The Four Preps: from author Ben Bryant’s Entertainment Book, “Three Stages”


Excerpt from Ben Bryant’s

Entertainment Book

Three Stages, Chapter 4, 1958

“People used to ask me if I knew any movie stars at HHS. David Nelson (of Ozzie and Harriet fame) was on the football team with me and his little brother, Ricky, used to watch practice. Carol Burnett was a senior when I was a sophomore although she was not yet the great star she would become. But the son of a genuine movie star played piano for the choir. Dave Andrews, son of Dana, was a fine piano player. However the best accompanist I had in those days showed up in my junior year. Lincoln Mayorga was a prodigy. He could, as they say in the music biz, “sight read fly specks” and was a truly accomplished solo pianist at fifteen. But more importantly for me, unlike many excellent players, he was also a sensitive and supportive accompanist. (PS: He still is.)”

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“Collins, Camp and Arquette were also in the Hollywood High choir with me. All three of us were very musical (Cobb played trombone) as well as being clowns. My senior year I finally had competition as soloist: Bruce Yarnell, six-foot-six with a big voice and an ego larger than his stature and his voice. I was no shrinking violet myself but compared to Bruce in the ego department I was small potatoes. The boy could sing though, I’ll give him that. By then Linc Mayorga was established as THE school pianist. I don’t recall many details (maybe none) but we did give concerts and Linc accompanied me on solo performances. Bruce did a few solos with the choir but I did most of them. He hated me.”

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“[In USAF basic training] One thing my fellow Airmen (Ha!) bugged me about was how come I had gone to Hollywood High and didn’t know any stars except Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. They said, “You must know the Four Preps” (who were hot at that time). “They all went to Hollywood!” Not being a pop music fan I didn’t even know who they were. One day we were standing in line outside the laundry waiting to exchange our sheets and towels when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and there were (in trainee fatigues) Bruce Belland, whom I knew from the HHS choir and Linc Mayorga, my former accompanist.

“They came over and we shook hands and I said something about it being great that they came to basic together and Linc said, ‘We’re all here.’

“I said, ‘All of who?’ ‘The group.’ ‘What group?’ ‘The Four Preps!’

“I nearly shit a brick. ‘You guys are the Four Preps?!’

“Linc said, ‘I’m the musical director, Bruce sings lead and Ed Cobb, Marv Ingram and Glen Larson are the rest.’

The Four Preps

“I knew all these guys (Marv was my ‘leading lady’ in that junior high operetta, (Chapter 2) but didn’t realize that they were famous. My stock went way up with the guys in my Flight after that incident.”

The coda to this story is that 41 years later I was reunited with Lincoln on a job and shortly thereafter he did a concert with Bruce Belland. Linc didn’t tell Bruce I was coming and he put me and Elizabeth in the front row. When Bruce walked out he saw me and nearly tripped over his feet. We had a great reunion dinner after the gig.

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