From the time he was a toddler growing up in Orange, Texas, Jimmy Emerson knew he wanted to entertain people. In elementary school when the other kids said they wanted to be firefighters or astronauts or police officers, Jimmy told everyone he wanted to be a star.

With that in mind, he studied tap, ballet, jazz and modern dance. He learned to ice skate and twirl a baton. He took singing lessons.

Being a drama major at Lamar University in Beaumont was not enough; Jimmy had to study mime at Stockton State College, voice and speech with Lorraine Condor and take an acting workshop at Weist-Barron.

Before he was old enough to vote, he had appeared in numerous stage shows, using his strong yet lyrical tenor voice as well as his acting and dancing talents to pull in great reviews every time.  

His list of acting credits is impressive, as he has played roles as diverse as Herbie in Sweet Charity, Mr. Bumble in Oliver!, Captain Hook in Peter Pan and Thomas Cromwell in A Man for All Seasons.

He has trod the boards at prestigious venues, such as Dallas Summer Musical Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars in Houston and South Jersey Regional Theatre.

Somewhere along the line, he discovered he had a talent for stand-up comedy and the sort of glib, quick wit that made him much sought after as an emcee. It was then that he created his first female character: Roxie Starr.

In 1984, he auditioned for Breck Wall's famous comedy-review Bottoms Up and was hired instantly to be the lead in the touring company of the show, while Breck continued to play the lead in the Las Vegas company. When the tour ended, Breck hired him on as a member of the Las Vegas cast.

From there, he went on to Atlantic City for a stint in An Evening at La Cage, where he developed comedy look-alikes as Peggy Lee, Tammy Wynette and Ann Miller. He took the essence of the Wynette character and developed a truly hysterical country-western trailer-trash marvel who goes by the name of Tammy Spraynette and has been a popular mainstay in Jimmy's La Cage performances--and even appeared on the Phil Donahue Show.

During the following years, he alternated between top Las Vegas shows and his cabaret act, playing all over the United States, as well as in South America and Europe. He added several more characters, including Roseanne and Anna Nicole Smith.

Somehow, he found a way to do all that and also appear in commercials (including Dr. Pepper and K-Mart), work in a couple of movies (Wise Guys, Bleeding Hearts), and even do a stint on a TV soap (The Center).

In his spare time, he started  his own successful production company, producing and directing shows with up to 18 members in the cast.

But Jimmy wants more. He wants to put together a one-man performance that would display a variety of his original characters and allow him to use all his talents in one presentation--acting, dancing, singing, comedy and more. Yes, he has his eye on Broadway and is working with a team of writers to put together the show.

His downtime is spent cooking, entertaining, swimming, jet-skiing and drinking copious amounts of vodka.