Irene Cara - Ted Mack Amateur Hour

[curtisjones400]

I remember Irene Cara from the movie 'Sparkle" from mid 70's i did not know she was a star at 8 years old

[LOUISEMANDRELLGUY]

So cute! :)

[123Tinkabell]

SHE WAS A STAR BACK THEN!~

[kanaede]

@awarren I don't think it's fair to say she IS under-rated. I think she did QUITE well and was rated very highly.  I recall being a fan of hers in the '80's and '90's. I expect she just moved on with life out of the spotlight. I don't know, but she was a big hit with me and from what I see she HAD and still HAS apparently many fans.

[kanaede]

That was VERY entertaining. I thought it was cute that she didn't know what the rest of the words of the song mean. I wonder if any spanish speaking people can tell us how well she sang it since apparently she didn't actually speak spanish so must have just been singing it by ear.

[stewartjv52]

@kanaede Her mom was Puerto Rican :)

[mshortstop]

amazing performance and sound from a 8 year old !

[MrWilliamtom]

I'M GONNA LIVE FOREVER

BABY REMEMBER MY NAME!!

[MrWilliamtom]

WHAT A FEELING!!! 

[exactdigital]

A little slice of Heaven from 1967...

[ThePaddyjoejr1]

She was Hot & Sexy Even than!

[Filibertoize]

Really lovely performance. Amazing talent. Bless her heart!!!

[EMCEMITCH]

shes so cute and turned into a world class beauty on FAME

[Khultan]

 Wow : )

[awarren92]

Omg this almost had me in tears she was so good!!! I love her so much she is so underrated

[babygirl91580]

omg this is so old :) thanks for posting

[Gubbywubby]

Such a showman! and only 8!

[PeachiePW]

too cute. irene has been working longer than I knew. good for her!

[leov74]

Por Dios, que linda! Te amo Irene!!!

[tanluv]

I just love her!

[v2ewdlf9]

she blisssssssssssssssss

[tico241000]

By the way. This version of this song, was done by PEPA FLORES. Also known as MARISOL..She was a Singer Actress from Spain, very popular in the Sixties..

[tico241000]

OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS VIDEO..I just want to clap and say, BRAVO BRAVO Irene..She was so cute..AND SMART. I saw this for the first time, on PBS CHANNEL 21. And this was one of my favorite clips. SHE WON MY HEART..

[GCNANNERFACE]

THis is so cute... she was just darling.......lol

[BSACAPITAL]

Wow that was great!!!!

[winrx]

As they say these days, she "killed it"!

[soulsista1220]

OMG. thats so cute

[happyfeetxxo]

o my good, she's so cute

[CanadaguyRudey]

Shes got more talent then most people on TV and films today and she was 8 on this show.

[hydrolito]

@CanadaguyRudey Back When Britney Spears was 8 or 9 she could sing to, often they sing better as children then they do as adults. Billy Gilman Christina Agulera, Michael Jackson, Donny Osmond, Charlotte Church and others were also discovered at young ages.

[atlffee]

shut up! i can't believe i've never seen this! triple yay!

[jqdsilva]

wow! no way! wow! she's so adorable!

[ermayo93]

OMG! I just want to hug her! So adorable and talented!

Little did we know eh?????????

[etraig]

how cute! what a little star!

love her 60s hair flip as well.

[couponsexpired]

I didnt know she started so young, I know her from Fame, she also appeared on Roots the next generation, thats awesome, oh by the way, the way she dance never changed, lol too cute!!!

[kcg11236]

wow that was so cute

[Pirate7X]

Classic, gracias!

[WSenator1]

While I appreciate the response, and I will look up her website, never assume that "of course she's still alive." People do die before their time (Michael Jackson was 50 at the time of his recent death, for example). But thank you for the information about I C.

[WSenator1]

This is an amazing video of Irene Cara. She was so popular several years ago, then she just vanished, it seems. Is she still alive? If so, what is she doing these days?

[Brandonlewis08]

of course shes still alive,shes not that old shes about 50.check out her website if you want to know what shes up to now!

[visionquest13]

wow--I never saw this before. I met irene. strange seeing this. Adorable though

[JackDragna1]

Goes to show you that if you want success in show business, the earlier you start the better. Performing center stage is like home to performers that start this young.

[irajaygold]

How did you get footage of this show?Please help

[bigfinewoman]

Oh my....what a cutie!!!! I remember her from as early as Aaron Loves Angela...but didn't see this!!!

[ShangoJamal]

Lawd....

Is that SPARLE singin'' like that?

[PxMxS]

yeah lol

[ShangoJamal]

O-K???

Cuz she just-a Shakin that lil head

and twistin them lil hips (Bless her heart).

Her momma said

"HUMP! I dont care whatchall say,

My baby gon be on THE ELECTRIC COMPANY and SPARKLE and FAME and THE MEDGAR EVARS STORY!" lol

[BronxNYSalsera]

Love it!

[TYRABEATTY]

those were the days when you had to have talent and couldn't rely on just being cute.

great job!!

[kpitt1204]

I mean....she could not get any cuter, can she. She is adorable. When I was a preteen, her pictures were plastered all over my wall.

[jelisatyler]

she is beautiful,she is one of my favorite actress.

[sizzlemush]

who sings this song origionally ?

[12dave9]

1967?..this show must have been more like early 60's..64/65 are since it's in b/w.

[kutnup]

she's 49 years old

[12dave9]

I didn't know she was that old!..she must be in her mid 50's! today.

