I once went to see Bruce ...
Question: I once went to see Bruce Willis and the Accelerators perform at B.B. King's club in Times Square. My friends all said I was crazy when I recalled a (possibly made-for-cable) special Willis did called The Return of Bruno, in which he played the part of his musical alter-ego Bruno and performed some of the songs from his first album. Is this memory just wishful thinking? Will I have to foot the bill for the next club show my friends and I attend? (Yes, there's money on this one.) Many thanks.
Answer: Looks to me like it's your pals who'll be ponying up for the next outing, Sean.
The former Moonlighting costar did indeed put together an HBO special, Bruce Willis: The Return of Bruno, which debuted in 1987 and was released on home video the same year. A combination of concert footage and faux documentary featuring Bruno Radolini, the fictional character Willis created in his bartending days, the tape includes guest spots from Michael J. Fox, Ringo Starr and Phil Collins. It's still widely available, so if your pals demand proof, it'll be easy enough to pick up a copy to silence them.
To be perfectly honest, opinions are split on whether you want to do that, though. Some say it's a must-have selection, while others says it's just another star-ego exercise from a then-newly successful actor forcing his presentable-at-best chops on the audience in a quest for Hollywood and rock fame. But if you're a fan, I'm betting you'll fall well into the former group. Me, I'm perfectly happy watching my old copy of Hudson Hawk over and over until the wife threatens to leave me again.
