Lunch Break Videos: Let’s enjoy the brilliance of belting birthday boy Sam Harris!

Sam Harris turns 51 today and doesn’t he look terrific?

I snapped this photo of Sam a few months ago at the Pantages Theater on opening night of Spamalot.

Sam told me he had lost 25 pounds on the Jenny Craig program and he certainly is a good advertisement for that weight loss program!

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.

Here are some Sam performances through the years: