MISCELLANEOUS

UPDATE: 10/12/15 - Ted's website now has a new name! You can visit it at this link:

https://tedneeley.com/

UPDATE: 3/13/07 - Ted now has his own website!  You can visit it at this link:

http://neeleyontheroad.com/ 


BREAKING NEWS!!!

TED'S NEW 2024-2025 VENUES
AND PROJECTS!!!

1. UPDATE 7/1/24 (From Ted Neeley.com and Ted's Facebook Page)

 

2024-2025 TED NEELEY - THE FAREWELL TOUR

DATES

CITY

THEATRE

December 3, 2024

Livermore, CA

The Vine Cinema

December 6-7, 2024

Santa Ana, CA

The Frida Cinema

Please keep checking here, on Ted's Facebook page & on tedneeley.com, as more dates will be announced.

For more details on this tour, you can also go HERE. and HERE


 

2. UPDATE 6/18/24 (From Ted Neeley.com and Ted's Facebook Page)

TED AND YVONNE'S NEW MEMORIAL VIDEO: "NOW AND THEN"!!!
(In loving memory of director Norman Jewison and John & George from our favorite band, The Beatles! …and to all our loved ones we’ve recently lost… Directed By: Frank Munoz Produced By: Brenda Shahpari Edited By: Dave Streicher The Band: Clinton Degan - Musical Director Ethan Leff - drums Francis Hickey - bass Sean Rohrer - guitar Tim Carrigg - keyboards Alida McKeon - vocals, percussion Fatima Elmi - vocals Filmed at the Greenwich Odeum, East Greenwich, RI, 3/30-31/2024)

 


 

3. UPDATE 4/5/24 (From Ted Neeley.com and Ted's Facebook Page)

TED AND YVONNE'S MEXICAN RIVIERA PRINCESS CRUISE!!!





 

4. SuperstarS The Documentary Extended Version

Available on Blu Ray and DVD


A SPECIAL REQUEST FROM TED


"TED" MISCELLANEOUS APPEARANCES AND SITE FINDS

BY POPULAR REQUEST: CHECK OUT THE NEW JCS FACE MASK!!!



 

BOOK TED ON CAMEO TO SEND ALL YOUR BEST WISHES!!!




 

TED'S ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE
(FACEBOOK UPDATE: 9/21/14)

Published on Sep 21, 2014

In Sicily, the first stop of the Jesus Christ Superstar Italy Tour, Ted Neeley, during soundcheck at Teatro di Verdura, was challenged by RadioStreet Messina to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge! He accepts & challenges his good friend & 'Rock Opera' Producer Frank Munoz! Please do your part and donate to this wonderful life-saving foundation at www.alsa.org.

Ted is also a supporter of the cause #stoconnemosud of the Fondazione Aurora Onlus - Centro Clinico NEMO SUD (Neuromuscular Omnicentre).

LA ROCK AND ROLL AUTOGRAPH SHOW - 4/20-21/13

Ted made an appearance at this show in April! Below is Ted's message on this from his Faceboom Page, as well as some pictures from the show that he posted. To see the complete album Ted posted, go HERE.

From Ted's 4/23 Facebook Page Post:

Happy Tuesday everyone! Yep, that's Barry Dennen and me supporting each other at The Hollywood Show, where we had a great time doing our side by side thing this past weekend, April 20th and 21st. Thank you everyone, for all of your kindness, for your smiles and especially for all of your generous hugs. I look forward to seeing each of you again, face to face, somewhere out there, one day soon.

Ted.

66923704AO106_The_Hollywood

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 20: Actor Ted Neeley and actor Barry Dennen attend The Hollywood Show held at Westin LAX Hotel on April 20, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/WireImage) *** Local Caption *** Ted Neeley; Barry Dennen 2013 Albert L. Ortega:








 

UPDATE - 12/12/12

Ted was slated to appear as "Merdle" in the Rubicon Theatre Company's 2012 - 2013 "Our Town - Your Theatre" Season this December, but was replaced by Richard Gould. I'm sure you all surmised this, since Ted is in the recording studio at this time, but I'm just adding updates as I get them. Playbill has an article on thie show HERE.

