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Radio talk show host and Garden City native John Tesh spent the formative years of his career in the Hamptons—that is, on his days off from reporting for CBS in New York City in his early 20s.
Mr. Tesh, now 64, recently recounted his early adventures on the East End in the late 1970s and early 1980s—when he left the city life behind on warm Friday nights and traveled to Westhampton Beach, where he stayed at a share house for many summers.
“I had a big old motorcycle and on Friday at 11 p.m. when the news was over, I would jump on that motorcycle and I would head out at 80 miles per hour with bugs in my teeth—all the way out to Westhampton,” he said, breaking up his thoughts with laughter. “We would go to Club Marakesh and we would just disco the night away.”
Mr. Tesh—a well-known television, radio and stage performer—will now return to Westhampton Beach for the first time in more than 30 years for a concert at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. The show, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 29, will feature Mr. Tesh and his musicians in an “unplugged” acoustic performance, with highlights of Mr. Tesh’s piano solos from some of his 50 albums, as well as covers of classic romantic hits. He said he will also tell stories of his childhood on Long Island, his religious beliefs and of his career as the former co-host of the television program “Entertainment Tonight.”
Along with his varied career in broadcasting, Mr. Tesh, a four-time Emmy Award winner and two-time Grammy nominee, has sold more than 8 million records worldwide. Although he said he goes into each performance with a set of songs in mind, he often finds himself going with the flow of the audience, who he jokingly described as “women who dragged their husbands to see the show.”
One song Mr. Tesh said still hits him close to home, quite literally, is his first piano song he ever heard on the radio back in 1989, “Garden City,” which he named after his hometown.
“That’s pretty amazing to ride around in your car and all of a sudden a song comes on and you say … wait this sounds very familiar … and it’s your song,” he said. “I actually thought, back in the day when it happened, that I had left my cassette player in my car and I had turned it on by mistake because I couldn’t imagine someone would be playing my song on the radio.”
Mr. Tesh now lives with his wife, actress and former model Connie Sellecca, in Los Angeles, where he broadcasts his syndicated radio show “Intelligence for Your Life” on nearly 300 stations internationally. The show is largely based upon snippets of “intelligence,” quick advice on how to improve life—financially, romantically and health-wise—which gives listeners an interesting mix of life hacks and fun facts that are researched by Mr. Tesh and his team of experts.
Although he does miss Long Island, Mr. Tesh said he enjoys his day-to-day life, recording his radio and television program out of his Los Angeles home with Ms. Sellecca. Working from home, he avoids the daily L.A. traffic—which he compared to the Long Island Expressway on Memorial Day weekend.
After 15 years of “Intelligence for Your Life,” Mr. Tesh admitted that he often finds himself hushing a voice inside of himself about the facts he learns, particularly health-related ones.
“Let’s say you’re at a dinner party or you’re out with friends and somebody’s about to eat something [bad],” he said, laughing. “You’ll never get invited out again if you say any of that stuff.”
His guilty pleasure? Three handfuls of M&M’s every now and then, he said, noting that although his show promotes healthy habits, it is still important to treat oneself once in awhile.
In his personal life, Mr. Tesh, who often performs religious songs at his concerts, said he turns to books and “the healing power of prayer” for his own intelligence, particularly in recent years after two bouts of cancer.
“We’ve interviewed a lot of people that have scientific evidence even, not just from the Bible, about what happens to your career, your prosperity … your health when you apply focused prayer and gratitude every day …” Mr. Tesh said. “Being able to not become a ‘cancer patient’ has really enabled me to focus on my health and clearing out my body.”
John Tesh will perform at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 29, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $41, $56 and $71. Call 631-288-1500 or visit whbpac.org.
on Apr 22, 2017