[BaggyJeansBoy]

Wow... It just shows that when you've got it - you've got it from the get-go.

[NoirEtoile1]

Wow, that was the cutest thing EVER. I have been a fan since 1970's film Sparkle -- all that talent in her -- gifted and blessed. Love ya Irene!

[TAMCLIF92]

soooo cute

[mltilmon]

I have always loved Irene Cara! Now I love her even more! Adorable!

[juanete133]

hola hola hola hola,no vengas sola,hola hola hola hola,ven con mi amor.....

[onehundredthree]

So cute. Notice she makes one mistake and says "Oh MADRE nostrum" instead of "Oh MARE nostrum" and ends up talking about "our mother" instead of "our sea!"

[RetroArcaicoRex]

what a cute ye-ye little girl <3

she is about my mom's age ^^ !!! She is so so pretty =D

[WickednUK]

Wow she was bilegual before bilguel was in style. And so young and cute was she.

[kutnup]

her first album came out shortly after this appearance entitled "esta es irene" which was song totally in spanish. 6 songs total that includes this one!

[BigBlueBeast]

She deserved a role on the Electric Company after this!

[MarvDETROIT]

Hard to believe 1967 was so long ago.

[mignonhenne]

sugar ?

[Shed98]

I have been so depressed lately and this just brought my spirits back up! You give my heart joy. Thank you.

Love,

Shed

Long Beach, CA

[fromthesidelines]

Note the "Geritol" sign next to Irene before she sings her number; because the J.B. Williams Co. was the primary sponsor of "THE ORIGINAL AMATEUR HOUR" during the '60s, they made sure they never let you forgot who was paying for the show (this was a custom of most sponsors on game and variety shows of the period)...

[ATOM09]

Hahaha, well thank you Geritol, LMAO!

[ChocolateCurves]

WOW, I am so glad that she went on to do great things with her talent.

[MsTexas73]

OH man,. she STILL looks the same. :-)

[Marielena]

she's my cousin..how cute =)

[Silvia212]

love her! go irene!!

[elf045]

Such a cutie!! Always love Irene. True performers are born that way. It isn't hard to see how she grew up to be such a beautiful woman.

[68NYC]

This is sweet - (smile!)

[benjaminscannon]

I have had the best time today watching all of these old clips of Irene. Up until now I've considered myself her biggest fan, but you have got me beat by far! Thanks for adding all of the materials. Witnessing Irene's artistry has been a mjor influence on my life and career. She is a true triple threat! Thanks for showing us how its Done Ms. Cara! Thanks again to everyone for the post, keep em coming.

[OldskolFan]

Too cute! Performers are usually born that way. You either have it or you don't. I don't think you can learn to be an artist, of any kind.

[jeremiahn]

Just saw this performance on a tv program and had to look it up here for a replay. Really great :)

[irajaygold]

Anyway you can help me get a copy of my momssinging from 1965?

[wonderlove5]

Oh, How Cute!! Little Miss Flashdance!

[rserling]

So cute - yes, definitely before Short Circus -- This was 1967, 4 years before. What a talented cutie!!

[heyheyheydude]

so she did this BEFORE she became a Short Circus member!

[HighwayCinema]

I love this musical clip! I must say though that they printed title is wrong. It is Ola not Hola. Ola means wave and Hola means hello. Thanks to Ted Mack, Irene and who ever invented Spanish!

[irenecarashrine]

I see. Didn't know that. Actually, she does say that during her intro. Thanks for the correction.

[Laurie4631]

@irenecarashrine I just wanted to say I had the opportunity to attend school with this bright young talent. We both went to the same catholic school in the first grade, and she was as cool then as she is now. I remember when she won the "Little Miss America" pagent in Palisades Park, when she came to school the next day I was so very excited for her. You kick ass Irene and most of us from the school never forgot you ... you are and always will be the brightest shining star!!!

[stewartjv52]

@Laurie4631 Irene was a friend of mine. We had the same Jazz and Tap teacher Phil Black and the same vocal coach Al Greiner. Her mom and my mom were both usherettes in Broadway theaters. I remember one time when she slept over my house my mom asked her to take a bath..she locked the bathroom door and flooded my bathroom because she didn't want to :) It was pretty funny at the time. I miss those days and miss Irene.

[curtisjones400]

@stewartjv52 I did not know that Irene Cara was on TV at 8 years old-I remember her from "Fame" and the movie 'Sparkle" with Phillip Thomas

[vastarr]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[Yana8M]

Lovely!.

[peterschreyfogl]

It's a nice song and Irene Cara was very cute at that age, but I wonder if it was her idea to appear at that show and at the Miss America contest. She was far more brilliant when she has grown up.

[latinoguy]

Irene won 2nd Runner-Up at the Little Miss America pageant which was held in Palisades Amusement park in New Jersey.

She is of Puerto Rican and Cuban background.

Her real name is actually " Irene Escalera"

[DA90027]

How cute....she sang well even at that age and IN SPANISH!

[cubanitaa]

Yea she was/is so cute lol. :) Perfect blend of cubana and PR baby!

[rosale]

This is too cute and even back then she had a pretty strong voice.

[DEKMAN99]

I don't beleive this, she go way back like Michael Jackson, that was a gem, for true Irene Cara fans.

[bevtheavonlady]

Cute as she could be! WOW! She was a little spit fiyah! Fame for her way back in the day! You Go Gurl!