HERE'S THE INFO ON THE SHOW, I HEARD IT WAS AMAZING - LET'S HOPE IT TOURS, LIKE DADDY LONG LEGS DID:

December 12 - 23, 2012
World Premiere Staged Concert

Music and Lyrics by Paul Gordon
Book by Paul Gordon, John Caird and Sam Caird
Based on Characters Created by Charles Dickens
Musical Supervision/Orchestrations/Direction by Brad Haak
Directed by John Caird and Sam Caird

In this modern musical mashup from the creators of Daddy Long Legs, Estella Scrooge, a young Wall Street tycoon and direct descendent of Ebenezer, is tested beyond her wildest dreams when fate forces her to visit Pickwick, Ohio on Christmas Eve. There she meets Pip Nickleby (played by Andrew Samonsky-Lt. Cable in Broadway's South Pacific), the proprietor of Harthouse Hotel, a refuge for the lost, lonely and dispossessed. Essie's intention to foreclose is forestalled by the arrival of a snow storm and three rock-'n-roll spirits who take her on a guided tour of her life and… ah…give her the Dickens. Part love story, part ghost story, Little Miss Scrooge is a testament to Dickens' passionate belief in social reform and the power of human kindness and generosity. The cast includes Alyson Lindsay and Ted Neeley.
 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to Lynne Freels (admin@medmatrx.com), we have this wonderful ancestry of the Neeley name and a numerology of Ted's birth date:

NEELEY ANCESTRY AND BIRTH DATE NUMEROLOGY

NAME ORIGIN Compiled by the Media Research Bureau, Washington, D.C.-

Researched by Mildred Neeley Oliver.

The name of Neeley or Neely is said to have been derived from the extremely ancient surname of O'Neill, which was taken from the given name of Niul or Niall. It is found on the ancient Irish and early American records in various forms of Neill, Neil, Neall, neale, Neilye, Neillye, Neleye, Ne lye, Neley, Nely, neilie, Nealie, Neallie, Neally, Nealley, Nealeye, Nealye, Nealey, Nealy, Neelie, Neellie, Neeleye, Neelly, Neelye, Neeley, Neely and others, of which the last two forms mentioned are those most generally accepted in America today and several of the others are also still occasionally used.

It is claimed by some authorities that the O'Neills trace their descent from Niul, son of Phenius Prarsa, King of Scythia, from whom was descended in about the twenty-first generation King Milesius of Spain, whose son, Heremon, became the first King of Ireland about the year 1200 B.C.

In the year 388 A.D. one Niall the Great, who was the fifty-third in descent from Heremon, was the ruler of Ireland. The direct descendants of this last mentioned Niall occupied the throne of Ireland for more than six hundred years, many of them being named Niall. The forty-sixth monarch, Daniel Armach O'Neill, is said to have died in 1064 and to have been succeeded by Malechy, who was succeeded by King Mortough Mac Neill, who died in 1168 and was the last native king of Ireland of the Hy-Niall line. from this ancient Irish line were descended the O'Neills of the British Isle, from whom many of the Neeleys and Neelys trace their descent.

There were several families of Neele, Neyle, Neile and neale living in England before the year 1500. It is not known from which of the many illustriuous lines of the family in Great Britain the earliest emigrants of the name to America were descended, but it is generally believed that all of the Neeleys and Neelys (and those families which bore the many variations of these names as well) were of extremely ancient origin and, in most cases, of common derivation at a remote period. It is also generally believed that most of the Neeleys and Neelys were of Irish Lineage and descende d from the O'Neills.

The first of the name in America was one Teague Nealy or Neely, who came from either England or Ireland to America as early as 1655 and settled in Northampton County, Virginia. Unfortunately, however, nothing is definitely known concerning the immediate family or descendants, if any, of this early emigrant.

By the early 1700's, there were Neally or Nealleys (Neely or Neeley) in New Hampshire, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. The descendants of these and of later emigrants of the name to America have spread into all parts of the United States and have aided as much in the growth of the nation as their ancestors aided in its founding and establishment upon this continent. They were known for their energy, industry, integrity, fortitude, determination, pride, independence of thought and action, and courage.

