an episode of “Detroit 1-8-7,” and he’s done some voice-overs, but competition is so high and technology is so easy that impressionists are competing against people half a continent away who’ll work for $25. The Queen Elizabeth videos went to Jay Leno, who said no, and “The View,” which said nothing, and Ellen Degeneres, whose people asked, “Can you dance?” So he kicked up his sensible shoes and taped another routine — and they said, “Sorry. Don’t need you.” It’s a long race, though, and he’s just out of the starting blocks, and he’s an optimist. By Friday morning, the dancing video had 38 views online. “I’m only 999,962 hits away,” he said, “from going viral.”
Assuming you’ve read this far, thank you for sticking with me! I’ll see you back here tomorrow…Unless I’m summoned to the Tower of London for a haircut!
Big Al