arts & entertainment

Granting Dreams For Tweens

New live show gives star-struck youngsters the
chance to meet their TV idols.

Alison Schwartz
I Special to the Jewish News

M

ike Gold is the owner of
Celebrity Placement Services
in West Bloomfield, a company
that connects celebrities and sports per-
sonalities with the public. But his latest
venture was inspired by his own family.
Like the majority of tween girls, Gold's
two daughters, Avery, 10, and Addisyn, 6,
are huge fans of Disney and Nickelodeon
TV shows. "They love the kid actors, and
the shows are on constantly in my house,"
he explains.
Celebrity Placement Services, which
was founded in 1988 by Gold, has often
brought young TV actors to autograph
sessions promoting events around the
country.
"An individual autograph encounter
lasts 3 to 10 seconds, and the kids [are]
absolutely thrilled. But then they come
up to me at events and ask questions like:
`Where is their bodyguard?' or 'Do they
still get an allowance?"' says Gold.
"It was obvious that the concept of
bringing children together with their
TV idols, giving them the chance to ask
questions and find out behind-the-scenes
secrets, would be a fantastic interactive
live show."
The result is Tween Stars Live Tour,
which kicks off at Freedom Hill in Sterling
Heights on Saturday, July 27.
Gold, who is married to Linsey, a breast
surgeon, knew exactly whom to ask for
guidance and input in choosing the stars:
first, his girls, and then around 40 other
local children.
The result is a dream tween cast of eight

Jews

Nate Bloom

Special to the Jewish News

3

Glee News

Cory Monteith, 31, a (non-Jewish)
star of the hit show Glee, and the
boyfriend of his Glee co-star, actress
2
Lea Michele, 26, died of a toxic mix of
alcohol and heroin on July 13. After
Monteith's death, Michele (who plays
Jewish character Rachel Berry on
the show) was described as a "Jewish
actress" in the Jewish media and
elsewhere. This is incorrect: While
she has a Jewish father, Michele was
raised in her mother's Catholic faith.
On a much happier note: It was
announced on July 10 that singer
Adam Lambert, 31, will join the cast
of Glee in the upcoming season. It is
currently unclear whether his role

cu
cu
i s

74

July 25 • 2013

from Disney and Nickelodeon shows:
Peyton List ("Emma" on Disney's Jessie and
one of the stars of last year's summer movie
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days); Daniella
Monet ("Trina" on Nickelodeon's Victorious
and the host of the new Nickelodeon show
Awesomeness TV); Jennifer Stone ("Harper"
on Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place);
Calum Worthy ("Dez" on Disney's Austin
6 Ally); Alexandria DeBerry ("Paisley" on
Disney's A.N.T. Farm); Davis Cleveland
("Flynn" on Disney's Shake It Up); Raven
Goodwin ("Ivy" on Disney's Good Luck
Charlie); and Adam Irigoyen ("Deuce" on
Disney's Shake It Up).
The interactive family show will feature
a question-and-answer session, tween
trivia, secret show scoops and a chance for
young fans to act on stage with their tween
idols.
Following the show, from 3:30-5:30
p.m., there will be a Tween Stars & Me
exclusive meet-and-greet for the first 300
fans buying separate tickets to the event.
Each fan will have the opportunity to meet
each star and get both an autograph and
have a photo taken with them.
Tween Stars Live Tour is being pro-
duced by another wing of Gold's company,
Celebrity Events Group, which actually
creates events to bring celebrities and fans
together.
This latest tween venture is a huge
source of pleasure, he says.
Gold, 50, launched his celebrity busi-
ness in the '80s when some of his closest
friends were Detroit athletes. He helped
organize local appearances and autograph-
signing sessions at malls, card shows and
with retailers. Soon he began working with
Red Wings players.

will be as a regular
or recurring cast
member, or as a
guest star in one
episode or sev-
eral. Lambert first
became famous in
2009 when he fin-
ished as runner-up
on American Idol.

Lambert

Smart Shows
Who Do You Think You Are?, a well-

made show exploring the ancestry of
celebrities, ran for three seasons on
NBC. It returns with eight new epi-
sodes on cable station TLC, airing 9
p.m. Tuesdays. It kicked off on July
23, but with many encore showings.
Actress Lisa Kudrow, 49, is the pro-
ducer of the series. This time, just one

Before he knew
Left to right: Tween stars Calum Worthy, Peyton List,
it, Gold was booking
Noah Munck (not appearing on tour) and promoter Mike
appearances for athletes
Gold, with daughter Avery Gold, in front. Myrtle Beach,
all over the country, had
S.C., is a sponsor of the tour.
landed an account with
Sears to provide celebri-
ties for promotions and
found himself immersed
in the world of soap-opera
stars.
Today, in addition to
malls and retail stores, he
books a wide variety of
appearances at casinos,
fairs, festivals, founda-
tions, hospitals and minor
Promoting the tween tour, Alexandria DeBerry of
league sports events.
Disney's A.N.T. Farm recently visited with campers at
"Now I work with
Willoway Day Camp in West Bloomfield.
actors and personalities
from prime time and
reality TV, people in the news, political
faces when they meet their stars is just
pundits — basically any type of celeb-
awesome. There is nothing quite like mak-
rity," explains Gold, who is a member of
ing a dream come true:'
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
Alison Schwartz is vice president for public
"Two weeks before the last general
relations at the CKC media and public relations
election, we had political power couple
James Carville and Mary Matalin in for
agency in Farmington Hills.
an appearance. I've got kidnap victim
Elizabeth Smart booked for a women's
Tween Stars Live Tour comes to
conference in November:'
Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights at
Gold produced "farewell tours" for the
1-3 p.m. Saturday, July 27. $35 main
popular actors of some beloved daytime
floor pavilion; $55-$95 premium
soap operas when they were canceled.
seats. (888) 929-7849; www.
"There were fans who had been watch-
tweenstarslivetour.com . Separate
ing Guiding Light for more than 60 years,
tickets are required for Tween Stars
and they felt as if the stars were their fam-
and Me Autograph Signing and Photo
ily," he explains. "I didn't know whether to
Session, which runs 3:30-5:30 p.m.
hug them — or shake them and remind
$75 per tween/one chaperone per
them it was just a TV show:'
family admitted free. (866) 364-
As for connecting kids and celebrities,
0330; www.tweenstarslivetour.com .
he says, "Seeing the huge smiles on kids'

❑

of the eight celebs has
Jewish roots: come-
dian Chelsea Handler,
38, who was raised in
her father's Jewish
faith. She'll be profiled
in the Aug. 6 episode.
If you get Ovation
Handler
through your cable/
satellite provider,
you'll have a chance to watch three
new programs that began this month:
Music Mavericks ( 9 p.m. Thursdays)
profiles big-time pop stars, includ-
ing Neil Diamond and Paul Simon (air
dates to be announced); Broadway Bash
(10 p.m. Fridays) features Broadway
folks (no doubt, many of them Jewish)
giving an inside scoop on just-aired
Smash re-runs, plus an examination of
Broadway past and present; and Culture

Pop (10:30 p.m. Fridays), a news show,
features a round-up of the arts.

At The Movies

Opening on Friday, July 27, is the The
To-Do List, a "sex comedy" starring
Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) as
a smart, but nerdy, teen girl determined
to become much less innocent before
she goes off to college. This film is
verbally explicit and has a lot of crude
humor, but it has
no nudity. It's being
heralded as a female-
oriented equivalent
of American Pie. The
cast includes Rachel
Bilson, 31, Andy
Samberg, 34, and

Christopher Mintz-
Plasse, 24.

❑

Bilson