Among those of the Neel(e)ys who fought in the War of the Revolution were Captain Abraham of New York; Lt. Benjamin & Capt. William of Pennsylvania; James, Hugh, Isaac, James Jr., John and Alexander of Virginia; and numerous other as well from various other New England and Southern Colonies. William, James, John, Richard, Thomas, Edward, Frances, Joseph, Matthew, Benjamin and Andrew are some of the Christian names most highly favored by the family for its male progeny.

Blazon of Arms

The Neeley coat of Arms hereby illustrated is officially documented in Burke's General Armory. The original description of the Arms (shield) is as follows:

"Quarterly, 1st and 4th, gu. three greyhounds' heads erased ar. collared or; 2nd and 3rd, or, a lion ramp. Double queued vert. "When translated the Blazon also describes the original colors of the neeley Arms as: "Quartered: 1 and 4 red, three silver greyhounds' heads jagged with a gold collar; 2 and 3 gold, a green lion attacking with two tails 2E"

- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - 

Now, I'm not sure the numerology is completely accurate (Ted certainly does know how to be aggressive to promote himself  ;-) ) but it is interesting just the same:

Any Numerologists in the group?

I'm having fun with this; so, I'm running with the topic.

If one adds all of the numbers in Ted's birth date, the result is "1":

20 September 1943

2 + 0 + 9 + 1 + 9 + 4 + 3 = 28

2 + 8 = 10

1 + 0 = 1

According to this web site,

http://www.astrology-numerology.com/num-lifepath.html, Life Path #1 is described as:

"The Life Path 1 drive in this life is characterized by individualist desires, independence, and the need for personal attainment. The purpose to be fulfilled on this Life Path is that of becoming independent. This is a two part learning process; first, you must learn to stand on your own two feet and learn not to depend on others. After you are indeed free and independent, you must learn to be a leader. Many of our Generals, corporate leaders, and political leaders are men and women having the Life Path number 1. The 1 always has the potential for greatness as a leader, but they may fail as a follower. Many 1's spend most of their lives shaking off their dependent side. When this happens, there is little time left for enjoying the rewards to be gained through independence. The individual with Life Path 1 has to overcome an environment in which it is very easy to be dependent, and difficult to be independent.

"A person with positive 1 traits abounds in creative inspiration, and possesses the enthusiasm and drive to accomplish a great deal. Your drive and potential for action comes directly from the enormous depth of strength you have. This is both the physical and inner varieties of strength. With this strength comes utter determination and the capability to lead. As a natural leader you have a flair for taking charge of any situation. Highly original, you may have talents as an inventor or innovator of some sort. In any work that you choose, your independent attitude can show through. You have very strong personal needs and desires, and you feel it is always necessary to follow your own convictions. You are ambitious, and either understand or must learn the need for aggressive action to promote yourself. Although you may hide the fact for social reasons, you are highly self-centered and demand to have your way in most circumstances.

"When the 1 Life Path person is not fully developed and expressing the negative side of this number, the demeanor may appear very dependent rather than independent. If you are expressing this negative trait of the number 1, you are likely to be very dissatisfied with your circumstances, and long for self-sufficiency. This is defined as the weak or dependent side of the negative 1 Life Path. On the strong side of this negative curve, the 1 energy can become too self-serving, selfish and egotistical. Over-confidence and impatience mark this individual."

***

Sean Grindle (rochestra@yahoo.com) posted this really cute story of a Ted sighting by Arthur Ryan!

http://confessionso favideostorecler k.blogspot. com/2006/ 07/jesus-saves-at-our- store.html

Confessions of a Video Store Clerk

Observations by a former retail slave!

Friday, July 21, 2006

Jesus Saves! (At our Store!)


