Television’s “dimpled darling” delighted over 400 audience members with a diverse, two-hour musical comedy performance sprinkled with drama and surprises, Friday, Feb. 18, at Wallace State’s Betty Leeth Haynes Theatre.

The performance was not what many area residents expected of John Davidson, longtime guest host of “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” and former TV game show host and star of Broadway, Branson, Hollywood and Las Vegas.

The well-known star of four decades of work in television, music, movies and theatre entertained Cullman Community Concert Association members and guests with songs, jokes, dancing, drama and storytelling.

Davidson’s two-hour set included several of his signature love songs, such as “Lady In Red/Could I Have This Dance,” as well as ballads he wrote about marriage — “Keeping the Romance,” aging — “I’m Gonna Be 70,” and the economy — “The Wall Street Blues.”

The unique, fast-paced show featured Davidson dancing across the stage and into the audience during two acts separated by a 20-minute intermission. The handsome balladeer transformed himself from a guitar-playing romantic sitting and strumming at the end of the stage into a parody of a young, strutting rapper, during one of several comedy sketches in the concert’s second half.

“I was told that I’d be performing for Hanceville’s upper crust,” Davidson said. “I got so nervous. I went to the dictionary and looked up ‘upper crust.’ It said a bunch of crumbs held together by a lot of dough,“ the actor, TV host, singer and comedian joked.

“He’s one of the most popular, well-known artists we’ve had this season,” Lavell Thrasher, Cullman Community Concert Association president, said after the concert.

At the start of the show, Thrasher recognized fans of Davidson who traveled great distances to be in Cullman County for the concert. One fan flew from Texas, others drove across Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Davidson began the show with an original song customized for Cullman County residents.  He accompanied himself on guitar and later, banjo, as he strolled the stage, inserting jokes and zingers in every line, between storytelling and singing with his rich, baritone voice.

Davidson introduced important people in his life — teachers, neighbors and family friends from his hometown of White Plains, New York. As he waded into the audience to shine the spotlight on prominent people from his past, audience members were in awe of each person who had traveled so far to support Davidson at his North Alabama concert.

Soon, audience members realized that Cullman’s Mary Adams, and other local residents posing as Davidson’s hometown heroes from New York, weren’t really the prominent people he named. This tongue-in-cheek humor provided a quick laugh with a wink and a nod as audience members laughed and applauded appreciatively.

Davidson interacted with audience members throughout the concert, telling jokes and stories that had them rolling with laughter. His local show was part autobiographical stand-up comedy routine combined with nightclub-style ballads, frenetic dancing and theatrical drama.

Spontaneity ruled the one-man show which featured a printed program with no scheduled song selections from Davidson’s thousands of performances as an entertainer.

Davidson grabbed a bald man from the front row of the audience and proclaimed, “This is what Hollywood stars look like before makeup. Meet Julia Roberts!”

Davidson, 69, exuded energy, charm and charisma. His boyish good looks continue to serve him well as he approaches with angst his seventh decade.

He performs as energetically as people half his age. He’s not ashamed to announce that he will be 70 on Dec. 13.

“I’m in a crisis,” he said. “I never thought I’d be 70. I bet I’m the oldest person in this room!  Maybe not. I never thought I’d make it to 30 — and now I‘ve done it twice.”

Throughout his career, the popular TV personality and star of “The John Davidson Show” in 1969, has been “highly defined and sometimes cursed by his clean-cut, fresh-faced, apple-cheeked handsomeness,” reports online movie database, IMDb. “They don’t come any nicer than John Davidson.”

At Wallace State, Davidson performed a humorous song he wrote about the travails of an aging, has-been “hunk.” He began his career as a male model in New York City.

Davidson explained the difficulty he encountered while applying for Social Security retirement benefits. A female Social Security employee recognized him from TV and movies.  Yet, Davidson’s fame and notoriety got him nowhere. The employee demanded proof of his age and identity. Davidson responded with one of his classic zingers, albeit a little off-color.  His humor was a hit with the audience.

The former star of Las Vegas, Hollywood, New York and his own theatre in Branson, Missouri, joked about the empty seats inside the Betty Leeth Haynes Theater. “Those people are out buying beer tonight in Cullman, because they haven’t been able to do that here the past 70 years, have they?”

