Performing from the age of four
Peninsula performer Jennifer Green, attributes her success to a father with a "big booming voice", and to her love for ice-cream as a four-year-old.
"My mother would always lose me at the supermarket, but she didn't worry, because she knew where I'd be," she said.
"I was always at the ice-cream counter singing.
"I knew that if I sang, someone would say: 'Oh look at her. She's so cute, you have to give her an ice-cream'."
The Bensville entertainer has come a fair way since her days of singing for dessert.
She has a long list of singing and acting credits from Australia and overseas, and currently performs locally and internationally.
She and her partner, fellow performer Wayne Cornell, also operate the agency; G'day Hollywood Productions on the Peninsula.
"Tivoli by Night", a two hour variety concert involving different performers, from singers, comedians and instrumentalists to magicians and ventriloquists, is one of their major pursuits.
The next "Tivoli by Night" will be held at the Ettalong Beach Memorial Club on April 1.
The couple has presented more than 80 variety shows throughout New South Wales and Queensland, and has set a record for the number of full-house shows in a row at the Ettalong club.
Originally from Sydney, Jennifer left Australia for a part in the 1977 American movie Southern Death, alongside Robert Conrad.
But it wasn't until she received a Sydney 'Mo Award', recognising her talent for variety, that she decided to move to Los Angeles.
On arrival she put on a show, and because she sent numbers of invitations to intrigue the media, they attended, rewarding her with rave reviews.
Jennifer is not surprised at her success.
"I knew I'd leave Australia and go to America to accomplish what I wanted," she said.
But she is aware of the level of her achievements.
"I guess I'm blessed, because I've always been in show business since I was 15."
The untrained singer realised the extent of her abilities at the age of 16, after beating around 200 bands and singers in a Sydney talent contest called 'Battle of the Sounds'.
"I snuck out to do it too. Mum didn't know," she said.
Jennifer is no stranger to hard work.
It took her three years of "knocking on doors" in America, after her debut stage show, to secure a job, and a
Green Card.
Frank Gorshen, famous for his role as the Riddler in Batman, employed her in a variety, Vegas-style show in Arizona.
It wasn't long before Donald O'Conner started arranging her shows too.
Jennifer has also dabbled in hosting shows.
She once tested her endurance in Palm Springs by co-hosting a 24-hour Jerry Lewis telethon.
She said Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Micky Rooney, George Burns and Florence Henderson are among her colleagues and friends.
"You learn so much from these old show-biz celebrities. Micky Rooney, Donald O'Conner- I learnt a lot of tricks from those two."
While in America she performed live for several shows including a Bob Hope Special, Pat Boone U.S.A., the Tonight Show, the Merv Griffin Show, Fantasy, a Variety Club Telethon and Tattletales.
She had acting roles in T.J Hooker, Santa Barbara, General Hospital and Divorce Court.
Despite an interest in television acting, it is her passion for live performance that shines through in Jennifer's personality.
"There's something magic about performing live," she said.
"When I sing I know I've lived it.
"A lot of young people just see words and they don't have that old-world maturity."
Jennifer said her experiences have meant she has grown as a performer and a human being.
After her marriage with an American man ended, it was love that drew Jennifer back to Australia.
While working with Ray Martin on the Midday show, she and Deltones' lead singer Wayne Cornell began seeing more of each other.
"At the time I didn't want to know about guys," she said.
Eventually Jennifer decided to move back to Australia to be with Wayne, with the plan of returning to America on a regular basis for work.
She said the commitment of leaving America was a major one, particularly because of the friends she would leave behind.
"I knew what I had with Wayne was something special, so I wanted to be with him", she said.
Jennifer discovered her fondness for the Central Coast after spending two weeks at Hardy's Bay.
Soon after she and Wayne moved to Horsfield Bay and later to their current home in Bensville.
"The Brisbane Water is one of the most beautiful places in the world," she said.
She expressed a lot of excitement about the Ettalong Club's success and its prospects for the future, particularly with a ferry connecting it to Sydney.
She isn't alone in her admiration of the coast.
Mickey Rooney and Donald O'Conner loved their visits to the Peninsula.
"You're living in paradise," said Donald O'Conner.
Florence Henderson was also impressed with Jennifer's new home.
A worker at the Fisherman's wharf in Woy Woy could not believe it when she served lunch to 'Mrs Brady' that day.
Jennifer seems aware she is an asset to the Central Coast and takes pride in helping expose local talent by involving them in her shows.
She raved about girls from the Peninsula Theatre and Dance School whom she employs in her travelling performances.
"They've grown in four years like you wouldn't believe," she said.
"I've seen them blossom from kids to girls."
When asked how she'd advise other performing hopefuls, she said: "You've got to want it -you have that gnawing feeling."
She said any negativity from others should be ignored.
"If that's what you want, go for it," she said.
"If you feel you can; do it."
Aptly named 'the roadrunner' by Wayne, Jennifer is very ambitious about her future.
She hopes one day to host an Australian talk show, take a director's course, and begin directing films as well as performing.
"I love performing - I can't stop," she said.
"It's the day you die when you stop doing something you love doing."
Natalie Ruffels, March 12