I've only seen Jesus twice in my life, once at a rest stop on I-95 in Maryland and the other while behind the counter at the video store. Back in 1990 my parents and I were driving from Virginia to PA. While at a rest stop we stopped off for something to eat at Burger King. While in line we saw Jesus in his long white tunic and red coat coming out of the restroom. My mom started laughing, the long ride had finally gotten to her. I wasn't quite sure what he was doing there, and I was too afraid to approach him and ask for directions or make some other kind of small talk. As we were driving away in our car we again saw Jesus talking to some people pumping gas at the Mobil station. It would be several years till I saw Jesus again. This time I was working a Saturday night at the store when a man with long hair in a ponytail and a small goatee approached the counter. He was dressed in jeans and a plain shirt and looked to be in his late fifties. He looked familiar but I could not place him. He asked to rent several movies all about or dealing with Rasputin. We had a few titles in stock... Rasputin, Rasputin and the Empress, Rasputin the Mad Monk. I asked the gentleman if he had ever rented at our store before, he said "no". So I asked for some identification and he produced a driver's license. While taking the info off of his card I noticed his name was Theodore Neeley. Neeley? I know I've seen that name before. Theodore? Ted? Ted Neeley? That's it, he was Ted Neeley who played Jesus in the 1973 film, Jesus Christ Superstar. He confirmed this to me and was quite surprised that I knew who he was. A coworker and I both chatted up his performance in the film, and he obliged nicely. It turned out he was rehearsing a new musical in development about Rasputin and he needed the films for research. I at the time was understudying a role in a play at a theatre where his director was the current artistic director. We chatted, I even sold him a membership to our club, but it was short lived since he was only in town while the play rehearsed. To this date I have not run into Jesus anyplace else but will keep you all posted as to his next sighting!

2 Comments:

H. A. Calles said...

According to the Six Degrees of Separation Theory, since I know you (although not personally) now I�m only, just only one degree of separation away from Theodore Neeley. Another famous person to add up to my list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation

9:34 AM  
CPL said...

I was delighted to have the privilege of auditioning for the very same production of RASPUTIN starring the incomparable Ted Neeley. His singing in J.C. Superstar was raw and amazing! I was up for the role of Usipov but could not portray the role due to schedule conflicts. The author and music writer/lyricist is a talented gent by the name of Michael Rapp (short for Rappagnani). He wrote many other musicals based on historical or famous characters including ULYSSES and QUASIMODO.
Ted Neeley is a close and personal friend to Michael and treated everyone in the cast with respect and dignity. They all loved him.
Keep up the great blog and until the next Jesus citing...CPL

***

Here is a very revealing interview from 1995. It's from the original charm.net directory, and Evil Grubbs has it posted on the JCS Forum. NIdsy (niro_roni@yahoo.com) just sent it over again recently, and I thought I'd post it here:

http://www.jesuschr istsuperstar. net/articles/ nym12395. htm

The New York Magazine Jan.23, 1995 Is God Ted?

Ted Neeley is famous for playing the Messiah in the film and the stage revival of Jesus Christ Superstar now at the Garden. But he has no trouble remembering who he really is. Most of the time. 

by Marshall Sella

When Jesus comes to town, he stays at the Paramount. Today he is seated near the second-floor bar, gazing down upon the well-dressed humanity in the lobby as he sips a margarita. "Ninety percent of the hotels on my tour screw up my reservations", he says without a trace of malice.

"Even here - they lost my name entirely. There's still no room for this guy at the inn."

Granted, the Son of Man lounging at the table is not precisely Jesus of Nazareth. He is Ted Neeley, who portrayed a shrieky Messiah in the 1973 Norman Jewison film of Jesus Christ Superstar and who has resurrected his performance for a road show of the rock opera. Over the past two years, the anniversary tour has dragged Neeley (and Carl Anderson, who played Judas in the movie) to 112 cities and towns across America, and it will finally hit New York this Tuesday, the seventeenth, when the play begins a two-week run at the Paramount (no relation to the hotel) in Madison Square Garden. For the time being, though, New York is only a fleeting vision. Neeley has flown all the way from Omaha for this one interview; the next week will find him in Providence and Boston, where he will be crucified, to the delight of local audiences, eight times before returning to New York. The seventeenth, in fact, will be a full day for the miracle boy: At a luncheon, he'll donate a pair of sandals to the Hard Rock Cafe; then he'll do a dress rehearsal of the show - to say nothing of Live at Five - all before opening night. "Honestly", he says, holding out cupped hands to convey honesty, "I never thought anybody would see this show. I figured, they've seen the movie. But people come up to me and say, 'The film changed my life' or 'When I looked into your face, I thought I was looking into the face of God.' Ministers ask me if I'll speak to their congregations. And I've gotta tell you: It scares the hell out of me."