The first act ended with Davidson collapsing on stage after singing one of his signature love songs. A stage hand draped a sheet over Davidson’s seemingly lifeless body after stage lights faded and audience members left the theater for intermission.

Davidson told stories about “Hangin’ Around With Squares,” a song title from his 2006 compact disc, referring to his 1980s’ hosting gig of “The New Hollywood Squares” TV game show. His self-effacing, “straight-man” humor served him well for years as a popular guest and host of “The Hollywood Squares.”

Then as now, Davidson was personable and adept at joking and interacting with people charmed by his good looks and diverse talent.

Davidson joked about his signature, silver, grey and white, shoulder-length hair. “I don’t want to look like an old man,” he told his mom, who asked why he kept his hair so long. His mom replied, “Great. Now you look like an old woman!”

“I was so cute on TV. I was too cute,” Davidson proclaimed with his characteristically broad, dimpled grin, as he flashed his famous, wide smile with perfectly proportioned white teeth. “I was cuter than Donny Osmond. Heck, I was cuter than Marie Osmond! I was quite a hunk.  There was no doubt. The girls used to scream. They used to call me a fox. Now, they call me ‘grandpa’ and I‘m wearing orthopedic socks! I got so many liver spots, people think I‘m tanned.”

Davidson’s self-deprecating humor was a hit with audience members. Feigning exhaustion, Davidson remained supine on stage for a long time — lying flat on his back while telling jokes and stories as audience members sat in awe of his carefree confidence, boundless energy, satirical humor and spontaneity.

“The Inflatables,” three identical, life-size, plastic blow-up dolls dressed in low-cut, black evening gowns, were introduced by Davidson as his back-up singers. “They’re cheap to travel with,” he joked. “They’re really pumped up for the show!”

Several audience members were excited to be singled out by Davidson as he ventured from the stage into the audience during each of his two acts.

“He kissed me twice — during the first and second acts!” Beverly Sturm of Cullman said after the show. “I’m the only person he kissed twice tonight! This reminds me of the time I met Debbie Reynolds!”

“I was not a plant, like you see at some shows,” Sturm said. “I was so entranced watching him, I didn’t notice other people. There was a lot of audience participation. It was the most spectacular event. I had a wonderful time. It was such a fun performance.”

Sturm was the last fan to get a photo taken with Davidson, following a meet and greet autograph session where Davidson signed compact discs, books, cards and photos sold after the concert in the theater’s lobby.

Near the end of the show, audience members thought the consummate performer had exhausted all of his energy, resources and tricks — especially after shooting strings of colored confetti into the air, caressing “The Inflatables” and several audience members, singing, dancing, storytelling and playing four stringed instruments. One prop remained unused on stage: An old trunk.

From the trunk, the veteran star pulled out makeup and a moustache, transforming himself into Miguel de Cervantes, the failed author-soldier-actor-tax collector-prisoner and old, “mad” knight, Don Quixote, from the musical, “Man of La Mancha.”

Davidson’s mood became dark, serious and intense. His distinctive voice commanded the stage, captivating audience members enthralled by his transformation from handsome comedian-singer to gritty, costumed character.

Within moments, Davidson’s Don Quixote is singing “Man of La Mancha’s” signature song, “The Impossible Dream,” a classic from the original 1965 Broadway production which earned five Tony awards and ran for 2,328 performances.

Davidson received two standing ovations. He succeeded in getting an attentive audience to clap, sing, tap their feet, and laugh at his jokes and stories.

Davidson drove from Georgia to North Alabama in a motor home as part of his current, U.S. tour. He has been on the road five months. He and his wife, Rhonda, a former back-up singer whom he met on “The John Davidson Show,” live in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Married 32 years, the Davidsons have three grown children and four grandchildren.

The Andy Stein Duo is scheduled to perform on the violin and piano on Monday, March 28, at Wallace State as the fourth of five featured artists of the 2010-11 season of the Cullman Community Concert Association, in association with Live On Stage, Inc. of Nashville. Admission is free to season ticket holders or $20 at the door. For more information, visit www.CullmanCommunityConcertAssociation.com or call 256-708-0068.