‘There’s no business like show business’, and it’s a saying Bob Keating knows all too well.
The great-grandfather is first to admit a big part of him went missing when he decided to switch off the spotlight years ago.
But with the help of his friends, the 87-year-old rediscovered what he loved most, and now he’s back performing.
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“I’ve always liked people and I’ve always loved to do the best I can to make people happy even if they don’t feel like they want to be,” Keating said.
“Music is the way I try to do it best.”
The long-time musician left his mark on the club circuit as Liberace, and it’s no mean feat, given the man he impersonated was regarded as one of the greatest showmen of all time.
“A friend of mine said ‘you’ve got to do it’ and I said ‘do what?’…Liberace..and I said ‘I can’t’…and he said ‘you gotta, you look like him’,” he said.
“I went to America for three of his videos and I played those and studied and practiced and practiced for maybe 18 months until I could play all of his material the same as him.”
But the musician, nicknamed Bobby K, turned his back on fame to spend time with his family.
After the loss of his wife, a daughter, and a battle with cancer, Keating retreated to a loving retirement village on the NSW Central Coast.
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It was there, volunteers from HammondCare helped put the smile back on Keating’s face, convincing him to get back on stage.
“It feels really good, really good,” he said.
“I was really, really down and I have to say that the people around me were so good, I’ll never be able to repay them.”
Keating put on his return show at a local café to a packed crowd.
The classic hit When You’re Smiling, brought the house down.
HammondCare had been working with Keating as part of a program to put client’s stories into books for their families.
“To see people like Bob come to life, it’s such a beautiful story to tell, and something we need to be doing for more people,” HammondCare general manager Marcela Carrasco said.
HammondCare is looking for more volunteers to continue their work.
For more information, click here.