Neeley is wearing a chenille sweater of many colors, with a tiny Jiminy Cricket pinned to the neck. "He's the only other J.C. I know", Neeley says. "I've loved him since I was a kid." I mention Jimmy Carter, Johnny Carson, even Jill Clayburgh, but Neeley's thoughts are elsewhere. He breaks into a soft, high-pitched rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star", causing black-suited Paramount security men to stare up from the lobby.

If Neeley is an unusually jovial man, perhaps it's because the years have been kind to him. His 1973 Jesus wore his youth like a taunt, but these days he is not far shy of 50. (He declines to tell his age, quaintly saying that he "will always be 33".) But Neeley has hardly changed. His beard is still wispy in spots. He is lean and hyperactive. Most reconizable are the wide-set eyes: They don't seem to focus on the same point, giving Neeley the neat trick of appearing to stare straight at you but also beyond you, toward some hallowed middle distance. In short, his face was built to play Jesus. He could be bored to death and still look like he's pondering the nature of sacrifice.

On this night, sacrifice is not on the agenda. Over dinner at Orso, Neeley retraces the winding path that bought him from his childhood in Ranger, Texas, to filming Superstar in Israel. "I've been drumming since I was 4", he says, "and screaming out songs while drumming since I was 8". In high school, he formed a band called the Teddy Neeley Five; after graduating in 1962, Neeley and his pals went to Los Angeles in search of the wild life. They found it. Within a few months, the band was headlining at the legendary club known as the Trip.

"One minute we're playing the Ranger Rotary," he says, "and the next, we're doing covers of tunes by Elvis, James Brown, and the Stones while those guys are sitting right in front of us, hanging out with us. It was quite a scene."

By 1964, Neeley was working Vegas, fronting for Rickles, Cosby, and acts even he can't remember. When the band broke up, Neeley was offered a solo singing gig. "There I was", he says. "Charlie the Chameleon, doing whatever I had to do. So I became Bobby Darin. I got short hair, a tuxedo, the whole bit - every mother's dream - and ended up on the Smothers Brothers, Gleason, and Carson."

Despite the fact that he considers the Bobby Darin impression a formative lesson in acting (not to mention that it earned him enough money to buy a house), Neeley was soon singing in stage productions of Hair and Tommy and playing the role of Reporter/Leper/Understudy in the original Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar. His tux hasn't seen the light of day since.

These days, there are rumors going around that Ted Neeley takes his role far, far too seriously. "I never have a problem knowing who I am," he says. I'm a rock-and-roll drummer from Texas. But for two hours a night, I am, with every fiber of my being, trying to assimilate the essence of Jesus Christ. I'm a palette on which people project the Jesus they came to see."

With supper, Neeley chooses a 1989 Barbaresco - red wine "holds a special significance" for him - then a few exquisite tequilas whose names I cannot now recall. A discussion of Christianity ensues, interrupted only when Neeley ogles the local lovelies. " No one had a clue who Jesus was," he says, arms outstretched. "He was a rabbi with a radical view - a man who could speak in parables and connect. And that thing we call charisma - well, he had a big bag of that. Me, I eat Cheerios for breakfast. Is that charisma?" Laughing, Ted Neeley rises and wanders off to use the lavatory.

As 3 a.m. rolls around, we have somehow ended up in a pool hall on Eleventh Avenue. The place is empty except for two tables in the back, where gangish boys in Jet caps are smoking dope and repeatedly chipping their cue ball onto the floor. One of them has taken to sitting on a stool in front of the CD jukebox and seems to think it's a video game. Neeley walks to a pay phone to whisper a late good night to his wife in Houston, then floats back toward our table, flashing a beneficent smile at the guys as he passes. They reward his kindness with a smirk.

Our game proceeds as you'd expect; Neeley is all charity. He insists that I break, and refuses to penalize me both for scratching and sinking a garbage shot. "A little gift from the Jeez man," he sings, resting his cue horizontally across his shoulders. Eventually, of course, the trouncing begins; God has decreed that his only begotten son must win at billiards. Neeley plays as assuredly as if it were part of his show; the tequila and the late hour have put a glow on him. He finishes me off with a shot that sends the eight ball through the thicket of my many remaining balls and into the side pocket.

