People: The grass is greener for Bleu
Corbin Bleu is living a rock star’s life – or at least a well-scrubbed Disney version.
The 17-year-old “High School Musical” actor is on a nationwide, 40-city concert tour that’s delivering the young cast of the Disney Channel’s hit TV movie to adoring fans.
He’s also promoting a new Disney Channel movie, “Jump In!,” debuting Friday.
It’s about Izzy, a 14-year-old New Yorker from a long line of boxing champions who’s expected to keep the tradition alive. He’s on board until he discovers another, very different sport – double-Dutch jump rope.
Compared to the frothy “High School Musical,” in which he played a basketball hotshot, the new movie is “a whole different tone, more gritty, more urban,” Bleu says.
“What I’m hoping is (fans) see I can play a jock who’s always up, but (also) can play more a soft-spoken, edgier guy.”
Bleu still boasts his glorious mop of hair in the film, which co-stars Keke Palmer (“Akeelah and the Bee”) and an actor close to Bleu’s heart: his real-life dad, David Reivers.
Reivers, who has appeared in TV series including “24,” “My Name is Earl” and “Charmed” and in “Poseidon” and other films, plays Izzy’s dad, who’s unsettled by his son’s decision to abandon the family pursuit.
Both Reivers and Bleu – who dropped the family name so the two could have separate professional identities – appreciated the movie’s portrayal of a black man, a widower, who is devoted to his children.
“People don’t get to see positive African American father figures (in movies) really working hard to raise their kids in positive ways and not have it be about drugs or alcohol or something negative,” Reivers says.
Bleu was literally carried into acting on his father’s shoulders: When Reivers was auditioning for roles in New York he would bring Bleu along in a knapsack. Soon, the father’s agents were suggesting the photogenic boy try for his own gigs.
He started appearing in commercials at age 2, then moved on to films (“Catch That Kid,” “Galaxy Quest,” “Soldier”), stage (“Footloose,” “Grease”) and TV (“Flight 29 Down,” “Hannah Montana,” “Malcolm & Eddie”).
Although Bleu attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and studied dance with Debbie Allen, he planned on becoming a pediatrician until a year ago. After attending an intense medical program at John Hopkins University, he realized he had to pick between his passions.
“The decision was tough; medicine is something I love,” Bleu says.
“But I love acting way too much and I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”
He’s also added singing, with the concert tour and his own CD coming out.
“We all realized that this is a huge moment in our career right now, and you never know what happens: Is it going to continue or stop?” he says of the “High School Musical” cast.
“So we’re just all taking in every single moment, from being up on that stage to riding the bus.”
The birthday bunch
Comedian Soupy Sales is 81. “Sunday Morning” host Charles Osgood is 74. Singer Shirley Bassey is 70. Game show host Bob Eubanks is 69. Singer David Bowie is 60. Singer R. Kelly is 40. Singer Sean Paul is 34. Actress Gaby Hoffman (“Field of Dreams”) is 25.