The Gentlemen of the Follies!

At age 13

Hank Brunjes had barely turned 20 when he first made it to Broadway in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey.  He followed it up with a role in the original production of Leonard Bernstein's landmark West Side Story and then a succession of Broadway hits: Mame, The Rothschilds, Chicago, Working and Sugar Babies, the latter stint lasting seven years, including national tours.

The Follies' company dance manager, Leila Burgess, was his schoolmate at New York's High School of Performing Arts and helped persuade him to come out of retirement and join the show, in which, at 78, he is now in his eighth season.

On television, the facile performer appeared on The Guiding Light, The Ed Sullivan Show, Voice of Firestone and The Jackie Gleason Show. His film work included The Electric Horseman, Dog Day Afternoon and Three Days of the Condor.

Hank has become a Palm Springs resident. He has one married son and a grandson who live in England.

What is your favorite Follies memory? "The moment I set foot on the Follies stage in front of an audience, I realized that my show business career was starting all over again!"

MORE FUN FACTS:

• Hank actually grew up in Brooklyn, under the historic bridge, and at the age of four was steered to tap dancing and singing lessons by his mother.
• A confirmed bachelor, he philosophizes, "Men marry because they're tired, women because they're curious, and, in the end, they're both disappointed."
• For a city kid, he took to the outdoors and likes to fish, go camping and travel.
• "Gulliver's Travels" is his favorite book. He also has abiding interests in playing drums and watching people.
• The most interesting phase of his career was working with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller in Sugar Babies, and one night being pushed on stage by Rooney and forced to take a bow, although he didn't even perform that evening.
• "It's great to have a job where I can express my talents and abilities. Never make the mistake of thinking you're too old for anything!"
• The arduous physical requirements of the Follies, "call for serious work ethics and also living like a monk . . . ha ha," he says.
• The most challenging experience of his career? "Working with Jerome Robbins on Broadway in West Side Story."