Happy 50th Birthday to Sam Harris!

Could it be that Sam Harris is 50?

He’s still gorgeous and talented beyond comprehension and I hope he is having one helluva birthday celebration!

The first winner of the original Star Search competition in the early 80s. For those too young to remember Star Search, it was the American Idol of the day and Sam was the first winner of the male vocalist title, going undefeated all season long in 1983. He has gone on to release several CDs but really made his mark on Broadway in his Tony-nominated role in The Life as well major roles as in productions of Grease, Cabaret, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Jazz Singer, and The Producers.

Sam was also the best part of the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class. He and his partner Danny became parents in 2008.

When I last chatted with Sam a few years ago, I asked him his advice for looking so young and healthy: “Be happy, be grateful and have children.”

Last year, Sam recorded a powerful song, My Reclamation, that is a beautiful anthem for marriage equality, gay rights, and civil rights. (see video below)
My favorite lyric is this:

I don’t need permission to have what is mind

This is my reclamation, this is my divine

Previously: Catching up with Sam Harris and National Coming Out Day: Greg In Hollywood’s Honor Roll of Famous People Who Are Out and Proud