After the game, I sit on the edge of the pool table as Neeley contentedly paces back and forth. "This tour started out as a three-month thing," he says. "Bringing it to New York was never part of the plan. But this city has always been a wonder to me." Since trying to picture Christ in a place like this is suddenly not so difficult, I ask Neeley how Jesus of Nazareth would react to New York if he walked its streets today. Neeley draws close and shows how he personally treats homeless people. He asks me to hold out my hand as if I were a supplicant, then takes it solemnly in both of his and stares with dramatic empathy into my bloodshot eyes. There is a moment of puzzled silence at the table behind us, and I try to drag the subject back to Jesus, if we have ever strayed from it. How, I ask, would Christ react to violence? I lean back, fully expecting to hear a few words about forgiveness. "He would react with rage," Neeley says quietly. "I mean, I'm the most nonviolent person I know. But if you move against my wife or children, I will kill you. There is no quarter. It doesn't matter what your background is, what made you violent, why you attack. You fuck up, you die. I am a capital-punishment man. Jesus, I think, would be no different. He knocked over a few tables. He let' em know he was there. I've read so much in the press we've gotten about Judas's strength and Jesus's fraility - but I can kick Judas's ass anytime. That's not the point. Betrayal is a metaphor for love. Jesus, as I understand him, is not weak. The essence of Christ is to say, 'What's mine is yours.' But where I come from is primal - an animal world. You can be Christlike and also be tough."

Neeley has his hands on my shoulders, and he is aiming The Look straight into my face. But not even the subject of vengence has spoiled his merry mood. I take the opportunity to ask him about one especially odd rumor. I've heard it said that when the Superstar cast travels by bus, Neeley sometimes hops off at the city limits so as to arrive on foot, in the style of Christ's entry into Jerusalem. It's just the sort of behavior that sets folks to talking. "If they think I'm in character when I do that," he says, "that's their perception. ...Their words, not mine." This last phrase rings a bell, until I realize it's a line from the play.

***

Another lovely piece named "Superstar Dishes," published on nwi.com on 2/20/08, while Ted was performing with JCS in Chicago can be found HERE.

***


I found an interesting listing for an event Ted did in Ventura on 9/2/01.  Check out this blurb from the calendar listing in the 8/30/01 Ventura County Star: (http://www.insidevc.com/vcs/entertainment/article/0,1375,VCS_232_812992,00.html):

SUN.

Sept. 2

THEATER

"Queen for a Day": 3 to 5 p.m., Ventura College Theatre, 4667 Telegraph Road, Ventura. The musical and theatrical revue will celebrate the 80th birthday of local arts benefactor Helen Yunker, whose made significant contributions to both Ventura College and Rubicon Theatre. Singer-actor Ted Neeley, who starred in "Jesus Christ Superstar" on Broadway and in the hit film, will perform. Reception to follow at Ventura College Guthrie Hall. $80. Deadline for reservations is Aug. 31; call 654-6461 for reservations.


Too bad we didn't know about this one, wouldn't it have been fun to catch Ted "in concert"?  Well, who knows, maybe he'll do it again...


 contract.  

*** 

 TED'S AMAZING MEMORY

For those of you who think Ted won't remember you once he's met you, here is just one of many recounts on his incredible memory/total recall/photographic memory from Michael A. Smith (my own account is on my homepage).  It also comments on Ted's legendary "Tedhugs". Thanks, Moose/Lynne.:

http://www.crazedfanboy.com/npcr/mikesrantpcr209.html

It's early 1993, and I have been invited to attend the dress rehearsal of the 20th Anniversary presentation of the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar." As I mentioned in an earlier chapter, "Jesus Christ Superstar" was the first movie I ever saw alone and it left quite an impression on me. I was visiting my grandfather in St. Petersburg, Florida and he allowed me to go see the movie one afternoon.

If you are not familiar with the film, it begins with a group of school buses stopping in the desert. A group of performers get off the bus, build some quick sets and basically stage the story. At the end of the film, after Christ is crucified, the actors get back on the bus and leave Jesus behind, still on the cross. For whatever reason, them thought that they had left Jesus was very troubling to my 12-year-old mind. After much questioning, my grandfather assured me that Jesus was all right and I went about enjoying the rest of my trip.

