Kenneth Laursen:  

I'm a bit of an intruder into the festivity of MKHS reunions because I am a dreaded "DROPOUT". December of '60, I watched Keppel fade in my rear-view mirror as I left for Tucson, to play in one of the wildest night clubs on the planet. I worked there for almost 6 months with stars like Ray Peterson ("The Wonder of You" "Tell Laura I Love Her"), Jimmy Clanton ("Just A Dream"), Curtis Lee ("Pretty Little Angel Eyes"). The Summer of '60, about the time you all were returning your Caps n Gowns, I was in Las Vegas with Bob Luman & The Shadows("Let's Think About Livin'"). Shortly after that I joined the Champs ("Tequila") for a year. After kissing several frogs, I met The Girl Of My Dreams!!! and we have been married for 27 years. We are blessed with Cara, talented, intelligent, stunning 22 year-old daughter who graduated from high school at the Las Vegas Academy for Performing Arts and is in her fourth year at UNLV. She is a model, singer, and dancer working in shows and conventions in Las Vegas. She wears the sash and crown of Miss Las Vegas 2011 in the Miss America Organization. Over 35 years, I played in shows across the US and in the Bahamas, France, and Saudi Arabia. Much of my career was on the West Coast from San Diego to Seattle and was at the, now underwater, Reuben E. Lee in Newport Beach for 6 months a year from 1973 to 1982. The act featured music with a large hunk of comedy. Mr. Kemp once asked me, "Are you some kind of a comedian?" Guess I was. I did TV/film voice-overs, headlined on cruise ships for a couple years and was Cruise Director on the Stardancer, now called the Viking...Expand for more