Alumni Spotlight: Bruce Kimmel
On Friday, May 31st LACC alumnus Bruce Kimmel hosted a night at the Camino Theatre with famed songwriter Richard M. Sherman (Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Winnie the Pooh, and much, much more). The event, free to the public, was a night of stories and memories from Richard Sherman’s life, punctuated by live performances of some of his songs. The grand finale of the evening was the debut of the song, ‘Two Roads’, written, arranged and performed by Bruce and Richard.
Two Roads: Bruce and Richard’s Paths Cross
Twelve years ago, Richard Sherman and his wife were shopping at Century City Mall when over the speaker system Richard heard a song he had written, but arranged in an entirely different way. He immediately went to the music section of his local Borders, found the CD of Bruce’s arrangements, and decided to ask the clerk if she knew how to contact Bruce. It just so happens that the clerk was a personal friend of Bruce and connected the two of them.
They have remained friends ever since and had always talked about writing a song together. Then one night last November an idea came to Bruce. He presented the lyrics to Richard at a Christmas party as a gift. Three days later, Richard called Bruce to say he had written the music and made some tiny adjustments in the lyric, and over the next few weeks they worked together on getting the song just right, resulting in the song Two Roads.
If Not For LACC…
Bruce attended LACC from 1965-1968 and graduated from the prestigious Theatre Academy. A year after graduation, still trying to breaking into show business, Bruce received a call from the LACC theatre department asking him to come back as the lead role in “Jimmy Shine”. Bruce agreed to do it and as it so happens, fellow alumna Shelley Morrison (Flying Nun, Will & Grace) was sitting in the audience and immediately contacted her agent and told him to sign Bruce. The next day Bruce signed with her agent and two weeks later Bruce was doing his first guest shot on television!
Career
In addition to his long acting and directing career, Bruce is also an author of 14 books, both fiction and non-fiction. His latest ‘Red Gold’ was published in March 2014. However, this man of many hats has found the most joy in his work as a music producer. Bruce has become one of the leading producers of theatre music, recording songs from on and off Broadway musicals, and solo albums with a huge variety of Broadway and pop singers, including Petula Clark and Helen Reddy. Currently, he has produced over 180 albums. This work led to Grammy nominations, one for the revival cast album of Hello Dolly! and the other for the album I Never Told You, featuring jazz pianist Fred Hersch.
Throughout the years Bruce has come back to campus to produce a variety of shows and plays. Most recently he was back on campus for the Spring 2014 semester to produce the musical Li’l Abner, a production which included LACC students and outside talent. It was an incredible show that connected students with Los Angeles based actors. His commitment to LACC students is unwavering and the LACC Foundation is thankful for his commitment throughout the years to his alma mater.
Where to Find Bruce
The first Sunday of every month you can find Bruce producing a night of musical performances at Sterling’s Upstairs at the Federal. He has also blogged every day since November 9, 2001 making his the longest running daily blog in world history!