After the show ended, I went backstage and was quite shocked to run into actor Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in both the film and the show I had just seen. Still in costume, he was the spitting image of every rendering you've ever seen of Jesus. I'm telling you, this guy must win every Halloween costume contest he enters and he probably scares the hell out of people when he attends Easter Mass. As I approached him I jokingly said, "I'm so glad to see you're all right," and proceeded to tell him my story of seeing the film. When I was finished, he looked at me and asked, in a very quiet voice, "and how is your grandfather?"

Wow! That really floored me. You hear a story like mine and maybe you kind of laugh about it, but you don't ask about granddad! "He passed away some time ago," I told him. Neeley replied, "I'm so sorry," stepped towards me and gave me a huge hug. I can't begin to tell you the feeling I was having. My friend, Marty, who was standing behind Neeley, told me that I had a look on my face like I was going to cry. It is still a feeling that is hard to explain. Anyway, we spent the next 10 minutes or so talking about the show, he introduced me to Carl Anderson, who played Judas in the show, everyone signed autographs and we said good night.

A few years later, the show comes back through Baltimore and I go backstage afterwards. In the time since I last saw Ted Neeley, I had grown a full beard and gained about 50 pounds. As Neeley came towards me, I stuck out my hand and said, "I bet you don't remember me." To my surprise, he said, "you're the little boy who thought they had left me behind at the end of the film. I love that story. I tell it all the time."

Wow.

*** 

TED THE FAMILY MAN

Here's a cute story on how Ted tried to help his daughter Tessa out when she was on the game show "Who wants To Be A Millionaire":

Thanks to Sean Grindle (rochestra@yahoo.com) for finding this blog online:


TESSA'S APPEARANCE ON WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE!

http://forums. go.com/abclocal/ WABC/thread? threadID= 100816

http://www.gameshow newsnet.com/ shortshots/ 012406.html



Transcript 01/24/06 Tessa Neeley

Tessa Neeley
Houston, TX
Student

Often works all day and makes $100 and is so amazed at winning $2000 that she had her boyfriend Miguel pinch her to make sure it wasn't a dream. Miguel is here as her good luck charm.


$4000 What is the term for the formal hearing in which a criminal defendant may plead guilty or not guilty?
A: Arraignment B: Voir dire C: Deposition D: Deliberation

ATA
A: Arraignment 90%
B: Voir dire 4
C: Deposition 4
D: Deliberation 2

AOL
A: Arraignment 33%
B: Voir dire 11
C: Deposition 24
D: Deliberation 32


$8000 By definition, bariatrics is a branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of what condition?
A. Alcoholism B. Hair loss C. Impotence D. Obesity

PAF, her father Ted, asks for the answers to be repeated, then "Forgive me, Tess, I don't know, sweetheart"

50/50

C. Impotence D. Obesity

Tess is leaning towards C but walks with $4000


Answers
$4000 A. Arraignment $8000 D. Obesity

Posted: 1/24/06 8:58 PM
SHORTSHOTS TUESDAY
 January 24, 2006
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire by Don Harpwood, GSNN

Air time:  Check listings or millionairetv.com
Host: Meredith Vieira
Quite the show we saw yesterday, eh? Well, at least it ended with Tessa Neeley (Houston, TX) getting to $2,000 with her lifelines intact. And today, she goes for more...

Tessa is still having a hard time believing that this is happening. She actually asked her boyfriend Miguel (who is in the audience) to keep pinching her after yesterday's show, to see if she'd somehow wake up from a dream. Well, it's not a dream, it's reality; and the game continues...

[$4,000]
What is the term for the formal hearing in which a criminal defendant may plead guilty or not guilty?
A: Arraignment
B: Voir dire
C: Deposition
D: Deliberation

Tessa asks the audience. An overwhelming 90% of the studio audience says A, but in the AIM poll, 33% says A, and 32% says D. But such a big number in the studio poll is hard to ignore, so Tessa trusts the studio audience and goes with A... and they're right! Moving on...

[$8,000]
By definition, bariatrics is a branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of what condition?
A: Alcoholism
B: Hair loss
C: Impotence
D: Obesity


Tessa decides to call her father Ted (no, not the Father Ted from a certain Britcom), but he doesn't know. So Tessa then goes to the 50:50, which leaves C and D. She's leaning towards C, but she's not sure enough, so she walks with $4,000. Good thing, too; it was D.


