Laddy Breen Makes The Scene (Overview)

Laddy Breen was a top teen idol on the music scene in 1959. However, his youthful indiscretions, including the furor that resulted from his impregnating a young fan, destroyed his career and reduced him to a minor rock-and-roll footnote.

Now, in his thirties in the summer of 1972, lonely Laddy aimlessly wanders the decaying boardwalk of a pre-casino Atlantic City in a drug-induced daze.

Those few who barely remember him can only pity him. Everyone else keeps their distance, including Laddy's father, the once-famous Steel Pier singer Seamus Breen. Seamus is too busy licking his own wounds: he once hob-nobbed with Sinatra and Martin and Lewis at the 500 Club, but now barely eeks out a living in a small motel lounge for a smattering of drunken, ungrateful patrons (Seamus being the most drunken and ungrateful of all).

Soon, however, Laddy's destiny will change. To his dizzy amazement, he discovers that the beat goes on: his long-lost, illegitimate son is now a teen-idol in his own right, churning out major hit records, starring in a top-rated situation comedy, and appearing on posters, lunchboxes and talk shows.

The boy is managed by his mother, who had been the star-struck young girl Laddy had impregnated so many years before. Today, however, she is quite liberated...and sharply business-minded...and bitter.

Laddy devises a plan to return to his former glory, reunite with his son, rekindle a romance with the boy's mother, and give his father one last shot at the big time. This resolution spurs him on a strange journey of last chance. It's a high-stakes gamble that takes place long before gaming comes to Atlantic City.

Laddy's quest shoots him like a pinball, from suburban teen fan clubs to abandoned hotels to The Mike Douglas Show. Along the way, he meets Elvis Presley, long-haired-freaky people, his own former fans, youth for Nixon and a legendary rock and roller who may not be who he claims he is. It all culminates with, naturally, an illegal stage production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Check back weekly and see how Laddy's story -- and redemption -- unfolds.