 

*** 

Ted Neeley Beard:
 
A New Band is paying tribute to Ted - check this out

              "Ted Neeley Beard, formed in July 2001 and based in Moncton, N.B., Canada, consists of Shane Bannister, Peter Gorman, 
                   Jesse Griffith, and Olivier Jarda- all students of Moncton High School. With a unique blend of rock, funk, jazz, and other 
                   influences, people are starting to talk. And this site gives you everything you need to know about the band, and then some."

                 
Thanks to Linda (
lindafenton@hotmail.com) for this find!

A TED LOOKALIKE?

 Do these pictures look a little like a young Ted to you? They aren't, they're pictures of a new artist named Robin
          Thicke. He's Alan Thicke's ("Growing Pains" star) son. While I'm not in the habit of linking other artists to this
          site (outside of Joseph and the JCS folks, of course), when some of the Tedheads posted these pictures tonight, I
          thought it was kind of cute/interesting that Robin does sort of bear a resemblance to a young Ted. Anyway, his site
          link is listed above, for those who are curious.

*** 

TED'S VOCAL RANGE

http://therangeplace.forummotion.com/t305-ted-neeley?highlight=Ted+Neeley ***

Ted Neeley

The Range Place :: Range Stuff



Voice type: High baritone
Sung vocal range: E2-E5(-B5)
Total vocal range: (A1-)B?1-E5(-B5)
Best showcase of range: E2-C5 ("Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" live)

Significant high notes (Falsetto):

B5 ("Come in the Night" live)
A5 ("The Temple" live A.D. October '93, "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" live A.D. October '93)
G?5 ("The Temple" live, "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" live)
G5 ("The Last Supper", "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)")
F?5 ("Blood on Your Hands", "The Last Supper")
F5 ("The Temple" live A.D. October '93, "Polyphemus" live)

Significant high notes (Full):

E5 ("The Temple/The Lepers")
E?5 ("The Last Supper", "The Temple/The Lepers", "What's the Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying" live A.D. August '93, "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" live A.D. Philadelphia, "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" live Ventura)
D5 ("Mother", "Blood on Your Hands", "The Temple", "Rainbow", "What's the Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying", "Polyphemus (Island of the Cyclops)" live, "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" live Toronto)
C?5 ("Blame It on the Night", "Free Them", "Blood on Your Hands", "The Last Supper", "The Last Supper" live March '06, "Come in the Night" live)
C5 ("Nasdrovia!", "Take It from One Who Knows", "Find Yourself", "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)", "Polyphemus (Island of the Cyclops)", "What's the Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying", "The Last Supper", "Look at You, Look at Me", "One Thing Sure to Get You There", "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" live January '07)
B4 ("Free Them", "Everything's Alright", "God Is Good", "Grand Waltz/Heaven Help Us")
B?4 ("I Owe You", "Rainbow", "Find Yourself", "Never Had a Woman on My Mind (For More Than a Day)", "What's the Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying" live)
A4 ("Plea to Ithaca", "Island of the Lotus Eaters", "Because of You", "Never Had a Woman on My Mind (For More Than a Day)", "It's Not the Spotlight")

Significant low notes:

B?1 ("Prelude/Nasdrovia!")
C2 (Interview)
E2 ("Sweeter When Love Is Secret", "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say) live, "Plea to Ithaca")
F2 ("Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" live)
F?2 ("The Meeting", "Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem" live A.D. August '93)
G2 ("I Owe You", "Ulysses Theme", "The Meeting", "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" live Toronto)
G?2 ("Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem", "Father Gregory")
A2 (Blood on Your Hands", "What's the Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying", "The Crucifixion")
B?2 ("Blood on Your Hands", "The Last Supper", "I Owe You", "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)", "Find Yourself")
B2 ("You Are the Singer", "The Meeting")

*** NOTE: The link above contains a very long (10 pages, no less) "string discussion" of sorts about Ted's voice and talent, as well as videos from JCS (both the film and live performances), Ulysses, Rasputin and songs from 1974AD. I'm not including the entire string here, as the discussion rambles and portions eventually had very little to do with Ted at all. Also, I'm not totally certain Ted would want some of those videos passed on further, so I am choosing to just post the link above, and leave it to anyone's curiosity to visit the site.